Police officers will be given basic membership of the College of Policing for free for the first three years, the organisation has announced. The college, which has the remit for setting standards across the service and offering training and professional development for officers, had been looking at charging subscriptions similar to other professional bodies like the Royal College of Nursing. The organisation currently receives funding from the Home Office and is looking to reduce this and bolster its funds from elsewhere, partly to reinforce its independent remit, but also to secure long-term funding. Federation representatives had raised concerns about the impact of the financial cost to police officers at a difficult time and have welcomed the move. Alex Marshall, chief executive officer of the College of Policing, told Police magazine in an exclusive interview: “We have listened to our future members, the vast majority of whom are also members of the Federation, because they are constables, sergeants and inspectors in policing. In response to their feedback on membership and fees we will not be charging a fee for membership for at least the first three years and before we reconsider this we will consult our members again. “Clearly, running a professional body costs money, so it is not free, but we get money from other sources and we will use this money to cover the basic membership costs for everyone currently working in policing for the next three years when we will review it again. I know it has been a big concern for frontline officers that (the membership of) the college will present a financial burden to them. We are not a burden, we are here to support our members, we want to help raise professional standards. We want frontline officers to be skilled knowledgeable and feel confident in their important roles; we have to help them achieve all of that as their professional body.” Rick Nelson, one of the Police Federation representatives who sat on the design team for the initial set-up of the college, said: “We are pleased that the college has listened to police officers and some of the feedback from Police Federation representatives and decided not to charge for membership for the next few years. As police officers go through a difficult time in the current financial crisis, which has impacted on their pay, any move to ease that burden is welcome. “We will watch with interest to see what the college offers those with basic membership and hope to continue to work with the college as a critical friend - representing the view of the rank and file.”
Posted on: Tue, 13 May 2014 10:30:01 +0000
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