Six new police constables land in Essex Police today (Monday 7^th 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.  

The new officers have just completed Police Now’s National Graduate Leadership Programme academy, where they were equipped with the core knowledge and skills required of a police constable. The seven-week residential academy trained 148 new police constables, who all land in their respective forces across the country today and are part of over 2,450 officers who have been recruited nationally by Police Now to date.  

The officers were selected out of thousands of applicants to Police Now’s programme, which recruits, trains and develops outstanding and diverse graduates with a commitment to public service and a belief in the enormous positive social change that exceptional community policing can deliver. 

The officers will now continue to develop their leadership and problem-solving skills in force for the remainder of the two-year programme and beyond. They will also work towards their Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice, in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University.  

Police Constable Zoe Laird, who has just completed the academy and joins Essex Police today via the programme, said: “I joined Police Now after working in NHS and social care settings. After seeing Police Now’s mission, I felt that I might just be an individual that could be a positive influence within modern day policing. Academy has been both gruelling and enlightening in equal measure. It has provided preparatory knowledge and skills for me to enter my policing team with greater confidence. Aged in my 40s, I questioned if this was the right move for me and my family, but after only a few weeks into my journey I honestly feel that policing and the Police Now route is the right one for me and I am excited for what’s to come.”

Police Constable Sasskia Roberts has been sharing her full academy experience here and said: “The last seven-weeks at Police Now’s academy have been some of the most challenging of my life, but I have already gained so much and feel a lot more confident than I did at the start…It’s time to start supporting members of the public and driving real, positive change in our communities.” 

The new officers were trained at the academy by experienced officers seconded from Police Now’s partner forces, including Acting Police Sergeant Benjamin Oddie from Essex Police.  

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.