New police recruits are 'barely literate'

Some police officers are "barely literate" because the educational requirements to join the service are so low, the lawyer reviewing police conditions has said.

Tom Winsor said many criminal barristers "speak in contemptuous terms" of the quality of police evidence and educational standards had fallen "significantly" since the 1930s. "We've looked at the educational standards for the police from 1930 and 1946 and... they are significantly harder," he said.