Policing course prepares students for successful career in the force

Solihull College & University Centre has recently recruited highly experienced police officers and a prison lecturer to lead on the Higher National Certificate and Diploma (HNC/D) in Policing.

Lecturers Tammia Salina, Richard Agar and Chris Thomas are bringing with them a wealth of on-the-job experience to impart to students preparing for a career in policing and crime prevention.

Richard Agar, who is also the course coordinator, comments: “This course provides people who wish to work in policing and law enforcement the chance to gain contextual knowledge and understanding whilst preparing them to enter these professions and to be well equipped for interview and selection processes.”

Over the course of two years, students will study a total of 16 stimulating modules encompassing some of the key functions and practices of a modern police service, such as Criminal Law, Criminology, Counter Terrorism, Investigation Skills, Leadership, and Community Policing. The course will be delivered using a variety of approaches designed to develop students’ knowledge, understanding and skills for success in either a subsequent higher education environment or in a variety of positions within policing, police staff or other supporting roles.

Upon completion of their qualification, students may develop their careers in the policing sector or progress to university into relevant police-related courses, such as BA Joint Honours Criminology & Psychology (Newman University) offered at the College.

Find out more here and apply now.

Meet the Lecturers

Richard Agar

Recently retired from the police service, Richard Agar has had a long, varied and exciting career. Starting off as a Police Constable in 1991 at Bournville Lane, through sheer dedication and commitment, still very young and early on in his career, Richard soon became a Detective. This set him off on a highly successful journey in the service that saw him serve the public for over 30 years.

Richard was promoted to Sergeant at Smethwick Police Station, where he worked on the Response team and Neighbourhood team, and then to Detective Sergeant in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), where he was involved in investigating serious crime. His expertise in the force became invaluable and he became a Detective Sergeant in Intelligence before being seconded to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) where he undertook a thematic investigation, working with a team nationally on responses to gun crime.

After 12 months with HMIC, where Richard saw how different forces operated nationally, he returned to the force as a Detective Sergeant in Homicide. From there he was promoted to Inspector on the neighbourhood policing programme where he oversaw the implementation of it across the force.

Richard was again promoted and became a Detective Chief Inspector on the Counter Terrorism Unit where he worked with the security services on large national scale investigations.

Before his final posting as a Superintendent at Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG), Richard became a Detective Chief Inspector on Organised Crime and Gangs, after which he moved back into CID again as a Detective Superintendent where he led national gang initiatives. He then became the Operations Superintendent at Solihull, responsible for the policing of the area.

Richard has had a brilliant service during which time he has received numerous commendations and 4 medals for Long Service & Good Conduct, and the Queen’s Golden, Platinum and Diamond Jubilee medals.

Tammia Salina

Tammia Salina has been teaching at HM Prisons with St Giles Trust for the past decade where she currently teaches high risk offenders serving long prison sentences. She is also the course coordinator for the Psychology, Criminology and Law course at the College on which she delivers the Criminology module.

Tammia holds a master’s degree in criminology as well as a PGCE and is a highly experienced lecturer who has a passion for rehabilitation. She has been rewarded an Above and Beyond award by St Giles Trust in recognition of her dedication to her students. Tammia has introduced her students at the College to the work she currently does at HMP Oakwood and helped them secure work placements there.

Tammia’s expertise in criminology and teaching offers students a unique perspective into the policing and law sectors.

Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas joined Cheshire Police in 1992 as a Special Constable working within Chester City Centre where he undertook a range of policing roles. He worked on the Cheshire Hunt – a volatile event which was described as a big public order incident – early on in his career which prepared him for the next 30 years in which he served in the force.

Chris moved to the West Midlands 26 years ago to join as a Constable in Handsworth where he spent 7 years before becoming a Response Officer. In 2002, he joined the Operational Support Unit which is responsible for providing support to officers and departments all over the force as specialists in crisis management. Chris was trained in a range of specialisms such as disaster victim identifications, dealing with mass casualty incidents and body recovery, and counter terrorism searching.

After 5 years specialising in the unit, Chris moved to the Operations Dog Unit as a Police Dog Handler at Balsall Common which he did for a further five years. He eventually went into neighbourhood policing back at Handsworth where he spent 9 years and was promoted to Sergeant.

In 2016, Chris moved to the CMPG department where he is currently in the process of retiring. Chris is looking forward to sharing his three decades of experience with students to shape the future of policing.