Seamus reaches out

PC Seamus Faulkner has just joined Warwickshire Police as its new Outreach Recruitment Officer, whose role is to develop positive relationships with minority groups in the community and encourage more individuals to consider a career with the police.

"We are not only seeking to encourage more black and minority ethnic individuals into the police, but also women and potential applicants from the gay and lesbian communities" explained Seamus.

"My role is in line with ‘positive action’ and this should not be confused with positive discrimination. I will be encouraging potential applicants from these groups to apply and promoting the service as a worthwhile career. I will be out and about meeting people and engaging with as many groups and organisations as possible to achieve this."

Seamus continued

"I am hoping to arrange information seminars where people can find out more about the police as a career. I’ll also be a point of contact and would welcome any questions from members of under represented groups about any issues involving joining the police.

"This new role is extremely important to Warwickshire Police because we believe we can serve the community better if our force reflects the cultural diversity of Warwickshire.

"We acknowledge that there are differences and similarities that exist between us and we are committed to ensuring that no person is treated less favourably for any reason. Within the police, we have a strategy to ensure we have the systems, practices and policies in place to achieve this.

Seamus added

"We want to be able to keep good candidates and my role will include supporting them through any issues they may have during their probation period alongside their first line supervisors."

"If you’ve got the potential there’s nothing to stop you reaching the higher echelons of the police. If you are ambitious, you can apply to take your Sergeant’s exams after two years and there are plenty of people here who will encourage and support you. If you are not ambitious, that’s okay too. The job offers variety every day - you could be at a burglary one minute and at the scene of an accident the next. There are also opportunities to specialise such as CID, dogs, firearms, and child protection."

Seamus’s appointment follows an internal review of the recruitment process and Government recruiting targets set under an initiative called Dismantling Barriers. These targets have been in place since 1999 and run to 2009.

If you would like more information about joining the police, including the excellent starting salary, or about PC Faulkner’s role, please contact Seamus on 01926 415000 ext 5118.