Project

Cross-analysis of community policing tasks and training: does the content of training match actual work activities?

The Canton of Geneva’s External Public Policy Commission (CEPP) was asked to assess the training policy of the Geneva Cantonal Police to determine whether the content of basic training in law enforcement was suited to the missions and tasks of the Geneva Cantonal Police, particularly with regards to cultural diversity and the social context in Geneva.

Rido / Fotolia

The CEPP therefore commissioned the Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (SFIVET) to carry out the present project, which sought to answer the following questions:

To what extend does the content of basic training in law enforcement, particularly in community policing, prepare police cadets to adequately perform their duties within the population? In other words, does the training adequately prepare police cadets to work in this capacity? Analysis was centred on the concept of community security, which is defined as a process that takes the expectations of the population and local security challenges into account in an effort to provide better security and service to the population. More specifically, analysis focuses on duties directly associated with community policing and related functions (police rescue), work within the juvenile squad as well as work within the general crime unit (judicial police).

Method

In the first part of the report, we considered the method of designing training courses proposed by Stroumza (1997) to better understand the training given for the Federal PET Diploma in Law Enforcement. In particular, the aim was to determine how the training given to the Geneva Cantonal Police is positioned within the Swiss system of vocational and professional education and training.

In the second part of the report, we analysed the work done by police officers. We based ourselves on three main analytical approaches: the psychodynamics of work (Dejours, 1993, 1998), activity clinics (Clot, 1999, 2008) and work clinics (Lhuillier, 2006). These approaches are closely associated with the ergonomics of the French language (Leplat et Hoc, 1983), the work analysis approach (Guérin, Laville, Daniellou, Duraffourg, and Kerguelen, 1997), and the comprehensive sociology approach (Demazière and Dubar 2004, Kaufmann, 1996, de Gauléjac 1994). We also considered existing gaps between intended and attained training objectives. This was done by comparing training content with actual work activities as perceived and experienced by police cadets.