Overview
Few careers can be more rewarding than that of a police officer and from 2020, all new police officers will be required to have a degree-level qualification. Our Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice gives graduates of any degree subject area the opportunity to complete this qualification while they’re helping to fight crime and protecting people from harm as a Student Officer.
As Student Officers, the Programme allows graduates to develop their knowledge of and interests in a range of operational policing roles, allowing for potential future career advancement and discipline specialisation within the police.
Staffordshire University is partnered with three regional police forces, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Mercia, to provide you with expert teaching and support you throughout your policing career. During the two years of your course, you will be on probation with your chosen police force.
On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing and Practice.
Key course information
Course content
Our two-year work-based learning programme will see you earning and learning whilst studying towards a Staffordshire University Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice. You'll have a student card and have access to all of our University facilities, as well as the support of a virtual community.
The Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice programme has been designed to ensure that our student officers meet the national standards set by the College of Policing (CoP), the professional body for all those working in the Police Service.
Modules
In year 1, you will complete the following modules:
In year 2, you will complete the following modules:
- Delivering Operational Policing
- Advanced Operational Policing (Investigative)*
- Advanced Operational Policing (Roads, Response and Community)*
- Full Operational Competence (portfolio)
- PIP2 Operational Competence (portfolio)
*indicates optional modules
Delivery and assessment
Delivery
We are committed to supporting you to learn while you earn and have developed a blended learning approach to support this.
During your time as a Student Officer you will complete taught modules and be deployed operationally with your chosen police force.
Your learning will be delivered by a combination of Staffordshire University academics and police colleagues. You won’t need to travel to our Stoke-on-Trent campus for lectures, we’ll deliver academic excellence in locations across the region.
From week one you will be a probationary police officer, receiving equipment ahead of your induction and attestation. You will undergo a period of in-force training and a University protected learning block to prepare you for your first operational deployment.
Deployments will focus on investigative settings and depend upon force structure. During your deployments you will initially be coached by one of our experienced tutor constables. They will support you to put theory learned into practice in an operational setting. You'll be based either within a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or a safeguarding team. To begin with, you'll handle volume and priority investigations such as theft, burglary, missing persons, domestic abuse and hate crime, before moving onto serious and complex crime, such as serious sexual offences and serious violence. These are just some of the offences you could be dealing with as a trainee detective constable.
Assessment
There are a number of elements that make up the assessment, including diploma assessment i.e. formal assessment of the diploma modules and ‘on-programme’ assessment of operational competence. You will also be required to complete and pass the National Investigators Exam.
Feedback
Examination feedback may take a variety of formats. However, as a minimum, generic feedback will be made available to all students who take written examinations. It’s important to read and understand feedback, this sets you up for success during your early policing career.
Student support
Overview
You can find an overview of support available to you on our Student Officer Support page.
Learning support
In addition to the excellent support you will receive from your course teaching team, our central Academic Skills team provides group and one-to-one help to support your learning in a number of areas. These include study skills (including reading, note-taking and presentation skills); written English (including punctuation and grammatical accuracy); academic writing (including how to reference); research skills; critical thinking and understanding arguments; and revision, assessment and examination skills (including time management).
Additional support
Our AccessAbility Services support students with additional needs such as sensory impairment or learning difficulties. You will also have full access to our support services such as Student Guidance.
Careers
You will be supported with professional development throughout your career by both your Police Force and the University. At the end of the course you will be a qualified detective constable and will be posted to an investigative role in either the Criminal Investigation Department or a safeguarding team, such as the Child Protection and Exploitation Team (CPET). A career in policing offers a wealth of opportunities including promotions through the ranks or lateral moves into specialist teams.
You can find out more about policing career pathways on the College of Policing's website.