196 new neighbourhood police officers were attested at Police Now’s training academy yesterday (Monday 22nd July), officially being sworn into the Metropolitan Police Service.
The new officers join the force on Police Now’s two-year National Graduate Leadership Programme, which recruits, trains and develops brilliant and diverse graduates, passionate about supporting the public and improving policing.
Police Now typically recruits those who hadn’t previously considered a career in policing and consistently recruits more diversity into policing than the national average – delivering essential difference into the service. On this cohort of the National Graduate Leadership Programme, 45% of officers identify as female and 30% are from ethnic minority backgrounds, including 10% from Black heritage backgrounds.
Detective Superintendent Joe Derilo from the Metropolitan Police Service, who witnessed the new officers swearing their attestation oath, said: “Congratulations on your attestation and welcome to the Met and policing, where your dedication to serving the city will pave the way for a rewarding career. By embracing this journey with integrity, courage, and professionalism, you will make a great difference to London and its diverse communities. Well done!”
This is the first cohort of Police Now’s national graduate programme which is wholly dedicated to the Met, the UK’s largest police force, to support it through the well reported cultural and recruitment challenges it’s currently working to address. The new officers were addressed by Sir Mark Rowley, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, at a Police Now induction event in April prior to their official start this week – he talked them through his focus on the new Met for London plan to deliver more trust, less crime, and high standards.
The new officers will now spend seven weeks training at Police Now’s residential academy, developing core policing skills and knowledge, before landing in the Metropolitan Police Service for the remainder of the programme and beyond. They will be placed in communities across London and supported by their peers to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and build public confidence in policing as neighbourhood officers.
Police Now’s Chief Executive Officer Kurtis Christoforides said: “Police Now is committed to supporting the police service to recruit, train and inspire passionate and determined new recruits who will lead with honesty and integrity and face up to the challenges facing policing, helping to pave a positive path forwards.
“We know policing has much to do to build public trust and confidence, but I am encouraged by the number of dedicated new officers who were attested at our academy this week – our first cohort for a decade wholly dedicated to policing London, our diverse and complex capital city.
“We have always placed neighbourhood and frontline policing at the heart of our mission, and over the next two years we will support these officers to develop the skills and confidence needed to make a real impact in policing and the communities they serve, alongside their many dedicated and hard-working police officer and police staff colleagues.”
Police Now was founded in 2014 to support policing to innovate and diversify, for the benefit of the public and for policing. Uniquely positioned to support the sector as the only national recruitment pipeline into policing and a Times Top 100 Graduate Employer, Police Now has partnered with 36 forces across England and Wales and recruited over 3,000 officers into the service.
