Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, First of all I want to thank the people of the Scottish institute for policing for inviting me to this conference and giving me the opportunity to talk about my experience with the police education system in Belgium. I assume a lot of people in this room don’t know me and have no idea about what I have been doing for 5 years in the Belgian education system. So I start with a little background information about myself and my relation with the Belgian police education.

Towards A European Police Education System: A View From Brussels Prof. Dr. Sofie De Kimpe Free University of Brussels Research group “Crime and Society”

Police “a learning organization” Project for change and innovation of the quality of the Belgian Police Education Sysytem

Belgian Project: “Police a learning organization” Project = large programme with strategic and operational purposes Different aspects of education Basic training and education Junior and senior rank Management level Training and education during career = HR! Career management Knowledge management

Purpose of this presentation Belgian Project: “Police a learning organization” Why radical change of police education system (in Belgium)? The Belgian answer: Increasing the quality of police training and education, so it acquires the same education level as public education (change of culture) Open the windows of the police education system (change of structure) Opportunities for police education in Europe

Why change?

Problems of the Belgian police education system Necessary competences to do the job were not achieved (professional skills were insufficient) “The police job is something you learn on the street, not in a police school” Police schools = elephant yards Police steering, no pedagogic steering (does the competences of the recruit comply with the final professional competences) Management problems (funding) Structural problems independency <> centralisation

Problems of the police education system in general Competence development : it is a question of socialisation Socialisation in the field (not during education) Toolkit filled with tools (=knowledge) but not knowing how to use (=skills and attitude) to use it. Confirmed in international literature

European Quality assurance System

The Belgian answer

Purpose of this presentation Belgian Project: “Police a learning organization” Why radical change of police education system (in Belgium)? The Belgian answer: Increasing the quality of police training and education, so it acquires the same education level as public education (change of culture) Open the windows of the police education system (change of structure) Opportunities for police education in Europe

European quality assurance system for education

European Quality assurance System: what? Central idea = steering on comptence development of recruits Necessary final competences (to do the police job) for police recruits are defined by the police Education engages to develop these competences

European Quality assurance System: how does it work? How does the institution and the program achieve the quality standards and guidelines? Self-evaluation repport Does the content of the self-evaluation report correspond with the actual school situation? External peer review: Visitation panel Visitation of police school Global evaluation and ranking of the audited institutions Final evaluation of quality

European Quality assurance System: What? High-Quality education should meet necessary standards and guidelines of good education Define purposes of the education (witch competences to achieve with the recruits) Define an education program that answers the necessary competence development Education methods (corresponding with purpose) Good evaluation methods and system (are competences reached by the recruit) Content of course (up to date, peer reviewed, implementation of research knowledge) Good manuals/books (peer reviewed?)

European Quality assurance System: What? High-Quality education should meet necessary standards and guidelines of good education Good education facilities (library, housing of students, sport facilities, ICT, electronic education platforms, …) Staff: Motivation and competences of staff (evaluation of staff, HR policy of staff, gender equality, …) Professionalization of staff Publication policy and research output of staff Quality policy intern the school Results Evidence (measurement of quality criteria)

Increasing quality : the Belgian answer State of the art of basic training and education Quality measurement of 10 police schools General report of basic training and education of French police schools Report of Belgian police college (police management level) Presentation in parliament

The Parlaiment

Increasing quality : the Belgian answer Some mayor conclusions of the audit Education level was disappointing Teaching staff did answer professional education skills !!! Conservative way of teaching (knowledge telling) Inadequate teaching methods Manuals and handbooks were of poor or even bad quality Absence of quality steering Education did not answer necessary competence development Problems with evaluation of competences of recruits Poor facilities Absence of research en knowledge management

Purpose of this presentation Belgian Project: “Police a learning organization” Why radical change of police education system (in Belgium)? The Belgian answer: Increasing the quality of police training and education, so it acquires the same education level as public education (change of culture) Open the windows of the police education system (change of structure) Opportunities for police education in Europe

Diploma’s in stead of certificates

Diploma’s in stead of certificates 2nd Purposes of the Belgian project ‘police, a learning organization’: Development of a new program based on bachelor and master guidelines Basic vocational training and education program Bachelor of police studies Master of Police Science Make police schools institutions of higher education (independency was necessary)

Interne-externe mobiliteit verhogen Gelijkwaardigheid van diploma’s Interne-externe mobiliteit verhogen Betere aansluiting trajecten (diploma’s) regulier onderwijs Credits – vrijstellingen Schakelprogramma’s Europese Uitwisseling Samenwerking met hoger onderwijs Evenwicht: Maatschappelijke inbedding - interne socialisatie

Diploma’s in stead of certificates Stimulating labour/education market with the free traffic of police officers Creating opportunities for career-switches (validation of degree on broader labour market) Creating opportunities for retraining or further studying Creating possibilities for installation of a (police) Erasmus DIA MET FOTO DIPLOMA

Police “a learning organization” Lessons to learn from Belgium?

Lessons to learn The quality assurance system is very good policy tool Let society in, drop of the police armour! Engage police education in the higher education system Need to let go the idea of equality (central steering) Independency in exchange for accountability (link up with funding) Important: police defines professional competences to achieve!

Opportunities for police education in Europe Why not develop quality assurance system for police education in Europe Standards and guidelines for quality of police education (on different levels) Cfr. European Association for Public Administration Accreditation Matrix of police competences? Definition of skills, knowledge and attitude on different levels of general police functions/responsibilities

Don’t miss the train!