Police's '˜super academy' recruits coming to Preston

The Summer Academy – opened by Brandon Lewis MP, the Minister for Policing and Fire Service – is a centralised training programme that has been designed by front line officers and experts.

The scheme was piloted last year by the Metropolitan Police Service but this year has extended to six other forces.

Each Police Now graduate in Lancashire is responsible for cutting crime and increasing public confidence in the police in a specific neighbourhood.

Inspired by the charity Teach First, Police Now is an innovative two-year training programme that places top graduates in the country’s most challenging communities

Of the 112 recruited nationally this year more than half studied at a top university.

Sergeant Paul McLernon, of the neighbourhood policing team at Lancashire Constabulary, said: “I am really pleased to see Police Now attracting recruits to Lancashire who may not have previously been interested in a policing career. We have high hopes for our new officers and can’t wait to have them transforming some of our toughest neighbourhoods.”

Michael Gibson is a law and criminology graduate from Lancaster University.

He is to be posted to Preston in September.

He said: “While I was studying at university I had forgotten about the option of joining the police after I graduated, but Police Now reminded me of the opportunity. It has shown me how I can use my skills to make a genuine difference to some of the most vulnerable people in society. I know the next six weeks are going to be tough but I’m looking forward to pushing myself beyond what I imagined I could achieve.”