Leonard Kok wants the Police Academy to have a permanent directive role in police education

A central position for the Netherlands Police Academy as a knowledge and educational institution in the security domain. And a police academy that provides high-quality and innovative education and carries out practice-oriented research in the most effective way. These were the words Leonard Kok, Director of the Netherlands Police Academy, used today in the Standing Committee on Justice and Security of the House of Representatives.

In a roundtable discussion, a number of important stakeholders presented their views on police education. In addition to the Police Academy, the police themselves, the Ministry of Justice and Security and the unions were represented, as well as the Netherlands Association of Senior Secondary Vocational Schools.

Police education has seen many developments, including an increase in demand. This demand cannot always be met, resulting in delays and shortages of personnel qualified for police work. This is particularly true for criminal investigations. Consequently, some sections of the police develop their own training programmes or hire external parties.

At the same time, other parties in the educational sector are also interested in developing and providing police education. ‘Not desirable and not efficient’, is how the Police Academy called this in a position paper. The Police Academy published this paper in the run-up to the roundtable discussion in the House of Representatives.

Quality of education

The position paper outlines the Police Academy’s vision. The Police Academy aims to ensure that all current and future police professionals are well prepared for their roles. However, the job is becoming increasingly complicated: Take cybercrime, for example, or crime that undermines society, or dealing with people with misunderstood behaviour. Therefore, we must constantly innovate our education and training courses.

The position paper also states that the police themselves should make clear what they need. And that the Minister of Justice and Security determines what police personnel must know and be capable of: their knowledge, skills and professional attitude. The Police Academy is responsible for ensuring that the quality of education and police diplomas are safeguarded independently. Additionally, the Police Academy has an independent knowledge and research role.

During the roundtable discussion, Leonard stated that modular education has its limits. ‘While we fully adhere to the modular approach in specialised professional training, we draw the line at initial professional training. That’s where you learn a profession – that of police officer, for example. This requires a coherent combination of knowledge, skills and professional attitude.’

The Police Academy collaborates with Regional Training Centres and universities of applied sciences. While the Police Academy may outsource the provision of training in some cases, it remains responsible for the level of knowledge and skills acquired upon completion of the outsourced programme.

Caution

The Police Academy urges caution regarding the number of training courses offered outside the Academy, especially those on criminal investigation. There may be differences in the quality of education. There is also a risk of important knowledge becoming fragmented, and it may become more difficult to exchange personnel between units. ‘This is a pity, because it is inefficient and unwelcome from the perspective of safeguarding the quality and continuity of education’, according to the paper.

The cause of the problem is insufficient training capacity at the Police Academy. Leonard: ‘The Ministry of Justice and the police force determine the required training capacity. If the force requires more than the Police Academy can provide, and resources are available, it is best to invest them in the Police Academy.'

'We can then opt to do it ourselves, outsource it, or establish a partnership with an external provider. No matter how it is done, an additional demand for training will always require extra resources, or else prioritisation in the existing supply.’

High-quality training

The Police Academy places great importance on its central role in safeguarding the quality of police education. Its aim is to ensure that all police professionals receive the same high-quality training. It must not make a difference where they were trained.

‘Our aim is to be a police academy that contributes to a safe society’, said Leonard. ‘To achieve this, we need high-quality, coherent and reliable education, founded on clear standards and a robust directive role for the Police Academy.’