Expanding professional learning: inside/outside police firearms training

Abstract

This paper examines the developing relationship between higher education (HE) practices and professional training for UK firearms officers. In particular, this paper's analysis challenges some common assumptions about the role of HE and the drive to professionalization in the context of police firearms training. The potential for effective partnership in this setting is examined, focusing on how these partnerships might work better and how theories of expansive learning might support them. Its impact is explored through interviews with officers from three UK forces, focusing on the relations between academic and more professionally oriented learning. Semi-structured interviews were used to gauge the views of seven trainees, whose responses were analysed to inform a discussion of workplace learning environments and conclusions about enhanced training and professional practices. The findings suggest that expansive learning environments are one way of developing training provision to meet the needs of increasingly complex firearms roles in the UK, especially the demand for greater responsibility and effectiveness. We suggest that both HE and professional training organizations can and should play a part in developing such environments.

Keywords:

• expansive learning
• professionalism
• police
• firearms
• training

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The single system of search tactic is a nationally mandated tactic for all firearms officers in the UK. It has been designed on the principle of inter-operability in response to concerns over potential deployment delays when responding to dynamic events, such as ‘active shooters’. The tactic allows for entry to and search of structures for either victims or subjects and can be conducted by a single officer or any available multiple, regardless to which force or unit the officers belong.