Police Now national graduate programmes

Are you suitable?

Rose Osborne | Police Now Graduates
We want to hear from you if you think you have what it takes to work in diverse communities challenged by crime.

Are you a graduate with an appetite for an exciting career challenge? If you’re empathic, resilient, reliable and determined, then whatever your background, a Police Now national graduate programme could be right for you.

Being a police officer is a demanding but rewarding career. When you know the demands of the role, you can make an informed decision as to whether you are ready for the challenge.

The information below helps you consider what’s needed to be successful on our programme.   

Working hours

This isn’t typical 9 to 5 work.

Police officers work varied shift patterns which gives them flexibility and freedom to maximise their time outside of work. Different to your typical working week, you’ll often receive several days off in a row.

Shifts can cover weekends, Bank Holidays, evenings and nights. Sometimes you need to:

  • Work overtime
  • Cover a colleague's shift
  • Move to a different team
  • Change shift pattern to support operational requirements

Can you manage that?

Resilience

Resilience is when you’re able to experience difficult situations but remain positive in your approach and your ability to tackle these events day-to-day.

As a police officer, you’ll witness people in distressing situations. You may deal with vulnerable individuals, mental health issues, domestic assault and death. You may face difficult individuals and be subjected to verbal and physical assaults. Your positivity will help you make a real difference as you face these situations each day.

You’ll face these challenges and be able to:

  • Be professional
  • Recover well
  • Think and act calmly at all times

Can you do that?

Impartiality

Working in a local neighbourhood you deal with people of all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds and cultures.

You meet individuals whose attitudes and behaviours will challenge your own values. You must treat everyone with dignity and respect at all times.

Can you uphold that?

Transparency

To join the police service, you must declare any previous convictions.

As a police officer you must divulge all convictions, cautions, out of court settlements, disposals, arrests and reprimands, regardless of severity. Failure to do so will lead to the invalidation of your application.


Can you adhere to that?

Accountability

You’ll build trust and approval in communities by your actions and your ability to secure and maintain public respect.

Upholding and enforcing the law is the primary role of a police officer, behaving with integrity and humanity.

Can you maintain these values?

Your competencies

Joining the police through a Police Now national graduate programme is not a fast-track or easy route in. Our participants work hard at our academy to pass their exams after the 12 weeks, and continue to drive change as they enter their police force, following Police Now’s mission – to have a positive impact on communities. 

To ensure we recruit outstanding graduates who will thrive in their policing role, you’ll be assessed during your application to ensure you are aligned with Police Now’s mission, competencies and values. Read on to find out if you’re the right person to join Police Now. 

You take ownership

You’ll be a credible authority, instilling confidence and trust in others through the quality of your knowledge, skills, presence and professionalism. 

You’ll show substantial resilience, working well under pressure in the face of change, with a determined and positive attitude to overcoming obstacles. You need to be able to bounce back quickly from difficult situations and setbacks. 

These may come from the public and the incidents you deal with but also internally e.g. resistance to change. You need to be persistent and stay focused on the outcomes you need to achieve. Going into the force, you enter as a member of staff who will be relied on to make decisions and provide guidance. However, this needs to be balanced with humility and a willingness to learn and act on feedback.

You are emotionally aware

You’ll be an empathic connector. You will be able to develop meaningful relationships with an extensive variety of people, allowing you to communicate and persuade effectively. You must be able to demonstrate a genuine interest in, and respect for other people’s opinions. 

Self-awareness and high levels of emotional control are also required to handle emotionally charged situations. Police officers work in extremely emotive environments and need to be able to understand other’s emotions and their own in order to build meaningful relationships and trust in the community.

You are collaborative

You’ll be a clear communicator, with an exemplary clear and effective style of communication, both verbal and written. This highly attentive attention to detail in communication is critical to several elements of the role including gathering statements, writing crime reports and preparing handover information.

You need to be able to present the outputs of your analysis in a clear, thorough and often persuasive way to a wide range of collaborators and stakeholders.

You’ll have to work with different partners and agencies to solve problems, including social services and local authorities.

You seek feedback, learn from your mistakes and reflect to improve and amend your future practices.

You deliver, support and inspire

You’ll be organised, manage your time highly effectively and deliver in all situations. You make a sustainable impact, leaving things better than you found them. You will be able to prove your ability to deliver results, often outside your comfort zone – you push yourself hard, using your initiative to get positive results. You have to assess risks quickly and effectively, using your judgement and be willing to take and own a decision based on this assessment. 

Things will happen on shift that can mean you suddenly have to respond to a crime, which could then take up the rest of your shift or week.

The workload is demanding and you’ll have to manage many conflicting priorities.

You analyse critically

You’ll notice what others don’t. You will have a methodical approach to solving multiple complex problems, considering all eventualities and risks. You must be curious, objective and willing to delve into data, pull out important points from across different information sources and weigh up options to solve crimes. 

You also need to think laterally as to how to overcome problems.

You take and own decisions independently without needing the input of others.

You are innovative and open-minded

You’ll be innovative and open-minded. You must be open to learning and feedback, always striving to improve and develop.

You need to be thorough and accurate in your role, and be able to spot errors or pick up on small details that might be useful. 

You must have a willingness to understand and learn about cultural differences and how to utilise this knowledge within your work.

With the ever-changing nature of crime, you will be at the forefront of creating and implementing innovative ways to tackle it; utilising new technology, methodology and research.

Your
values

Transparency

We are transparent in our actions, decisions and communications with both the people we work with and those we serve.

Impartiality

We must show impartiality throughout all our dealings with colleagues, partners and members of the public.

Integrity

We understand and reinforce expectations of professional behaviour and openly recognise good and bad performance.  

Public service

We have a responsibility to ensure we act in the best interests of society.

Are you eligible to apply?

You must meet our eligibility criteria before you are able to complete your application. Use our online guide to find out more.

CHECK MY ELIGIBILITY

Life as a police officer

Want to know what your role as a neighbourhood police officer or a police detective would involve? Listen to our participants give their own personal examples to understand the challenges you could face, the results you could achieve, and the impact you could have by joining a Police Now national graduate programme.

Tackle complex, long-term societal issues

Sami Halepota | Neighbourhood police officer

The face of the community

Emma Adams | Neighbourhood police officer

Bringing people together

James Pullen | Neighbourhood police officer

WATCH MORE PARTICIPANT STORIES

Devon & Cornwall Police

Police Now | Devon & Cornwall Constabulary
cc-shaun-sawyer

Shaun Sawyer

Chief Constable

National Graduate Leadership Programme

Cohorts: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
No. of police officers enrolled: — — — 8 — —

National Detective Programme

Cohorts: —— —— —— —— 2019 2020
No. of police officers enrolled: — — — — — —

Case studies:

Visit the Devon & Cornwall Police website www.devon-cornwall.police.uk