The seventh cohort of officers have graduated from Police Now’s two-year National Graduate Leadership Programme, across 14 forces in England and Wales.  

The cohort began their careers in 2021 and have spent the last two-years working and training as neighbourhood police officers on Police Now’s intensive programme. On Friday (22^nd September) they celebrated their completion of the programme at a ceremony held in Cutler’s Hall, Sheffield.

Addressing the graduating cohort, Assistant Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police Dan Thorpe said: “Congratulations to all of you for everything you have achieved so far and for reaching this impressive milestone. You have come out of a great programme and I know you will all continue to make a difference in your communities.

“Policing is all about teamwork, working with colleagues and other partners to find solutions to the issues affecting society. Don’t ever lose sight of what you can achieve with your team. You will be working with people with years of experience, make sure you learn from them but always have the confidence to make up your own mind and bring new ideas to the role. Policing is a unique job with huge variety, there really is no other career like it and I wish you all the luck as you continue your policing journeys.”

The programme marks the end of the officers’ two-year probation period, during which they will have reached a number of key milestones. These include completing Police Now’s challenging national training academy, achieving Independent Patrol Status and Full Operational Competence, and gaining a Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice (GDPPP).

Two participants were presented with awards at the ceremony from representatives at the University of Huddersfield, who partnered with Police Now for this cohort of the programme to support officers achieving their GDPPPs. The awards were presented by Dr Michelle Rogerson, Subject Lead from the Criminology and Policing team, and Dr Paul Ogden, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Policing:

• Police Constable Emilie Waite, Metropolitan Police Service: Highest Overall Average Score across the two-year programme
• Police Constable Max Lloyd, Gwent Police: Highest Mark on an Impact Assessment

The officers will now continue to serve and protect the public in forces across England and Wales and join Police Now’s growing Alumni Network, where they will foster connections and share knowledge and expertise to continue to drive Police Now’s mission.  

Police Now’s mission is to transform communities, reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, and increase the public’s confidence in the police service by recruiting, developing and inspiring outstanding and diverse individuals to be leaders in society and on the policing frontline.

Police Now has partnered with 36 forces to and recruited over 2,750 officers to date via their national programmes.