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University and police pool expertise to look to the future

26 August 2014

 

Police professionals from across the UK are set to gather at Teesside University to examine ways to achieve excellence in policing.

The POLCON 5 annual conference will be held in the North East for the first time at Teesside University, which has a leading reputation as an institution which provides higher education programmes for aspiring police officers and current police professionals.

Held over two days on 3 and 4 September, POLCON 5 will welcome police professionals from around the country to discuss what works in terms of spending and policy decisions, particularly in terms of reducing crime. It will examine how universities and the police service can collaborate more effectively and foster excellence in policing.

Teesside University was the first North East university to be nationally approved by The College of Policing to offer the Certificate in Knowledge of Policing (CKP). An increasing number of police forces across the country now request the CKP qualification be completed before someone applies to join the service.

The first cohort of 24 students recently successfully completed the first CKP at Teesside. The CKP is now offered as a stand-alone award as a part-time evening class, or as a module studied within the BSc (Hons) Crime and Investigation degree or the new BSc (Hons) Policing degree, which will run for the first time in September. Dr Mark Simpson, Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Business & Law, said: 'We are a university that not only meets the needs of our students, but meets the needs of employers by providing the types of qualifications they want for their employees.

'The CKP and the new BSc (Hons) Policing degree are just two examples of how the University is tailoring its offer to fit with the demands of the professional industry.

'We are extremely proud of our policing courses and our reputation as a first-class provider. The POLCON 5 conference is further confirmation of our standing in the policing profession and we look forward to welcoming current police professionals to Teesside to discuss ways of working together to improve both the standards of policing and the standards of higher education.'

Among the speakers at POLCON 5 is Peter Neyroud CBE QPM, former National Policing Improvement Agency Chief Constable and Chief Executive Officer with over 30 years’ experience as a police officer. Chief Constable of Cleveland Police Jacqui Cheer QPM is also one of the speakers. She too has over 30 years’ of policing experience and was appointed Chief Constable of Cleveland Police in April last year. Jacqui is also the national policing lead for the professional ethics and professional standards portfolios.

As a prelude to POLCON 5, Teesside University recently welcomed 100 police cadets onto campus for a crime solving day. Cadets from Cleveland Police, Durham Constabulary and Northumbria Police took part in witness interviewing, fingerprinting, footwear analysis and other custody office procedures, before experiencing a live trial in the University’s mock court room.


Find out more about POLCON 5, or the policing courses at Teesside University
 
 
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