UNIVERSITY EDUCATION AS A MODERN EUROPEAN TREND OF INITIAL POLICE TRAINING

Abstract

The article is devoted to the issues of police education reform. Modern countries have different models of initial police training, based on their historical traditions and modern conditions of functioning of states. The author explored the current situation of police training in England, focusing on the Initial Police Learning and Development Program (IPLDP), because this program was the main among all other police training programs, but now this program is outdated. The author revealed that the current trend in the world is to increase the role of higher education institutions in the education system for training police officers. The example of England and Wales shows that the system of initial training, which is based on short-term training at the level of the police academy with subsequent service in practical units, does not meet the needs of the time and is outdated. The global trend is to reorient police training from specific practical knowledge, skills and abilities to higher education and the formation of a person with critical thinking and analytical skills, which meets the current challenges facing the police in the fight against crime. The author argues that such training can be carried out only with the involvement of higher education institutions. As examples, some empirical studies confirm this fact. It is pointed out that it is very important for a modern police officer to perform not only a profession, but also an education in this field in order to perform his / her duties. The author analyzes the opinions of foreign researchers on the advantages of university education over training in police academies. The author touches on the issue of reforming police education in Ukraine in terms of introducing a three-level model of police training and proposes to conduct additional research on both modern foreign experience and the advantages, disadvantages and prospects of the proposed model.