Police officers across England and Wales will be told they need a licence to continue working, the Home Office has confirmed.Officers will have to prove they have the skills to deal with specialist issues, such as violence against women and girls, or face being removed from their role.They will have to renew a “licence to practice” at different stages in their career in order to keep up to date with evolving policing methods and new issues in society.The aim is that the new standardised programme will be clearer to follow across all 43 police forces in England and Wales.
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Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: “Every police officer needs to remain match fit to protect their communities. As crime evolves, we expect police to evolve more quickly.”The licence to practise will equip every officer with the skills and capabilities to do the job – whether new to the force or a policing veteran.”The plans, set out by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, are part of a wider, major reform of policing.Last week, it was announced that the Home Secretary will be given the power to sack police chiefs, after it was surrendered by the Conservatives in 2011.Additionally, on Friday, the Home Office confirmed that ministers will be granted new powers to dismiss chief constables and intervene in forces deemed to be failing.They will now be able to force the “retirement, resignation, or suspension” of police chief constables if they are performing poorly.Ministers will also have the power to send in “specialist teams” to train, educate, and turn around forces if their response times or crime-solving rates are below standard.Currently, only police and crime commissioners are able to do so.LATEST DEVELOPMENTSDrunken mother who hurled antisemitic abuse at kosher deli customers spared jailFormer paratrooper who broke his back in mid-air reveals the brutal reality of jumping into combatLabour work tsar warns young Britons risk becoming ‘lost generation’ consigned to life on benefitsMs Mahmood has also confirmed that there will be new targets introduced on policing that will be made publicly available.”The police are the public, and the public are the police. It is essential that the people can determine what they expect from their forces,” Ms Mahmood said.”I will make police forces accountable to parliament – driving up standards so they fight more crime in their communities.”The reforms come after the Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban scandal, in which the Home Secretary made her frustrations abundantly clear that she was unable to remove West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford from his position.Ms Mahmood said she had lost confidence in the police chief after an independent report found the force, under his leadership, manufactured evidence to suggest fans of the Israeli club should not be allowed to attend their match against Aston Villa.Evidence such as a fictitious match against West Ham, created by an AI tool, and citing poor or violent fan behaviour at a match in the Netherlands a year prior – evidence that was quickly dismissed as wrong or misleading.Sir Andy Cooke, who leads His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, which independently assesses police forces, welcomed the plans.”Where a police force is failing the public, there must be a clear, fair system to make sure concerns are acted upon. The inspectorate is a vital part of that system,” he said.”These reforms will help make sure under-performance is more quickly addressed whilst supporting forces to respond to our recommendations more effectively, so that every community gets the policing it deserves.”Our Standards:
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