Police required to hold and renew GP-style 'licence to practise'

Every police officer will be required to hold and regularly renew a GP-style 'licence to practise' or be removed from the profession, the Mail can reveal.

The radical shake-up of the way officers will be scrutinised comes as part of the largest reforms to British policing in 200 years.

The licence to practise will introduce a single national framework for officer training, supervision and development across England and Wales.

The model is based on the system for doctors and nurses, where professional licences are revalidated every five years subject to medics demonstrating they have refreshed their skills and undertaken training to the necessary standards.

Officers would need to pass interviews about their professional development, qualifications, activities and achievements.

Any officer who fails could receive further support including mentoring, but successive failures would result in them losing their licence.

The Home Office has not clarified how often officers would be expected to renew their licence, but said the plan will 'ensure officers are best equipped with problem solving and technological skills they need to catch more criminals.'

Critics described the scheme as 'an expensive, bureaucratic distraction' that would provide no benefits, however.

Former Bedfordshire police and crime commissioner, Festus Akinbusoye, attended a discussion with policing leaders about the proposals when they were in the early stages and said the plan was completely unnecessary.

'I challenged it directly then, and I challenge it now,' he said.

'How many frontline officers were ever asked whether this was needed, given that police officers already hold a warrant card?'

Police forces have been damaged by a succession of scandals, including the murder of Sarah Everard by Scotland Yard officer Wayne Couzens.

It is hoped that the licence to practise would help to rebuild confidence in policing and frontline officers by helping to weed out those not fit to serve.

But Mr Akinbusoye said: 'I am genuinely astonished that, of all the crises facing British policing such as collapsing recruitment, appalling retention, failure to get the basics right, deep-rooted cultural problems, and a serious leadership deficit — the Home Office has decided that the answer lies in forcing police officers to hold a Licence to Practise.

'This is a total waste of money and yet more evidence that British policing has drifted dangerously away from the priorities of the public. People do not want more regulation, more processes, or more box-ticking. They just want competent, effective, professional police officers keeping them safe.

'If a warrant card, rigorous training, and robust vetting are not enough to guarantee that, then the problem is leadership and accountability - not the absence of yet another licensing scheme.'

Although some areas of policing have mandatory training standards, such as firearms, there is no national system of evaluation.

The programme will be delivered in phases and will set consistent standards across various aspects of policing, the Home Office said.

It will set one national approach to performance and supervision, in place of the inconsistent current approach that differs force to force.

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.

'Under these reforms, police forces will catch more criminals and protect their local communities.'