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  4. National Graduate Leadership Programme 2023
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Be An Influencer

Be a leader. Prevent crime. Save lives.

As a neighbourhood police officer, you can stop crime before it happens. You can build a better tomorrow. You can help communities rocked by injustice and plagued by crime to trust the police. You can build a diverse police service, one that serves each and every member in our society.​

You can be the one to save a little boy’s future. The one to help a drug addict get the support they need to get clean and turn their life around. The one who makes an elderly woman feel safe in her community. You can be the one to turn a life from the wrong path onto the right one.​

Our competitive, award-winning, two-year National Graduate Leadership Programme gives you the opportunity to make our society better from day one. Use your degree, your background and your ideas in a role that really matters.​

About the programme

The Police Now National Graduate Leadership Programme is a salaried, two-year development programme that gives exceptional graduates with high leadership potential the ability to make a positive impact as a neighbourhood police officer. You’ll make a difference to lives from the very start, while building a career in policing. You can rise through the ranks, explore many areas within policing, develop specialisms, and inspire your colleagues across the nation.​

Our programme is designed to expand your knowledge, your abilities, your commitment, and your drive to change the world. To succeed, you must be ready to commit. We enable inspired, innovative, and resilient degree holders to gain the skills and focus needed to change their communities and the police service. Every day, you’ll build trust in communities, innovate the way in which the police service protects those most vulnerable, and make the world a better place.

Whether working to improve the systems and status quo within policing or on the frontline of society’s most challenging problems, you bring your perspective, your unique ideas, and your passion to the role in each and every moment. Our programme is a way for you to use and enhance your leadership skills, your problem-solving attitude, your strategic thinking, and your decision making to really change people's lives.​

Eligibility

The route into policing through our National Graduate Leadership Programme is perfect for people that haven’t considered policing and are not working in the sector already. The programme is designed for graduates with no policing experience, but you must have completed a degree before you start the programme.

To be eligible for the National Graduate Leadership Programme, you must:

  • Be over the age of 17 upon application.
  • Have obtained or be on track to achieve a minimum of a 2.1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) by the time you begin the programme.
  • Hold a UK Level 3 Qualification in any subject (e.g. an A Level or BTEC National Diploma). An international equivalent will also be accepted, in lieu of a UK level 3 qualification.
  • Have lived in the UK for the last three years (with exemptions for holidays, university year abroad, service abroad with the UK government or Her Majesty's Armed Forces
  • Be a British citizen or have indefinite leave to remain and work in the UK without restriction i.e., settled, or pre-settled status.
  • Not have previously attested and served as a police officer.
  • Have a full driving licence before the start of the programme - however this does not apply to all forces. Whether you need a full driving licence or not is dependent on the force you would like to join as each force has different eligibility requirements. You can continue with your application without a full driving licence but will not be able to join forces which require a full licence. To find out which partner forces will require this, please see here.

To see whether you're eligible, complete Police Now's eligibility checker here - it only takes a few minutes. 

Are you right for the role?

People who thrive in this role are resilient, eager for change and want to make a difference. You would have looked at other 9-5 desk jobs out there and think ‘that’s not for me’, preferring to get out and about, enjoying engaging with people from a wide range of backgrounds and thriving in a role where no two days are the same. You’ll also enjoy a dynamic working environment. Unlike other graduate schemes, you are able to put your skills and experiences to use in different roles. You can try different areas of policing to see what’s right for you, so you’re not limited to just one area for the rest of your career.

Also, typical shift patterns mean that you’ll work hard, but also enjoy your time off, getting four days off after working your four-day shift which can include nights.

Salary and benefits

You will be rewarded for your hard work by knowing your leadership makes a day-to-day positive impact in your community. If you want a career that allows you to rise through the ranks while building your salary and your future career prospects, then policing is for you. Security, stability and a path for your future are all benefits of working as a neighbourhood police officer.​ And with our support beyond the two-year programme you will continue to develop while preparing yourself to have the best possible chance of securing promotion early on in your career. You’ll also join a community of Police Now officers who you can work alongside to build a better future.

Salary

Your starting salary will range from £26,682 to £33,717, depending on location. The basic salary of a Police Constable rises to over £41,000, plus allowances, within six years.

Some of our participants seek a promotion after they have successfully completed our two-year programme. For more information on how your salary will increase as a Sergeant or Inspector, please see here.

Pension

When you start as a new police constable you’ll automatically be enrolled as a member of the Police Pension Scheme 2015, which is considered to be among the best around. This isn’t compulsory and you can opt out if you wish.

Leave

You’ll start with 22 days paid annual holiday, rising to 30 days a year with length of service. This is on top of public holidays and four days off after working your four-day shift which can include nights. You can also expect other forms of leave including maternity, paternity and adoption leave and the option of taking a career break of up to five years.

Personal support and advice

Once you have been offered a position on our programme, you will have a dedicated Recruitment Officer who will offer support and advice for you on your journey right the way up to your start date. Your Recruitment Officer will assist you with all stages of your onboarding into force: your vetting, medical tests, fitness tests, references, and induction days. As well as this, our curriculum team will be on-hand to help you with your pre-academy core learning.

Flexible working

The police service is an emergency service operating 24/7 and 365 days a year. However, it is always the intention of the police service to take your individual religious and cultural needs into account so you can fit your work around your personal commitments.

Healthcare

Some police forces offer the opportunity to join a contributory private healthcare scheme. You will also benefit from free eye tests and glasses if you regularly use a computer.

Financial services discounts

There are various partner organisations who work with the police service to offer a variety of financial services including saving, investment and protection products, as well as discounts and subsidies. Many major high street stores, retail outlets and other national organisations offer discounts and special deals to police officers. Most police forces also provide access to a number of subsidised leisure and sporting activities as well.

Training and development

We offer development and coaching from our Performance and Development Coaches who you will have access to on the programme. There will also be regular training, events, and skills sessions to ensure you are continuously learning and developing.

Qualification

As part of the programme, you will complete a bespoke Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice, delivered in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). Our graduate diploma allows you to combine your day-to-day work with theory allowing you to drive real change and make an impact in the communities you will serve. The partnership with LJMU means that our distinctive graduate diploma will draw on the latest evidence-based policing knowledge and developments within the criminological landscape. Staff at the country’s largest interdisciplinary policing centre, the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing, are policing and academic experts and have worked on many nationally recognised policing courses. As well as being a requirement of the role, your studies will give you the chance to learn and develop tangible skills that will challenge you in the most engaging way possible.

 

Want to find out more before applying? Click here to hear from Loughborough, UEA and Reading graduates who are currently working as neighbourhood police officers and having a positive impact in their communities.