Supt Sukesh Verma has some interesting ideas about recruitment in the uplift. University educated with a degree in politics he highlights the mix of people required to make a police force work really effectively.

His father was a superintendent and when Sukesh left university he joined Notts on an accelerated promotion scheme but decided to opt for one of the most operationally hard-nosed areas working in armed response at a time when the force was really busy and proactive in its use of ARVs.

He says: “I learnt so much about leadership around policing during that time. Ninety per cent of the best cops I worked with didn’t have a degree. They were highly trusted on the ground and policed the streets effectively and well."

Some of them went on later in their careers to get degrees but it highlighted for Supt Verma the importance of getting the right mix of people in the workforce. "There is undoubtedly a place for people within policing who have a background in academia but the mix is important," he says.

This is just as relevant now during the recruitment Uplift at a time when forces are using the opportunity to make a real difference in their BAME representation.

He says Nottinghamshire has been very successful in this respect but it is not through solely targeting graduates.

The force is PEQF ready – in fact was the first to introduce the two-year degree programme for new entrants  - but is still using elements of the old system to attract recruits from different backgrounds, ages and ethnicity.  

“The needle is moving,” he says. In order to do that the force has conducted some detailed analytical work comparing itself to other similar areas around the country which have more than 10 per cent BAME population  - which takes in the major metropolitan areas of Leicester, Luton, Birmingham, Manchester, Derby and Liverpool.

“People tend to compare apples and pears when it comes to BAME recruitment,” he says.

They might say, for example that a certain force is doing really well because they are 9 per cent representative, but the actual data shows the population of the local area is 35 per cent BAME.

Nottinghamshire are using a ratio matrix to put comparative force’s data into the system and judge whether it is succeeding.Using the census data the force calculated that its BAME population was just over 11 per cent.

Having turned off the recruitment tap completely during the austerity era the force has now really quickly through uplift gone from 4 to 6.5 per cent BAME.

“Compared to the most similar forces our representation is now 57 per cent relative to the whole community we serve,” he says. “So we are just over half way there. A lot of the other forces nationally are around the 30 to 40 per cent mark.”

The force has now completed the first year of its uplift allocation. Last year it recruited 282 new officers  - 107 of which were through uplift. This year it will be taking in another 250 – 150 of which will be through the uplift programme.

Every intake cohort that the force has had since uplift started has had a minimum of 25 per cent BAME. They are also roughly 50/50 male and female.

The force has also conducted some innovative work around LGTB+ recruits and is more confident that the accuracy of its HR data matches more fully the actual workforce. Some of this has been achieved by changing the language  - LGTB+ officers may not want to ‘disclose’ that information in the official sense but there are other ways to get them to be open.

“We have encouraged all of our staff to be proud of who they are and safe and we have a slogan in the force now which is ‘share not disclose’ Supt Verma says.

“It is important because with hate crime prominent, the rise of the right and the challenge of the Black Lives Matter movement we are probably in the biggest cultural challenge that policing has ever faced.”

Supt Sukesh Verma

The force says it has put a lot of time and effort into its youth strategy. It has recruited a careers advisor, who is a former teacher and a vulnerable outreach worker who visit schools and colleges. Supt Verma says this is especially important with the change in focus of police recruitment towards academia.

“The reason we have put this in place is because I am fearful of what the PEQF will do to police community relations in the future," he says. "We know that there are a far lower number of BAME applicants coming from universities. When we close the old police learning and development programme (IPLDP) off we will be shutting down a route which we have had so much success with. That’s because we have finally got a handle on our community cohesion and strategy around how we recruit.”

The force also has an expanding cadet programme with 13 bases put into the force’s inner city areas.

“But the PEQF is the future and we need to address the future now,” he says,

The force has commenced its two year degree programme but Supt Verma says it will have to “work really hard” to populate the course with candidates from diverse backgrounds.

When the force has deliberately targeted a recruitment campaign around those contemplating a second career, either from the military or those who are in their 30s and are looking at a change in direction it has noticed from the data it has gathered that it would “haemorrhage” a lot of the good work it has done around diversity.

“The only other entry route they would have is either through the Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) and the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) which requires them to do a degree while they work,” Supt Verma says. “Perhaps if they have a family it is not a viable option.”

 This has conditioned Nottinghamshire’s approach to the PEQF system  - using the College of Policing extension on closing down the old IPLDP system to attract the right blend of candidates.

After pressure from forces, the CoP agreed to prolong the life of the traditional probationer training system, first to June 2020 before granting another extension to June 2021.

“We have got over 120 people in training school at the moment in Nottingham,” Supt Verma says. “But when you look at the make up of those cohorts they are not all 18-22 year-olds. There is a great mix of age, background and experience.  

The IPLDP process has had its detractors  - the College of Policing says it is no longer fit for purpose but Supt Verma says the template of 17 weeks of professional training followed by a two year probationer programme has produced some of the best officers in the country.  

“We realised that we had a number of good people who wouldn’t have been able to join us so we asked for a small extension from the College to ensure that we employ the people we have worked very hard on through those recruitment programmes.

“But we are PEQF ready and supportive of it,” he adds.  

The force has now signed off on a scholarship scheme through the Connect and outreach programmes up to eight people who will be supported through higher education.

“There may also be people working in the force who want to do a Masters degree and we will subsidise them to do that,” he adds.

“If we are now careful with the PEQF scheme, the demographic of the police service five years down the line could look drastically different.”

He says there is no force nationally that is succeeding in recruiting large numbers of Black Caribbean and Black African officers “particularly well.”

“A glossy TV advert isn’t going to change the last 50 years. We need to go back to basics around education and youth,” he concludes.