The raw experience of life as a vulnerable member of the community has challenged some of the prejudices held by future police officers.

This was the major finding of a review of the first field placement of 250 first year students in the Diploma of Policing Practice in September with about 100 community organisations across NSW.

Lynelle Osburn, Head of the Policing Field Education unit at Charles Sturt University (CSU) said the moving stories told by the students demonstrated an increase in their understanding and compassion for the people they met - people they may have contact with when they qualify as police officers.

The field placements are part of the requirements of the Diploma of Policing Practice launched this year by the NSW Police Service and CSU through full-time study at the NSW Police Academy in Goulburn.

The most frequent piece of advice from students to others about to begin their community placement was to "keep an open mind".

"It was so strong and so frequent that we can only assess that the students recognised their minds were closed and blinkered before this experience," Ms Osburn said.

Ms Osburn believes that if this had not been addressed, those attitudes would have remained, and that would have continued the old police culture.

"Because we have now addressed those attitudes, we are making the reform agenda happen," she said.

The Diploma of Policing Practice was introduced in May this year as a result of recommendations in the Wood Royal Commission to increase the professional status of policing in NSW.

The subject related to the placement is Policing in Society which focuses on disadvantage and discrimination in society.

It asks the students to reflect on what life is like from the point of view of those in the community who are "policed".

"It reinforces that law enforcement is only one of the tasks of police: there is also keeping the peace," Ms Osburn said.

"Keeping the peace requires understanding, compassion, negotiation and respect," she said.

The next group of policing students will go out into the community in May next year.

From then on, about 280 students will be placed in community organisations for four weeks full-time every four months.

The Policing Field Education Unit would like to hear from community organisations interested in participating.

Lynelle Osburn may be contacted on telephone (02) 6933 2478 or (02) 6933 2022.