Police Now

The Police Now programme aims to attract exceptional graduates into policing with a vision that goes beyond a career offer to delivering far-reaching social change. The programme aims to mirror the success of both the ‘Teach First’ and ‘Frontline’ programmes in the teaching and social work sectors by addressing entrenched social inequality and fundamentally improving the lives of the most disadvantaged communities.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is asked to:

1. Award, without competition, an agreement for the provision of graduate recruitment and training services in 2018 to Police Now for up to 50 candidates at a maximum cost of £544,550, based on a cost per head of £10,891. This will be funded from existing HR revenue budgets.

2. Note the final value of this contract will be dependent on the number of officers starting at the Police Now academy in July 2018. To support the attraction activity, it is recommended that a tolerance be applied to allow for attrition to be accommodated (which is in line with a campaign of this nature). Given these uncertainties, it is recommended that a flexible range be applied of 40 to 50 hires. Allowing for a minimum contract value of £435,640 and a maximum contract value of £544,550.

3. Approve an optional extension to extend the contract for a further year’s intake (2019) for up to 50 candidates. Given uncertainties, the option for the MPS to extend for a further year, would be awarded on the basis that costs are within a threshold of 10% of those quoted above, subject to the continuing availability of the current HR revenue budget. Should the costs exceed 10% the MPS will submit a new paper to MOPAC for approval to retest the value for money proposition.

1. Introduction and background

1.1 The Police Now Programme aims to attract exceptional graduates into policing with a vision that goes beyond a career offer to delivering far reaching social change. The Police Now programme is a two year programme and builds on existing entry routes into policing while offering some important innovations:

• Police Now is a national recruitment channel which consistently targets and assesses high potential individuals, many of whom had never considered policing as a career.

• Individuals with the highest potential posted and supported to ensure that they can make their impact felt in the most challenged communities.

• Enabling individuals to develop their skills beyond policing and to make their impact felt in the wider society.

• Retaining high performers who may move into the detective pathway.

1.2 Police Now graduates have outperformed both MPS and national candidates in the National Investigator’s Exam, with Police Now participants forming 10% of the nationally achieving ‘exceptional’ (over 87.5%) exam passes.

2. Issues for consideration

2.1. When compared to other employers in the hugely competitive graduate career market place, policing has not been traditionally regarded as an attractive career for large numbers of high achieving graduates.

2.2. See the Part 2 for details.

3. Financial Comments

3.1 The cost of this contract can be met from existing resources.

3.2 Further details are contained in the Part 2.

4. Legal Comments

4.1. Police Now is the only organisation that is legally capable of providing the service based upon their exclusive ownership of the Intellectual Property Rights to the Police Now Programme. All Intellectual Property Rights includes all documents, goods and materials created by or on behalf of Police Now in the course of them providing their services to the MPS, shall be owned by Police Now. This also includes all Pre-existing materials developed in support of the programme.

4.2. Police Now currently licences all such rights to the MPS free of charge and on a non-exclusive basis to such an extent as is necessary to enable the MPR to make reasonable use of these documents, goods and material in connection with the receipt of Police Now’s services. Except as expressly permitted, the MPS shall not (a) use the documents, goods and materials or any pre-existing materials in its own products or services or (b) redistribute the documents, goods and materials or the pre-existing materials in whole or in part.

5. Equality Comments

5.1. There are no direct equality or diversity implications arising from this report. Police Now encourages individuals and communities that are currently under-represented within the MPS to consider policing as a career of choice, as demonstrated by 56% of the first cohort stating that they would not have considered a career in policing but for the Police Now programme. The 2017 MPS intake consists of 70 confirmed offers with 48% female and 22.2% BAME.

6. Background/supporting papers

6.1. Briefing note.