Police Now
| Formation | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Tor Garnett David Spencer |
| Type | Registered Charity and Company limited by guarantee |
| Registration no. | 1168427 |
| Focus | Police Officer Recruitment |
| Headquarters | 203 Blackfriars Road |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 51°30′16″N 0°06′15″W / 51.5045°N 0.10419°W |
| Services |
|
Chair | Sir Ian Powell |
| Affiliations | |
| Budget | £12.8 m GBP (2024) |
| Revenue | £10.5 m GBP (2024) |
| Staff | 115 (2024) |
| Website | www |
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
- Helen Ball, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
- Louisa Rolfe, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
- Simon Woolley, Baron Woolley of Woodford, Political activist and politician
- James Bowler, Senior Civil Servant
- Rhammel Afflick, Political activist
- Judith Clegg, Entrepreneur and author
References
- ^ Toscano, Philip (28 April 2016). "Stock Photo - Police Now 100 day impact event". Alamy. London. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ Urwin, Rosamund (9 October 2014). "The new blue line: meet two Detective Inspectors with a difference". www.standard.co.uk.
- ^ "Police Now Cohort 1 Final Evaluation Report" (PDF) – via www.london.gov.uk.
- ^ Williams, Sally (16 June 2023). "How Police Now is reviving urban community policing" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ "Police Now: The beat generation". CIPD People Profession.
- ^ "A new beat". 6 September 2019 – via PR Newswire.
- ^ "A new beat". The Economist. 20 August 2015.
- ^ "Graduates can become detectives in just 12 weeks with new Police Now scheme". Blasting News. 11 June 2018.
- ^ "Written evidence submitted by Police Now". 1 June 2020 – via UK Parliament.
- ^ "Police force diversity is improving in the UK – but there's a long way to go". 4 June 2020 – via UK Parliament.
- ^ Townsend, Mark (1 November 2020). "Stop and search 'makes it harder to hire black police officers'". The Observer – via The Guardian.
- ^ "POLICE NOW - Charity 1168427". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk.
- ^ "Company no. 09922205. POLICE NOW overview". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.