Police Now
Formation2015 (age 11)
FounderTor Garnett
David Spencer
Coordinates51.5045°N 0.10419°W
Affiliations
Services
  • National Graduate Leadership Programme
  • National Detective Programme
Registration id1168427
FocusPolice Officer Recruitment
Headquarters203 Blackfriars Road
LocationLondon, United Kingdom
Budget (2024)£12.8 m GBP
Revenue (2024)£10.5 m GBP
Num staff (2024)115
Websitewww.policenow.org.uk
ChairSir Ian Powell

Police Now is a British charity supporting the recruitment of police officers across England & Wales. The social enterprise works with 31 of 43 police forces.[1]

History

Police Now was initially set up as a graduate scheme by former Detective Chief Inspector David Spencer and Detective Superintendent Tor Garnett at the Metropolitan Police Service.[2] Following its incubation within the Metropolitan Police, Police Now became an independent charitable social enterprise in April 2016.[3] The scheme was inspired by Teach First, the educational initiative that recruits graduates into schools.[4][5]

Activities

Police Now recruit graduates into policing across England and Wales.[6] The charity delivers two programme recruiting future Neighbourhood Police Officers and direct entry Detectives.[7][8]

Police Now is known for its focus on recruiting a diverse range of people into policing with a particular focus on recruiting Black, Asian and minority ethnic people. The social enterprise believes the wider policing sector can do more to advance diversity and inclusion.[9] Police forces in the UK often come under scrutiny for their lack of diversity.[10] During a recruitment campaign arguing that police forces needed to reflect the communities they serve, Lord Woolley, a trustee of the charity, claimed the lack of diversity in UK police forces could be attributed to stop and search and criminalisation of young black men for minor offences.[11]

Governance

Police Now's board of trustees is chaired by Sir Ian Powell. The organisation is a registered charity,[12] and a registered company limited by guarantee.[13]

The charity has appointed a number of notable trustees

References

  1. ^ Toscano, Philip (2016-04-28). "Stock Photo - Police Now 100 day impact event". Alamy. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  2. ^ Urwin, Rosamund (October 9, 2014). "The new blue line: meet two Detective Inspectors with a difference". www.standard.co.uk
  3. ^ "Police Now Cohort 1 Final Evaluation Report". – via www.london.gov.uk.
  4. ^ Williams, Sally (16 June 2023). "How Police Now is reviving urban community policing". – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  5. ^ "Police Now: The beat generation". CIPD People Profession
  6. ^ "A new beat". September 6, 2019. – via PR Newswire.
  7. ^ "A new beat". The Economist. August 20, 2015.
  8. ^ "Graduates can become detectives in just 12 weeks with new Police Now scheme". Blasting News. June 11, 2018.
  9. ^ "Written evidence submitted by Police Now". June 1, 2020. – via UK Parliament.
  10. ^ "Police force diversity is improving in the UK – but there's a long way to go". June 4, 2020. – via UK Parliament.
  11. ^ Townsend, Mark (November 1, 2020). "Stop and search 'makes it harder to hire black police officers'". The Observer. – via The Guardian.
  12. ^ "POLICE NOW - Charity 1168427". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk
  13. ^ "Company no. 09922205. POLICE NOW overview". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk