148 new officers trained at Police Now’s National Graduate Leadership Programme academy have been deployed into police forces across the country today (Monday 7th November), where they will work to transform communities, reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, and build public confidence in the police service as neighbourhood police officers.   

This cohort of new officers will serve in Cheshire Constabulary, Essex Police, Greater Manchester Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary, the Metropolitan Police Service, Surrey Police, Thames Valley Police and West Midlands Police.  

The new recruits are part of over 2,450 officers who have been recruited by Police Now to date across its 34 partner forces. They were selected out of thousands of applicants to Police Now’s highly competitive programme, for their commitment to public service and for their passion to build a stronger police force and transform communities affected by crime and injustice. 

Police Now works with its partner forces to build a diverse police service that serves every member of society. Police Now consistently recruits more female officers and more officers from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds than the national average. Of those starting on Police Now’s National Graduate Leadership Programme in 2022, 53% identify as female, 18% identify as coming from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background, and 49% speak more than one language – with 21 unique languages spoken across the cohort.   

Police Constable Fiona Hitchcock, who joins Hertfordshire Constabulary today via the programme, said: “Spending the last seven weeks at the National Graduate Leadership Programme academy has been an overwhelming joy. Speaking on behalf of the Hertfordshire team, the intensity of the academy has strengthened our friendships and broadened our policing and legislative knowledge to an outstanding level. To work and collaborate with others of various skill sets, experiences, knowledge, and perspectives has been a privilege and these connections have laid a foundation for the rest of our careers. Thanks to our shared respect for Police Now’s mission, we have been emboldened to become the best version of ourselves and epitomise the core values of policing out in our home forces.” 

Acting Police Sergeant Heather Milne of Surrey Police, one of 20 experienced officers seconded from Police Now’s partner forces to train the new recruits at the academy, said: “The people that decide to become police officers through Police Now come from all walks of life and experiences, I have loved meeting them and know that they are the future of policing. It has been intense and tough at times, but the teamwork has been great.” 

Having completed Police Now’s seven-week residential academy, the officers will now continue the two-year programme within their forces and further develop their leadership and problem-solving skills. They will also work towards their Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice, in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University.   

Applications for Police Now’s National Graduate Leadership Programme are currently open. To read more about the impact that Police Now officers are making nationally, please see their latest Impact Report here.