KENT Police and Canterbury Christ Church University College are teaming up to train the county's future police officers.

This link between a police force and higher education college is the first of its kind and is likely to spark widespread interest from other forces.

Christ Church was approached because of its track record in vocational training for other public sector professionals such as teachers, nurses, social workers and probation officers.

From October police probationers will spend the first 12 months of their training at Christ Church sites in Canterbury or Medway.

This training will be non-residential allowing student officers with commitments, which would have prevented them joining the police previously, to do so now.

Operational experience will take place on a dedicated learning station within the force where they will be known as student constables. They will be supported by specially trained police tutor constables.

It is hoped that at the end of their training the student constables will be awarded a vocational foundation degree as well as be confirmed as a competent police constable. Work will now be carried out on the finer details of the training before its launch in the summer.

Mike Fuller, chief constable of Kent, said: "I am pleased that Kent Police, by engaging in this modernisation project, will be moving its police officers closer to the community and I hope increase its confidence in our policing.

"We hope that this approach will also encourage more people to consider joining Kent Police."

Training for Kent officers and those from other forces in the South East has been carried out at the residential Ashford district training centre.

After October the centre will continue to provide training for other forces and staff from Kent Police will carry on their work there as the centres are phased out nationally from April 2005.