Police Now programme helping to cut crime for Shropshire communities

Communities in West Mercia where Police Now officers have been posted for the last 22 months have seen 38,772 fewer incidents of anti-social behaviour compared to the same time period from October 2016 – equivalent to a 14 per cent drop.

They have also seen 14,301 fewer incidents of criminal damage and arson – a fall of 13 per cent. There were 12,460 fewer incidents of burglary – a fall of 16 per cent – and 31,732 fewer incidents of theft, equivalent to a 14 per cent fall.

Police Now’s mission is to transform communities by recruiting, developing and inspiring diverse leaders in policing. Officers on Police Now programmes develop skills in leadership and problem-solving. They share a commitment to public service, fighting crime and inspiring social change alongside their colleagues.

Officers on Police Now’s national graduate leadership programme have been working alongside colleagues within their Safer Neighbourhood Teams across the West Mercia policing area.

Constable Cat Hughes of West Mercia Police has been dealing with problems of antisocial behaviour in her community, in Shrewsbury. She has put together a problem-solving plan and is working with local partner agencies, such as the town council and homeless outreach centre, to find ways to reduce the behaviour in a way that means a criminal conviction is the least likely outcome, unless it’s entirely necessary. As part of this, a number of community protection warnings have been issued.

She said she recently dealt with a repeat 18-year-old offender, with whom the force was having daily issues due to his increasing antisocial behaviour.

'Vital and necessary'

After he drank and climbed onto the roof of a shopping centre, Constable Hughes issued him with a Public Space Protection Order, which meant he had to leave the town centre for 48 hours. Through CCTV monitoring, the force were alerted that he was back in town the following day, so she and a colleague made their way to the area and issued him with a Section 34 Dispersal Notice to prevent further antisocial behaviour.

PC Hughes said: “I worked with the problem-solving hub and got the man issued with a Community Protection Warning, to prevent his behaviour heightening into further offences. Since the explanation and issuing of this warning, there have not been any problems with the man and I hold the belief that this has helped to solve the issue.

“From working in the role, I see how vital and necessary neighbourhood policing is. You gain a better insight into what lasting problems are occurring and work with many other agencies to help solve this."

Police Now has recruited a total of 1,830 officers across 33 forces in the UK, including West Mercia Police. Chief Constable Anthony Bangham has partnered with Police Now for the past four years, with 26 police constables and nine detective constables joining the force via this route.

It consistently recruits more officers who are women or from minority ethnic backgrounds compared to any other entry route into policing.

Co-founder of Police Now and former Detective Chief Inspector David Spencer said: “We’re incredibly proud of the positive impact our participants continue to have within their local communities, and their commitment to driving positive change with their colleagues so that everyone in our society, including the most vulnerable, have a chance to thrive.”