A new degree course was launched yesterday – in being a policeman.

There is nothing hugely unusual about taking a vocational degree.

For example, Oxford Brookes University has successful programmes for nurses and paramedics.

The force has said it wants to recruit a “significant percentage of future police officers” through the course. And, on the face of it, the two-year programme seems even more thorough than the current training scheme.

The key is, as with everything nowadays, cost.

Suddenly, police are not footing as big training bills. That cost is now falling on to students who will pay for their degree. A way of improving police training? Or a savvy cost cutting measure? You decide.