§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the length of time devoted to dedicated police training for a new constable. [142]
§ Mr. MacleanUnder the police probationer foundation training programme, recruits to the police service in England and Wales, other than the Metropolitan police, spend a total of 15 weeks undergoing formal training at police training centres. In addition, they undergo a further 15 weeks training in their forces which is divided between formal classroom training, operational experience and development under the supervision of experienced tutor constables. During58W the remainder of their probation period, constables may be required to attend a minimum of 30 days' further training at their force training school.
Recruits to the Metropolitan police service spend an initial 18 weeks at the Metropolitan police training school at Hendon, followed by 10 weeks on division undergoing street duty training under the supervision of an experienced officer. During the remainder of the two years' probation, they are required to attend training courses at area training units for a further 28 days.