The role of a neighbourhood police officer
Build a relationship with your community
As a neighbourhood police officer it’s your job to build a relationship with your community. It’s up to you to find and manage local issues, and it doesn’t stop there.
You will find what’s causing the problems and then decide on a strategy that enables everyone to find solutions: local residents, agencies, perpetrators and victims of crime.
You can be the one to save a little boy’s future. The one to help a drug addict get the support they need to get clean and turn their life around. The one who makes an elderly woman feel safe in her community. You can be the one to turn a life from the wrong path onto the right one.
If you know how to prioritise, manage, investigate and go the extra mile, a neighbourhood policing role is for you.
Neighbourhood policing is challenging, it’s not flashing lights: it’s conflict resolution and case management and joined up thinking too.
Transform Communities
Working with communities challenged by crime
You manage people, their issues, their needs and the crimes they are facing. Neighbourhood police officers know themselves, know their history and know that everyone has their own story. Police Now want you to be yourself. We work with you to develop your skill set so you can communicate with diverse and vulnerable communities and individuals.
As a neighbourhood police officer you are proactive. You see all the angles, you want to make things better for the most vulnerable in society, and you understand that crime is a product of complex issues, often stretching through generations and controlling whole areas.
As a neighbourhood police officer you’ll work within diverse communities, devise long term strategic solutions and work collaboratively with multi-agency teams. You’ll get to the root of the problem and the heart of the issue.
You'll change the understanding of local policing.
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Neighbourhood policing is completely what you make of it. It is your responsibility to go out into the community and make connections. By simply having a walk around or going to local community events provides a brilliant opportunity to speak with community members and build confidence.
Police Constable Maya Morgan
Hear from our graduates
Never thought of yourself as a police officer? Want to know if you’d fit into our programme? Want to understand the day-to-day role? Curious about the kind of people who decide to become neighbourhood police officers?
Police Now supports graduates from diverse backgrounds to be a success on the programme. Listen to some of our graduates as they share their stories.
Core requirements
To be eligible to join our programmes you must:
- Have achieved, or be working towards, a 2.2 undergraduate degree by the programme start date.
- Be a British Citizen or have indefinite leave to remain and right to work in the UK.
- Have lived in the UK for the last three years.
Before you apply, make sure you read our full eligibility criteria.
Beyond the programme
Once you successfully complete the programme, you will be a fully warranted neighbourhood police officer with a permanent role in policing. You’ll also join our alumni network and have full access to our team, who are there to support your career in policing.
Many of our graduates have gone on to get promoted or taken the opportunity to move laterally into the wide variety of departments that are on offer in policing. Such as becoming a detective, joining Counter Terrorism teams, or working on policing priorities such as Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
Help and useful links
FAQs
Do you have questions about applying? From eligibility, to what the training will involve.
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HOW TO APPLY
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