Question of funds

Policing is a career which requires absolute professionalism and an ability to deal with a taxing range of people and events that can only be gained through gritty experience. At present, would-be police officers undergo 15 weeks' training at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan, paid for from public funds only once they have passed the recruitment procedures of their chosen force. The proposal that future police officers would have to train at their own expense before securing a job is a radical reversal of long-accepted practice.