ABSTRACT
This chapter builds on the notion that policing is more than just a job, it is a profession. Being up to date with current and emerging knowledge and applying that knowledge – knowledge application – is central to any profession. As with medicine, law, nursing and teaching, policing in the 21st century requires police officers to respond to complex issues in new and innovative ways, drawing on a multidisciplinary approach utilising a range of skills. The consequence of this for the policing profession is the importance of being a lifelong learner. As a pracademic, a practitioner is engaged in education and scholarship, which can be both informal and formal. This chapter will consider the police officer as a pracademic and explore the relationship between lifelong learning, professional development and reflective practice. The chapter will provide an opportunity to consider how a police officer can engage in the role of a pracademic, and the importance of such for 21st-century police practice.
