A cohort of talented and diverse Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) recruits is set to bolster the UK’s protection against and response to terrorist threat, as Police Now expands its innovative CTP training.

Following a successful pilot within the Metropolitan Police Service this year, the CTP stream of Police Now’s National Detective Programme is expanding to include North West and West Midlands CTP regions for its 2025 intake. The Met is also re-partnering with the graduate programme due to the pilot’s success – with one trainer stating that these Police Now officers will ‘greatly benefit the Met’ and crediting the pilot for his ‘renewed sense of enthusiasm and optimism for policing.’

The new recruits will work alongside policing colleagues nationally to protect the UK from serious harm and threat – preventing criminals who seek to do us harm, deterring vulnerable people from extremism, and investigating terrorist activity.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “After a successful pilot I’m extremely pleased that Counter Terrorism Policing is once again partnering up with Police Now on the National Detective Programme. And we’re going one step further by expanding this offer to not just London but also our regional units in the West Midlands and the North West.

“We are now facing a more diverse threat picture than ever before and we need a workforce that has a mix of experience, skills, knowledge and ideas to help us tackle these complex issues.

“The Police Now National Detective Programme offers us the opportunity to open up new recruitment pathways into Counter Terrorism Policing so we can ensure our workforce is evolving, just like the threats we face.

“The benchmark for securing a place on the programme is extremely high, but this reflects the standards we set.

“Working in national security has been the privilege of a lifetime and I hope this programme allows others to experience long, and successful careers with Counter Terrorism Policing.”

As a Times Top 100 Graduate Employer and the only national entry route into policing, Police Now is uniquely positioned to support the sector with essential recruitment and training. The organisation consistently recruits stronger diversity to its programmes than policing achieves nationally and typically attracts those who had not considered a career in policing before – bringing new perspectives and backgrounds into the service and driving policing to become more representative of the communities it serves.

This cohort of the National Detective Programme received over 3,100 applications, with more women than men applying (63%) and a high proportion of applicants from Black, Asian or ethnic minority backgrounds (21%). Over 1,000 of these were for the specialist CTP stream of the programme – approximately 19 applications per place.

The 2025 intake of the National Detective Programme will also include another pioneering pilot stream to recruit and train new detectives, dedicated to protecting the nation from economic crime – including fraud and cybercrime. This Police Now training will pilot within the City of London Police, the national lead police force for this specialist area.

Police Now specialises in identifying these opportunities to innovate national police training and recruitment and deliver its high-quality intensive training, in partnership with forces across England and Wales. Since it was founded in 2014, the organisation has partnered with 36 forces and recruited over 3,000 officers to the service via its programmes.

Police Now’s Chief Executive Officer Kurtis Christoforides said: “This collaborative new initiative is yet another example of innovation from within policing.

“It’s been energising to see the high level of enthusiasm and support from our partners in Counter Terrorism Policing, alongside our long-standing partnership with the Metropolitan Police Service. Together, we will draw upon years of experience delivering unique and high-quality recruitment and training to ensure that these officers entering policing – and Counter Terrorism Policing – meet the highest standards and deliver the quality service that the public rightfully expects and deserves.

“Police Now’s programmes have a long history of attracting diverse and passionate recruits into policing, who go on to make a positive impact in the communities they serve and on their own colleagues through leadership, problem-solving and simple hard work. This programme is for those who want to keep our country safe, make the biggest possible difference to public trust and confidence, help policing to be even better, and bring new thoughts and experiences into the service.”