MPS Recruitment Strategy 2005-2009

ps/02/05
22 November 2005
MPA briefing paper

Author: Alan Johnson, Head of Human Resources, MPA

This briefing paper has been prepared to inform members and staff. It is not a committee report and no decisions are required.

Background

This briefing paper builds upon an earlier Recruitment Strategy report to Human Resources Committee members in 2004 that aimed:

• To contribute to a more diverse workforce through the achievement of recruitment targets
• To contribute to the achievement of a more professional workforce by ensuring we recruit the best possible candidates
• To achieve specified recruitment processing targets, e.g. 16 weeks for police officers (receipt of application to offer)
• To enhance customer care and internal processes
• To prepare the Recruitment Directorate for MPS growth in support of the MPS Step Change Programme

This included focusing upon encouraging applications from under-represented groups, Londoners and graduates.

The focus for 2005-2009 has not changed, albeit it has shifted slightly to what Londoners need from their police service and to this end a life skills questionnaire has been introduced for applicants. This will enable the Recruitment Directorate to arrange the sequencing of recruits onto earlier intake dates according to the business needs and to the demands of particular minority communities, e.g. language skills and faith/community knowledge.

During the foreseeable future, recruitment will be based upon small-scale, focused events, which engage both the public and local police. The careers office at Empress State Building will offer a single point of contact for all jobs in the MPS (at the moment most police staff recruitment – except the extended police family and senior posts - is carried out locally and there is no central record of vacancies). In addition, the recruitment bus will visit and work with Safer Neighbourhood teams in raising awareness of the police service as a rewarding and varied career.

Key messages of the Recruitment Strategy

1. In terms of black and minority ethnic (BME) police officer recruitment to the MPS, by the end of 2004/5 the BME police strength had risen to 6.9%. In order to meet the Home Officer target of 25% by 2009, provided funding was available, nearly every police officer recruited to the MPS would need to originate from BME groups.

2. Subject to future discussions with the Authority and available funding, police officer strength may increase from 31,141 (June 2005) to 33,106 (March 2009). Given these numbers, the MPS anticipate that recruitment of BME and female candidates in this period will make significant inroads into mirroring London’s population profiles of 30% and 50%, respectively. BME numbers would increase from 7.1% to 12.2% and female strength would increase from the 19.3% to 27.6%.

3. To support the roll out of Safer Neighbourhoods, the number of Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) and Metropolitan Special Constables (MSC) is expected to reach 5,000 and 4,000 respectively over the next few years. Consequently, substantial recruitment activity is envisaged to reach these levels.

4. The MPS will be trying a variety of different approaches to recruit good quality candidates as both police officers and police staff, with a significant increase in on-line recruitment (a quarter of all job searches are conducted through the Internet.) The MPS are also looking to provide greater sophistication in terms of candidates being able to ‘track’ the progress of their application ‘on line’ and automated messages being sent to candidates advising them of when their application has moved to the next stage.

5. In terms of BME recruitment, the Strategy aims to:

• Take activity into the heart of areas with high BME communities
• Work with business and religious groups to deliver the message that the MPS is a great place to work
• Focus advertising and marketing
• Provide positive support and assistance to minority candidates
• Work with youth through educational organisations and direct contact

6. The MPS are also developing a graduate strategy, which I will circulate shortly, to further enhance the quality of candidates.

7. Finally, reflecting the Commissioner’s comments at the Dimbleby Lecture, the Recruitment Directorate has identified the following objectives if the MPS is to continue to be considered as an employer of choice within London:

• Identifying barriers for different socio-economic groups, either real or perceptual that inhibit consideration of a career within the service
• Looking at the key triggers that have led to the development of these barriers
• Identifying and building upon positive factors promoting a career in the service. Similarly to undertake a programme aimed at counterbalancing some of the negativity found from alternative sources such as press / television programmes.

Key issues for the Authority

1. The aim of the Strategy is to build operational capability by focused, cost effective recruitment campaigns designed to target particular groups of people who are needed by the organisation to police local neighbourhoods and provide public reassurance.

2. The uncertainty over recruit numbers, particularly in the bids for Safer Neighbourhoods and Counter Terrorism (CT), i.e. Safer Neighbourhood growth bid (subject to funding 631 posts) and CT growth bid (subject to funding 304 – 2005/06 and 616 – 2006/07). This will not be resolved until February 2006. Assuming annual wastage of 1,200 officers the total recruitment requirement through all sources (2006/07) could be as little as 458.

3. To maintain the roll out of the Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP), including non-residential training at local centres rather than Hendon, funding is being sought from the Home Office following the closure of the Centrex Training Centres. The MPS are reasonably confident this will be forthcoming.

4. Not surprisingly, the Recruitment Strategy is very upbeat about the MPS’s performance to date, but some ‘old’ issues remain. For example, there are still nearly 1600 candidates in differing stages of the police recruitment process and the target has shifted to “processing at least 80% of candidates” in the sixteen week target.

5. The MPS has a good record on graduate recruitment, but now it is targeting this group it will face stiff competition to recruit good quality candidates to the police service, albeit it does have an advantage in terms of, for example, starting salary.

6. The visibility of the MPS’s representative workforce is significantly improved by the proportion of BME PCSOs 733 (32%) and women PCSOs 640 (49.5%).

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