§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what indication he has received from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis about his views on the attitude of Islington, Haringey and other Labour councils in London in contributing to improvements in the recruitment of people from ethnic minorities into the police force.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that he is very grateful for the help he is having from local authorities, community relations officers and community/police consultative groups in mounting local ethnic minority recruitment campaigns. So far campaigns have been run in Haringey, Lambeth, Hounslow and Islington, and more are planned for Brent, Croydon, Ealing, Lewisham, Newham, Wandsworth and Westminster. He looks forward to receiving similar help in organising campaigns in other boroughs in due course.
§ Mr. Phillip Oppenheimasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he intends to introduce any changes to the system of police recruit training; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HurdPolice training at all levels is subject to a continuous process of review and improvement. In recent years particular attention has been given to the need to848W ensure that the system of police recruit training produces officers who are properly equipped to deal with the difficult and complex problems which they can expect to encounter in policing today's society.
Following the report "Police Probationer Training" (published in July 1983) prepared by its working party, the Police Training Council commissioned, and has now received the report of, a fundamental review of police probationer training in England and Wales conducted by an independent team based at the University of East Anglia (the stage II review). I am arranging for this report to be published shortly, and have meanwhile placed a copy of it in the Library.
A number of improvements were rapidly implemented following the 1983 report, including an increase from 10 to 14 weeks in the length of the initial course at district training centres; longer periods of attachment to experienced tutor constables; and greater emphasis on training in community and race relations. Nevertheless the stage II report criticises certain aspects of the current probationer training arrangements, and makes recommendations aimed at bringing the development of personal and practical policing skills to the fore in the training process. It proposes changes in the curriculum and in instructional methods and an integrated approach to the training and development of recruits throughout the probationary period, involving among other things closer integration between training provided in forces and that at district training centres.
The Police Training Council has given a general welcome, with some qualifications, to the stage II report, and agreed that work should proceed on the detailed development of revised training courses and procedures, having regard to its recommendations. This work is being co-ordinated by the Home Office, central planning and training unit for police training. I look forward to receiving from the Police Training Council details of the changes in the police training arrangements which are agreed to be necessary in the light of the stage II report, with a view to their full implementation by mid-1988. Meanwhile a number of changes in the instructional regime at district training centres have already been made in response to points raised during the stage II review, and improvements to probationer training procedures will continue to be made as and when the need for them is identified.