Mentoring: a career pathfinder

Throughout his long policing career Ricky Fields has sat on promotion boards on both sides of the table as an applicant and a board member. “I don’t think any process is infallible,” he says. “But you turn up on the day and hopefully give your best performance and you need… A former Staffordshire superintendent will be one of the mentors on a new scheme aimed at helping officers from under-represented groups achieve their potential in the service. He tells Gary Mason how mentoring influenced his own career ...

South Wales chief leaves force to join the Met as assistant commissioner

Matt Jukes, the chief constable of South Wales Police is moving to the Met as Assistant Commissioner following the retirement of Mark Simmons. He is expected to take up his appointment in November.  Initially, and for a limited period, he will provide leadership to the Met’s transformation portfolio following the… Matt Jukes to initially lead Met’s transformation portfolio from November...

Staff member joins regulars with father’s old collar number

A long serving South Yorkshire Police staff member who has worked in call handling, custody and then as a PCSO has become a regular officer and been given her father’s collar number. PC 1820 Michelle Phillips has worked for South Yorkshire Police for 17 years, initially in the force's communications… PC Michelle Phillips has worked as a call handler, in custody and as a PCSO ...

Force develops new system to ‘level playing field’ for BAME applicants

Police Scotland is designing a new testing system which aims to “level the playing field” for BAME candidates applying to join the force as just over 1% of officers are from a minority background. The force’s HR director also said diversity in the leadership team is “not where we want… HR Manager tells MSPs that current test produced a 20% discrepancy between ethnic minority and white Scottish candidates....

Derbyshire's ACC to return as Lincolnshire's new chief

The current Assistant Chief Constable at Derbyshire Police has been selected as the new Chief Constable for Lincolnshire. Dr Paul Gibson, 46, has been selected by a panel led by Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones as the replacement for Bill Skelly who is retiring after 31 years of service.… A career Lincolnshire officer who left to progress up the ranks is set to become the force’s new chief constable....

Interview: Chief Constable Nick Adderley's bottom-up approach

Nick Adderley is a chief constable who seems to invoke faith and morale among the ranks, and is known for his straight-talking and down-to-earth attitude which appears to bridge the gap between management and frontline officers. He says the welfare of the workforce is his number one priority. “If we… Northamptonshire's Chief Constable, Nick Adderley, has just completed his first two years in the job and tells Police Oracle why he believes a certain type of leadership is important to workforce morale...

Officers sit first national online exam

Officers from 46 forces in England and Wales were the first to sit a national online exam for career progression – in this case the NIE (National Investigators' Exam). Candidates from all 43 territorial forces and three non-Home Office forces (British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary and Ministry of Defence… More than 1,390 officers sat the National Investigators’ Exam remotely in a first for policing....

New approach needed to find leaders says College of Policing

Modernisation to working practice has sped up during the COVID-19 crisis and that must now extend into supporting and finding future leaders. The College’s head, Mike Cunningham told the Police Superintendents’ Association annual conference this would also be crucial in improving diversity among senior officers. HM Inspectorate has raised concerns… A new national approach is needed to identify leaders across the ranks according to the College of Policing....

Parliament will protect covenant, Home Secretary promises

Priti Patel confirmed at the Police Superintendents’ Association annual conference that the Police Covenant will be introduced in legislation in the new Parliamentary session. She announced it will be extended to cover all who work or have worked in policing and will be subject to a yearly review by Parliament.… The campaign backed by Police Oracle to get welfare protection enshrined in law is set to become a reality for current and retired officers and staff, Priti Patel has confirmed....

Avon and Somerset promotes diversity mark in bid to recruit PCSOs

Avon and Somerset is using a recruitment campaign to sign up new Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) as an opportunity to highlight its commitment to diversity. The campaign, aimed at signing up 70 PCSOs, makes clear that the force was the first in the country to achieve the accreditation for… Avon and Somerset is using its accreditation for a diversity mark as part of a campaign to recruit more PCSOs. ...