Leading Transformation: Creating the Police Workforce of the Future
Virtually, hosted by The Netherlands Police
Due to the ongoing uncertainty, global measurements and travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic it was unfortunately not possible to deliver the Pearls conference physically in June 2020. Therefore the 14th Pearls in Policing conference was postponed to June 2021 and took place on a virtual platform, hosted by the Netherlands Police. The theme of the conference was ‘Leading Transformation: Creating the Police Workforce of the Future’.
During the virtual Pearls conference discussions were be based on the research conducted by the members of the International Action Learning Group (IALG), inspiring interactive sessions and peer to peer consultations. The annual conference is always the culmination of continuous learning undertaken by the IALG. This learning group has presented its findings at the start of the conference. During the Pearls in Policing conference 2019 in New York City, United States of America, the assignment has been formulated for the 2019-2020/21 IALG: In order to be relevant and adaptive in response to an increasingly changing environment, police agencies must focus on the future and identify a strategy that will move their organizations forward. As part of that process, it is critical that police organizations focus on how to transform the police workforce of the future. Globally there are many changes that will impact the nature of policing and there will be a need to match the workforce of the future with the challenges that lay ahead of us. The challenges will include the introduction of new forms of crime, climate change and polarization related to inequality, poverty and economic instability – all of which will have an impact on the safety, security and well-being of our communities. In addition, police services will see the exponential development of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and biometrics. These global changes will require a police workforce enabled by visionary leadership, enhanced training, new forms of attracting expertise and the ability to adapt continuously. Notwithstanding the anticipated changes in police culture, will the values at the heart of policing endure?