Police Now recruits prepare to join Gwent Police neighbourhood teams to support crackdown on crime
Friday 18 June 2021
Nearly 40,000 fewer anti-social behaviour incidents nationally in areas with Police Now officers – equivalent to 14% fall
Substantial decrease in criminal damage & arson, burglary and theft amongst other crimes
Police Now attracts and develops the most diverse group of officers in policing
Gwent Police is partnering with Police Now to train and recruit new neighbourhood police officers on the National Graduate Leadership Programme. Police Now’s mission is to transform communities by recruiting, developing and inspiring diverse leaders in policing.
Officers on Police Now’s National Graduate Leadership Programme work alongside their colleagues within their local neighbourhood teams to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.
Communities nationwide where Police Now officers have been posted for the last 22-months have seen 38,772 fewer incidents of anti-social behaviour compared to the same time period from October 2016 – equivalent to a 14 per cent drop.
As well as the drop in anti-social behaviour, communities have also seen 14,301 fewer incidents of criminal damage & arson – a fall of 13 per cent. There were 12,460 fewer incidents of burglary – a fall of 16 per cent – and 31,732 fewer incidents of theft, equivalent to a 14 per cent fall.
Max Lloyd recently applied to join Police Now’s National Graduate Leadership Programme through Gwent Police and will be starting his training in August, with a goal of making a visible impact in his local community. Leaping into policing and leaving his job within a credit card company’s call centre, he believes that visible local policing demonstrates a commitment to the community that it serves and allows for stronger collaborative approaches to tackle the challenges that communities face.
Speaking about his motivations for joining policing, Max said: “I want to have a positive impact on people’s lives in a way that is meaningful and where I can see the developing positive changes first-hand. To be able to actually see, day-to-day, how my actions will have a positive impact towards a person and the local community, is an achievement that simply would not be possible in my previous career.”
Officers on Police Now’s programmes develop skills in leadership and problem-solving. They share a commitment to public service, fighting crime and inspiring social change alongside their colleagues.
Police Now runs two programmes, the National Graduate Leadership Programme and the National Detective Programme, and has recruited a total of 1,830 officers across 33 forces in the UK – including in Gwent. Chief Constable Pam Kelly is investing in her communities by partnering with Police Now – 9 detective constables joined the force last year via the National Detective Programme. This summer, 10 new police constables are due to join Gwent Police via the National Graduate Leadership Programme.
Police Now consistently recruits more officers who are women or from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds compared to any other entry route into policing. Police Now recruitment data shows that of those who have been offered a place on Police Now’s National Graduate Leadership Programme in Gwent in 2021, one in five (20 per cent) identify as coming from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background and half (50 per cent) identify as women.
New recruit Max said: “I believe that the core Peelian principle that ‘the police are the public and the public are the police’ can only be achieved with a workforce that is as diverse as the communities that it seeks to represent. I chose to join Police Now because it directly supported this principle through its unwavering commitment to provide a diverse police workforce that reflects the communities it serves.”
“We’re incredibly proud of the positive impact our participants continue to have within their local communities, and their commitment to driving positive change with their colleagues so that everyone in our society, including the most vulnerable, have a chance to thrive”.
David Spencer
Co-founder of Police Now and former Detective Chief Inspector
Gwent
participant
Q&A with Police Now offer holder Max Lloyd
Max Lloyd
National Graduate Leadership Programme Offer Holder
Gwent Police
What were your main motivations on applying to policing through Police Now?
I have always been interested in joining the Police Force from a very young age. Out of all the entry routes that I came across, Police Now’s Graduate Leadership Programme attracted me the most. Their core mission of transforming communities really looks at tackling the cause of the many challenges faced by a deprived community, rather than merely fighting the symptoms. This primary focus – to prevent crime from happening in the first place – was a key motivating factor that led me to apply for the programme.
I believe that the core Peelian principle that ‘the police are the public and the public are the police’ can only be achieved with a workforce that is as diverse as the communities that it seeks to represent. I chose to join Police Now because it directly supported this principle through its unwavering commitment to provide a diverse police workforce that reflects the communities it serves.
I wanted to have a positive impact on people’s lives in a way that was meaningful and where I could see the developing positive changes first hand. By consistently working within the same community throughout the two years, the Police Now Graduate Leadership Programme achieves this objective.
What background are you entering from, (university or career change?) and what are you looking forward to the most?
A couple of years ago, I graduated with a degree in history. The need in history to adopt an evidence-based approach by weighing up different accounts that are available at the time was a skill that I saw as being transferrable to the Police.
Before applying to Police Now, I was working at a call centre for a credit card company. One of the most frustrating aspects of the job was that you never saw any lasting impact or positive change emerging from your work. Even if you had a great day helping someone with their debt, the call would end and you would never hear from that person again. Police Now’s ability to provide real job satisfaction is something that I am looking forward to the most. To be able to actually see, day-to-day, how my actions will have a positive impact towards a person and the local community, is an achievement that simply would not be possible in my last career.
Do you think making a visible impact in communities is an important aspect of the role and what sort of initiatives would you look to get involved in in the communities you’ll work in?
Making a visible impact in communities is a hugely important aspect in policing. This kind of policing demonstrates a commitment to the community that it serves, which can lead to an improved perception of the Police and a stronger collaborative approach in tackling the challenges that the community faces. Any positive police action could have a visible impact that ripples and affects the entire community. Therefore, positive visible impact is a fundamental aspect to policing and is key in achieving Police Now’s mission to transform communities.
I am most looking forward to initiatives that involve working directly with people living and working in the community. To be able to channel their energy and motivation by organising community-based events in initiatives such as a local food cooperative, sports groups or working on a community project.
I would also be really interested in promoting initiatives that encompassed and promoted the different cultures, beliefs and history of the community. This kind of initiative could promote greater community cohesion and understanding between different groups of people, as well as being a fantastic opportunity for me to really understand and appreciate the diversity of the community.
Data references
Using data taken from Police Recorded Crime Statistics, the independently peer-reviewed figures compare the 22-month period from October 2016 to July 2018 before any Police Now officers had joined their local communities to the period when they joined from October 2018 to July 2020.
The data presented here is subject to limitations with Police Recorded Crime Statistics and methodology. More details on this are available at the bottom of the following Police Now webpage.
