Adapt or risk losing good finance leads, CIPFA warns

People joining force finance teams must be enabled to develop their skills and experience or they will go to other organisations, the chief executive of CIPFA has warned. Rob Whiteman, head of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, shared his advice with the announcement of 20 free scholarships… Staff training must adapt to meet the expectations of new people taking on support roles, the leader of finance heads has warned, as he launched a scholarship scheme....

Leicestershire sets recruitment target of 25 per cent BAME

To mark the end of Black History Month, PCC Bach and chief constable Simon Cole are meeting tonight with the African Heritage Alliance to discuss the “significant milestone”. In a speech to the Alliance, PCC Bach referred to the most quoted Sir Robert Peel Principal: "The police are the public,… Leicestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Lord Willy Bach has set a target of 25 per cent new BAME recruits....

Uplift recruitment ahead of target says Home Office

A year after the Prime Minister pledged to recruit more police officers, the Home Office revealed 5,824 new officers have joined forces across England and Wales. Of those, 10% were from BAME backgrounds. But the leader of frontline staff said people already serving the communities would still be under pressure… The Uplift recruitment campaign is ahead of schedule with almost 6,000 new recruits, according to the Home Office....

Garda opens chance for more PSNI to join management team

The Garda Síochána has begun a search for two Deputy Commissioners to support Commissioner Drew Harris who left the Police Service of Northern Ireland two years ago in an unprecedented move to begin leading Ireland’s officers. Both posts come with a €172,955 salary. One is currently vacant and a second… Ireland’s Garda could be about to add senior officers from across the border to its top team....

South Wales DCC set to step up as successor to Matt Jukes

South Wales Police’s current Deputy Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan will take over from Matt Jukes who is set to become Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Mr Vaughan, who currently has responsibility for the day to day running of the force, transferred from North Wales Police in 2016. He was promoted… South Wales are recruiting from within by selecting their current DCC as the replacement for their Chief Constable....

Northumbria appoints new assistant chief constable

C/Supt. Young has served with Humberside for 26 years. During this time he has led on a number of initiatives, including the roll-out of Neighbourhood Policing, and served as Divisional Commander for the City of Hull. He is currently the force’s Head of Crime. He held the position of temporary… Chief Superintendent Scott Young joins from Humberside Police as Northumbria's new assistant chief constable....

Officers really are getting younger as recruitment age lowered to 17

An amendment to the Police Regulations 2020 has lowered the recruitment age from 18 to 17 years old. Recruits will not however be able to start in the role until they turn 18. New recruitment guidance states: “Candidates aged 17 and above may apply to become a police officer and… Officer recruitment age has been cut to 17-years-old to allow recruits to apply for the apprenticeship scheme. ...

Call for commitment to PCSOs as forces overwhelmed by Covid rules

A £60 million funding boost for police and councils to deal with coronavirus lockdown rules would be better spent on long-term funding for PCSOs, according to Unison, the trade union which represents their interests nationally.   It has called for an increase in PCSO numbers to help deal with lockdown rules… Police staff union Unison has said the £60m funding boost to help enforce lockdown rules has highlighted the negative impact of some forces seeing PCSOs as "redundant". ...

Data driven: how one force is using apps to inform HR and learning

Getting honest and detailed feedback from staff in any big public sector organisation is not straightforward. There may be cultural and hierarchical barriers in place and the results to a set of static questions may not yield a lot of insight for management on how things could be improved. March’s… Avon and Somerset has received a national award for an initiative that uses technology to keep abreast of how the organisation ‘ticks.’ Gary Mason reports ...

Inspectors' exam decisions will be made this week says College

The College of Policing has pledged that the people caught up in last week’s online exam cancellation will get decisions on whether they passed and what happens next by Thursday this week. Frustrated entrants have been lobbying the College for answers following the suspension of the Inspectors’ exam due to… Exam papers from the glitch affected inspectors’ tests are being assessed manually in a bid to get results to candidates....