Police Now has won three Institute of Student Employer (ISE) Awards including Commitment to Improving Diversity through Student Resourcing.

Police Now were awarded the Commitment to Improving Diversity through Student Resourcing for its ‘aspirational, holistic and human-centred’ approach to diversity and inclusion across the National Graduate Leadership Programme and National Detective Programme recruitment and marketing campaigns – including attraction, assessment, selection and post-offer process – as well as its Change The Story campaign last year.

Police Now also picked up Innovation in Attraction, supported by RMP Enterprise, and Best Attraction Campaign and was shortlisted for Best Single Purpose Attraction Activation for its integrated marketing campaign for the National Graduate Leadership Programme.

The campaign, ‘You’ll be there. Visible, Reliable, Proud’ launched on 17 September 2020 to recruit applicants to the Police Now National Graduate Leadership Programme. The campaign featured a range of activities including TV, radio and social media advertising, digital mentoring and live chats.

The campaign, which was delivered digitally due to last year’s coronavirus lockdowns, invited university students and graduates to join a fully immersive 360 neighbourhood that depicted different interactive neighbourhood policing scenarios, such as a noise complaint and a domestic abuse case. A new digital assessment centre was delivered to those who were successful in passing the online assessments, which consisted of an immersive day-in-the-life-of a Police Now neighbourhood police officer. It was designed to provide candidates with an insight into the realities and challenges of the role and the programme, as well as assessing for the key skills as required by Police Now and the College of Policing.

Judges thought the campaign, driven by social injustice to attract young people into the programme, deserved the awards for not shying away from tough questions and having ambitious visions and targets. Judges also felt that Police Now’s diversity and inclusion strategy in its recruitment and marketing – across not just its National Graduate Leadership Programme but also its National Detective Programme and last year’s Change the Story campaign – was powerful, not just on Police Now but also on society.

Stephen Isherwood, CEO of the Institute of Student Employers, said: “We were impressed by Police Now’s you’ll be there campaign, which was clearly articulated and delivered. We thought their approach, which did not treat individuals from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds as one group but instead recognised different cultures and backgrounds, was candid and had a strong, demonstrable impact.”

The ISE Awards are independently judged by industry professionals and recognise employer excellence and outstanding performance across graduate and apprentice programmes. Police Now was the only organisation to receive multiple ISE awards this year, competing against a variety of well-known industry giants. More than 40 employers, universities and industry suppliers were recognised across 15 categories for their commitment to raising standards in student marketing, recruitment and development.

Clare Power, Police Now Recruitment & Marketing Director, said: “Everything we do directly links back to our mission to transform communities, reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, and increase the public’s confidence in the police service. I want to extend a huge thank you to my Police Now colleagues, who navigated last year’s coronavirus challenges to deliver a fully digital campaign and continue to recruit outstanding and diverse individuals to be leaders in society and on the policing frontline. This success would not have been possible without the considerable support from our partner forces. I also want to congratulate those who made it onto our programmes and wish you all luck as you complete your training and go on to inevitably make a positive impact in your communities.”

Police Now was voted the ‘highest-climbing employer’ in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers 2019-20, after rising to number 29 on the list – up 17 places. Police Now has recruited over 2,000 officers across 33 forces in England and Wales and 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, nationally, 25% of those joining Police Now’s National Graduate Leadership Programme in 2021 identified as coming from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background and more than half (52 per cent) identified as women.