19/05/2004

Leadership programme for police service unveiled

A new police leadership programme has been introduced which is aimed to boost the skills and careers of frontline officers.

The 'Core Leadership Development Programme' will engage all police staff from constables to sergeants, and it is hoped will equip officers with the skills to rise more rapidly through the ranks, boosting staff retention and improve the quality of senior management.

Speaking at the annual Police Federation conference in Bournemouth today, Home Office Minister Hazel Blears said that improving leadership at all levels within the service was a major part of the second phase of the government's police reform programme.

"Frontline officers remain the lynchpin of local policing and it is vital that we give them the skills they need to build on strong links with communities, and enable them to lead the way in improving respect for the law and encouraging community engagement in policing," she said.

"And while we need strong leadership today, we crucially need to ensure that we can continue to bring good people up through the ranks to lead the service tomorrow. We need to retain and develop the best staff, ensuring the police service is able to meet robustly the challenges of our changing society."

The Government has already introduced new leadership programmes for chief inspectors and superintendents, while a recent project, 'Getting the Best Leaders to Take On the Most Demanding Challenges' looked at identifying, developing and incentivising the best people to be the future leaders of the police service.

(gmcg)

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