Police Practice Standards Model (PPSM)

At its September meeting in Wellington, the ANZPAA Board adopted two key elements of the Police Practice Standards Model (PPSM); Practice Standards and Practice Levels.

The Board also agreed that the implementation of the PPSM will be governed by the Australasian Police Professional Standards Council (APPSC). The Council will consider a new name for APPSC that reflects its new responsibilities. The PPSM aims to strengthen police professionalisation in Australia and New Zealand.

The PPSM is intended to form the basis of an Australia and New Zealand-wide education and training framework that is based on common practice standards for police officers. Previously, police education and training in Australia and New Zealand was based on a combination of formal qualifications and in-service training tied to ranks.  The PPSM is proposed to establish industry benchmarks for education and training of police practitioners.

It will also enable the policing industry to influence curriculum development in the higher education and vocational education and training sectors, and is consistent with intended directions in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe.
In the future, after Practice Standards have been fully developed, the Board will consider other elements of the PPSM including Practice Certificates and Continuous Professional Development.

The PPSM Feasibility Study Project was funded by all Australian and New Zealand police agencies and sponsored by Victoria Police Acting Chief Commissioner, Ken Lay. It demonstrates a commitment to improving the professional development of police officers and improving police service delivery to the community.

The PPSM is also linked to the Australia-New Zealand Police Leadership Strategy Project, which seeks to develop and manage a talent pool of future executive leaders for Australia and New Zealand policing.

This project is being driven by Police Commissioners with the support of ANZPAA through the Australia New Zealand Police Commissioners Forum. A PPSM implementation plan will be submitted to APPSC in November, 2011.