Why we're launching a new Policing and Law Enforcement Masters

An impressive array of academics and retired practitioners are about to guide today’s and tomorrow’s leaders through the tricky operational and political waters ahead, with a new Masters qualification at LJMU. The Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies (LCAPS) has recently launched its MSc in Policing and Law Enforcement Leadership, a cutting-edge degree applicable to anyone aspiring to lead (or already operating as a leader) within a wide range of agencies.

Police officers and police staff looking to get ahead of the introduction of the Police Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) will find the content of the new Level 7 LCAPS degree especially valuable, as will colleagues in other law enforcement agencies as they follow a similar path of ‘professionalisation’. The syllabus will draw heavily on historical and contemporary literature, as well as more effectively bridging the gap between current policy and practice in policing and law enforcement agencies.

The overall aim of the programme, which has leadership at its heart, is to explore the current and future strategic challenges facing leaders, and to further develop leadership styles that emphasise clarity of thinking, flexibility of approach and adaptability in addressing the often competing demands of diverse communities.

As the longest serving chief constable in the UK when I retired from Lancashire Constabulary in June 2017, I am convinced that this new MSc will offer an exciting and rewarding programme of study for experienced practitioners and new or aspiring entrants to the sector. Leadership within policing and law enforcement agencies is under significant scrutiny. There is increasing pressure to adopt an ethical approach that is capable of not only offering a personal style that delivers performance improvement, but is also effective within a relatively new (2012) governance system that brings politics and policing much closer together.

This is a programme aimed at helping students to adopt approaches to leadership that develop their clarity of purpose, and help them negotiate leadership space within a new governance regime, improve their ability to lead with political awareness, and develop a self-confidence to articulate their policing mission and mandate.

LCAPS is part of the School of Justice Studies (SJS) at LJMU, which has successfully run a Masters in Advanced Policing Studies that has been popular with students since first being introduced in 2016, but which is now making way for this new MSc in PALE (Policing and Law Enforcement) Leadership.

The new Masters benefits from a broad mix of practitioner input, from sergeants to chief constables, including heads of CID, force incident managers, and public order and match commanders. This new MSc can be undertaken full time over one year or part time over two years.

Teaching will be delivered using blended teaching methods – staff lectures, seminars, participative workshops, tutorials, student inputs, private enquiry, as well as group sessions and some simulation. Emphasis will be placed on a student’s ability to demonstrate independent thinking as well as connecting policing theory to strategic and operational practice.

There will be a flexible approach to assessment, with coursework - individual as well as group work - being regularly reviewed. Written contributions will be in the form of essays, reflective accounts, literature and portfolio reviews, as well as the research topic dissertation. Formative assessment of practical skills will be by role-play exercises, for example, making a presentation to a chief officer group. There are no written exams.

Enrolment for this programme will take place on Monday 23 September 2019. Anyone interested in applying should contact Steve Finnigan directly on S.J.Finnigan@ljmu.ac.uk or call 0151 231 5157 to discuss their ability to study this subject at Level 7.

The price of studying for this new MSc is costed as a programme, whether studied over one or two years, and for a home student (UK and EU) is £6,600 . That equates to £36.75 per credit for 180 credits. The cost for international (overseas) students is £13,950.