The process of becoming a police officer in the United Kingdom requires thorough preparation due to its competitive nature, with prior experience or knowledge playing a significant role. This has led to an increase in demand for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses aimed at both newcomers and individuals pursuing further studies in law enforcement. This article will provide a brief overview of how undertaking a police CPD course can be beneficial if you’re hoping to enter the police force and where to find Police CPD training courses.
Who are Police CPD courses relevant to?
Many people find being a police officer both rewarding and challenging. In the role as an officer of the law, you will often need to operate outside of your comfort zone and handle difficult or complex situations. This means you will need to be able to think on your feet and work well with colleagues as part of an effective team. You will also need great people skills, remaining calm and patient with members of the public, particularly in stressful or volatile situations.
Continuing Professional Development, or CPD, courses can give officer hopefuls a grounding in some of the necessary skills and abilities, allowing them to continue to develop themselves further throughout their career. Generally speaking if you do decide to undertake police CPD training courses, you will be able to get the most out of your professional development review (PDR), will be better prepared for assessments and promotion opportunities and continue to be able to do your job well, whilst enjoying it more.
How Police training CPD courses can be beneficial if you’re hoping to enter the police force
Although you will of course receive varied and career relevant training as part of your role in the police forces, CPD courses will allow those entering to be more thoroughly prepared for different situations and keep up to date on the latest developments on an ongoing basis. Undertaking CPD courses can also help to ensure continued high quality policing to keep the public safe and drive any career aspirations.
Continuing Professional Development enables the individual, in collaboration with their organisation, to maintain, develop and gain recognition for existing and new professional skills, knowledge and competence. There are five principles to CPD that all police officers and staff should consider.
- It is a collective responsibility, with the individual, forces and the College of Policing working together to support the individual’s development.
- It balances the needs and aspirations of the individual with the requirements of the organisation and the service as a whole.
- It supports the individual to remain professionally competent in their role through a continuing process that recognises and builds upon existing competence.
- It is recorded to show the effect that it is having on the individual’s professional practice.
- It provides a benefit to the public through contributing towards improving the quality of service provided by policing.
Where to find Police CPD training courses?
Our CPD Course Catalogue has thousands of courses, seminars, conferences, workshops, eLearning and educational events available, including a number aimed at Police Training, which would be beneficial for any further learning requirements. All the certified training has been reviewed and recognised as meeting the required industry standards and benchmarks. To find out more about a particular CPD course listed on our website, you can complete an enquiry form and the details will be sent directly to the relevant CPD provider.
We hope this article was helpful. Established in 1996, The CPD Certification Service has over 27 years’ experience providing CPD accreditation. With members in over 100 countries, our CPD providers benefit from the ability to promote themselves as part of an international community where quality is both recognised and assured. If you are interested in offering training and events suitable for Continuing Professional Development, please visit the Become a CPD Provider page or contact our team to discuss in more detail.
Alternatively, if you are looking for a free online CPD record tool to help manage, track and log your ongoing Continuing Professional Development, as well as store your personal training record and CPD attendance certificates in one simple place, please visit the myCPD Portal page.
