Police Now rises in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers
@Police_Now was established 6 years ago and first entered The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers in 2018 at 90th place, competing against well-established employer brands in the graduate market. Since 2018, Police Now has jumped 62 places on the list and in 2019-20 it was voted the ‘highest-climbing employer’ – after rising 17 places in just one year.
Over 16,000 graduates leaving university this summer were asked the question “Which employer do you think offers the best opportunities for graduates?” The question was deliberately open-ended and students were not shown a list of employers to choose from or prompted during the interviews. Students named more than 1,500 different organisations – from new start-ups to some of the world’s best-known organisations – before the responses were analysed. The 100 organisations that were mentioned the most were compiled into The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers list.
Police Now adapted during last year’s Coronavirus lockdowns to deliver their recruitment campaigns entirely digitally. University students and graduates were invited to join a fully immersive 360 neighbourhood that depicted different interactive neighbourhood policing scenarios, such as a noise complaint and domestic abuse case, and 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. Police Now recently picked up three Institute of Student Employers (ISE) Awards for their recruitment and marketing campaigns; Commitment to Improving Diversity through Student Resourcing, Innovation in Attraction (supported by RMP Enterprise) and Best Attraction Campaign – please see here for full details.
On top of the challenges that graduate recruitment has faced throughout the pandemic, the policing sector has also faced significant challenges with pressures around enforcing Coronavirus legislation, rising crime, resourcing and a number of incidents that have understandably led to a lack of public confidence such as the devastating murders of George Floyd and Sarah Everard. Despite these challenges, Police Now has seen high application numbers and strong diversity and inclusion stats across their programmes, as graduates show their determination in wanting to be a part of the change through frontline policing roles.
Police Now data shows that it consistently recruits officers who are women or from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds compared to any other entry route into policing. Of those starting on the Police Now National Graduate Leadership Programme in 2021, 25% of those identified as coming from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background and more than half (52 per cent) identified as women. Of those recruited to Police Now’s National Detective Programme in 2020, 66% identified as women and 24% identified as from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background (68% of whom identify as women).
Clare Power, Recruitment and Marketing Director at Police Now, said:
“I am delighted that Police Now has been recognised by university students across the country as an organisation that can offer challenging and rewarding careers in the public sector, despite the significant challenges that policing and graduate recruitment has faced over the last year. It is a testament to the strength of the Police Now brand, as well as the significant support from our partner forces and the Home Office, that we have continued to achieve high application numbers and strong diversity and inclusion across our programmes. We continue to be dedicated to recruiting, training and developing diverse leaders on the policing frontline and to offering the best opportunities for graduates who wish to make an impact in society.”
A/Insp Upile Mtitimila, Police Now National Graduate Leadership Programme alumnus in Cheshire Constabulary, said:
“My time on the Police Now programme presented me with opportunities to really make a difference in society. In the two years I was on the programme, and since graduating, I have witnessed extraordinary people do extraordinary things in their communities. I can’t pretend that policing is an easy job, but it is a rewarding one. It doesn’t surprise me at all that Police Now have again been recognised again in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers and for anyone who wants a challenging career, and doesn’t want to be stuck behind a desk all day, I highly recommend this route into policing.”
Police Now has recruited over 2,000 officers across 33 forces in England and Wales and trained them to be either police constables or detective constables on the National Graduate Leadership Programme and the National Detective Programme. 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.
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