- Education
'Police perform better when team members have diverse backgrounds and expertise'
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The societal challenges faced by the police are becoming increasingly international and complex. In order to tackle these problems effectively, the police need a diverse workforce consisting of personnel with both practical and theoretical training. Erie Braakhekke is Sector Head of Higher Police Education at the Netherlands Police Academy. She and her team devote themselves every day to designing and developing this higher education. What value do bachelor’s and master’s programmes bring to the police? What are her plans and objectives?
'The job of a police officer is becoming more and more complex', says Braakhekke. 'We see an increasing internationalisation of crime and criminal partnerships. Consider criminal investigations, for example: in the past, investigators mainly obtained information through interviews. Now they work with all kinds of data, which they collect from, for example, encrypted phones, cars and social media channels. Criminal investigators must be able to store those data and explain how the data relate to each other. They must also be able to explain which data are relevant for the investigation and which are not.'
'So the police need people who enjoy pondering and weighing more, and who are also willing to conduct prolonged investigations. An organisation will perform better and flourish when team members have diverse backgrounds and expertise. We want to strengthen the connection between the power of action and the power of thought.'
Launch of the Higher Police Education Sector
When Braakhekke took up the position of Sector Head in 2022, there were three master’s programmes and one bachelor’s programme. It turned out that everyone involved in those programmes had used their own methods to get their respective courses going. Braakhekke’s job was to bring these courses together within the newly formed Higher Police Education Sector. The goal was to work together more closely and increase the quality of the programmes. A third goal was to set up the new Detective, Police Officer, Community Police Officer and Police Manager bachelor’s programmes.
The Higher Police Education Sector has a staff of about 80 employees. 'Everyone is fully committed to the training and education of our students. We all feel a strong connection with society, the police profession and, of course, our students. I feel privileged to be a part of this!'
Training ties in with the job
Setting up a new training programme takes a lot of time. First, the police issue a professional profile. This is a list of what is required for the job in terms of knowledge and expertise. This list of qualities is then translated into a qualification file. This file describes what you need to know and be able to do to successfully complete the programme.
Based on that file, we then develop lessons that tie in with practical requirements. 'Throughout the entire process, we keep in touch with people on the job and with trainee supervisors, curriculum supervisors and managers. Higher police education therefore ties in very closely with what is needed for the job in practice.' The Detective bachelor’s programme has now entered its second year and is a training programme which Braakhekke is very proud of.
Visibility in units
There is an annual inflow of about two hundred higher police education graduates into the police, compared to about 2,200 who followed basic police training. 'So there are certainly people with higher vocational training among the newcomers. But they are less visible, because the vast majority of new recruits come from basic police training.'
It is important for students to settle well and socially safely into their units, because it is there that students who are qualified to start work will develop and become competent through their work. Unfortunately, the units view higher police education graduates with some doubt. This is because those graduates only gained limited experience in practice. For this reason, two meetings were organised in the form of so-called development squares, where students, training institutions and units got together. These parties joined forces to come up with recommendations to help students settle properly into their units.
Growth
The Police Academy and the police are always engaged in dialogue about the setup of training programmes and about the desired numbers of new recruits from higher police education. 'We know the police would like to have more personnel to conduct criminal investigations. And that investigative departments also like to have legal support or data analyses. My plans for the Higher Police Education Sector will depend on what the police require.'
'We would like to be of greater assistance to the force in the future. By expanding the number of classes, for example. Of course, the force must make a request for such an expansion beforehand. We need time to hire and train lecturers and support staff, and we are also dependent on the job market. We are looking in particular for people who can teach criminal investigations. Perhaps there are colleagues in criminal investigation teams who are interested in being part-time lecturers?'
