Armed officers in high pressure environments and forensics collecting evidence behind a cordon are showcased in movie-style scenes in the Met Police’s first ever television recruitment ad.
The dramatic 30-second advertisement, airing on Monday, explores some of the most challenging moments of policing and has been deliberately packaged in a way that mimics crime show drama in a bid to attract thousands of more people to the force.
The Met Police said the clip aims to show “millions of viewers in London and beyond who love police shows that they don’t need to just watch the action from their sofas but could be part of it themselves if they choose to join up”.
It showcases a selection of specialist unit roles that are available after initial police training, from firearms and explosives officers to marine police.
Met Police vows the scenes are shown to “give a realistic flavour of the different activities officers carry out in their day to day jobs”.
Why not choose a career most people only see on screen? 👀🎬
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) June 20, 2022
When you join the Met, you are joining a police service with endless opportunities.
Your career starts here 👉 https://t.co/9Nky66Gc34 pic.twitter.com/4Q6unnFKtS
The Met is aiming to recruit thousands of new constables over nine months.
After reaching its highest ever headcount at the end of March 2022, the Met confirmed it wanted to expand further to 36,500 officers by March 2023.
“Taking into account the number of people who will retire and leave, overall recruitment will be close to 4,000 - double the number of officers normally recruited over a year period,” Met Police said.
In order to reach the target, there has been a temporary lifting of a requirement for applicants to have lived or studied in London and financial incentives introduced.
Current officer strength shows a total of 16.5 per cent of the Met’s full-time police officers - 5,565 - are of Black, Asian or mixed ethnic heritage and 29.9 per cent of the Met’s officers – 10,068 - are female.
The television ad is part of a wider recruitment campaign being rolled out across Britain.
