The Implementation of Police Higher Education Within the Context of the Professionalisation Reform, and the Perceived Impact on Police Legitimacy

Abstract

This is an explanatory study that draws on academic literature, policy reviews, and strategic reports to provide a comprehensive understanding of the transition from a predominantly craft-based police training model to one grounded in academic rigour and professional standards. The historical evolution of police higher education in England and Wales from 1990 to 2025 is considered, noting how political, cultural, institutional, and educational shifts have shaped the professional development of police officers through increasingly formal academic routes. The adopted literature review of secondary data identifies key milestones, policy initiatives, and social reforms that have prompted academic partnerships and their subsequent impact on reform rhetoric. The academic literature, policy documentation and institutional reports frame police higher education as a mechanism for enhancing professionalism, accountability, and legitimacy within policing and signify the power dynamics shaping the discourse around police education. The latest of the professionalisation reforms is the Police Education Qualification Framework. This 2016 professionalisation agenda nurtured police-academic partnerships, giving rise to three degree-entry routes for probationary officers. Preliminary findings suggest that this style of recruitment has contributed to organisational structural barriers and a junior workforce, signifying implications for sustainability, staff retention and public legitimacy. These findings provide actionable recommendations for policymakers to reduce the stigma of academia in police culture and address probationer retention by creating genuine police-academic collaborations for long-lasting partnerships.