Northamptonshire Police 'truly proud' be granted gold award in armed forces employer recgonition scheme

Northamptonshire Police has been granted a gold award in a national scheme, which recognises employers who go out of their way to recruit and offer support to veterans and those still serving in the armed forces.

The police force has been awarded the highest praise in the Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme after first signing up to the Armed Forces Covenant back in 2017.

When the force signed the covenant, they pledged to treat service personnel and their families with fairness and respect. The force was later awarded the Armed Forces Covenant Silver Award in October 2022.

Written into law, the covenant states that Armed Forces personnel, veterans or their families will not be disadvantaged by their military life when accessing goods and services, compared to other citizens. It also recognises that in some circumstances special treatment may be appropriate, especially for the injured or bereaved.

Chief Constable Nick Adderley, who served in the Royal Navy for 10 years including the Falklands War, before becoming a police officer, is a staunch advocate of the immense transferable skills and abilities that people with military careers can bring to policing.

He said: “I am really pleased that we have been awarded a Gold Award in the 2023 Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme and that all the work we are doing to support armed forces personnel is being recognised. As ex-military myself, this award makes me truly proud.

"We will continue to work to promote and strengthen our force family by welcoming and nurturing the valuable contributions former members of HM Armed Forces can make to policing our communities here in Northamptonshire.”

Some of these initiatives include:

• Hosting specific careers events aimed at attracting the armed forces into the organisation.
• Working closely with the Career Transition Partnership to offer support – the official provider of resettlement.
• Actively promoting career and employment opportunities with Forces Families Jobs so that that right opportunities are available at the right place for people
• Offering extensive support through application, interview, assessment and vetting stages.
• Mentoring with individuals who understand and can support the transition from military life to civilian and police life.
• Opportunities in the Career Academy which encourages and supports the lateral and vertical development of staff through the organisation.
• Provision for Armed Forces Reservists and Cadet Leaders to have additional annual leave (six days) and special leave (nine days) to undertake their commitment to their respective service. This additional leave is a total of 15 days, five more than the minimum 10 extra paid days leave required by the Armed Forces Covenant.
• Partnership with Project Nova to provide bespoke support to veterans in crisis. Project Nova is publicised and promoted throughout the organisation, specifically within custody suites and detainees are asked if they are veterans and offered appropriate support.

Northamptonshire Police is currently recruiting for a variety of roles, and encourages members of the armed forces who are leaving the service and their families to consider applying.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service was also granted a silver award in the same scheme earlier this month.