Inspire change in your community as a police officer.

As a police officer, you’ll be helping us to make a difference by making life safer and more secure in our communities.

It's a unique role with unique demands that are ever-changing. You need to be adaptable to change and ready to think on your feet.

Being a police constable means never knowing what's going to happen next. You'll be working long hours - you'll be in contact with the widest variety of people, and you'll be expected to act with integrity at all times - even when you're out of uniform. It’s a role that can be challenging, but also highly rewarding and exciting. Your day will be constantly changing and no two are ever the same. You may find yourself out in a response team fighting major crime, patrolling the streets as part of a neighbourhood team or gathering information in the force intelligence team.

At the same time, it's a role that can give you some of the best and proudest days of your life. From protecting the vulnerable and saving lives to just making your local community feel safer, it's exciting, diverse and vitally important.

In return, you will have the benefit of working for a creative, forward-thinking force that is dedicated to keeping Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland a safe place to live, work and visit.

We welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds and encourage anyone who has considered a career in policing to submit an application form. We are particularly keen to increase the number of women officers and officers from black and minority ethnic communities and candidates from the LGBT community, so that we can truly reflect the communities that we serve in Leicestershire.

Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF)

Following the recruitment period in April and May, there will be three new entry routes into the police service, thanks to the establishment of a new, professional framework for the training of police officers called the Policing Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF):

Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA)

The PCDA is a three year degree apprenticeship degree delivered by De Montfort University and Leicestershire Police. It enables driven and talented people to get a degree in policing while working and earning a full time salary (starting at £18,000), this will rise to £23,586 in year two and £24,654 in year three. Within seven years of joining the salary will be £38,382. The tuition fees are paid for by the force and you will have a guaranteed role at the end of the three years’ probation.

To apply you have to be:

  • between the ages of 17-56
  • hold a level 2 in Maths and English (grade C/4 or above) at the time of applying
  • you will also need to have obtained a Level 3 qualification or be awarded by the following August or be a serving PCSO, who has completed their professional development plan, passed their probationary period at the time of application and are up to date with all mandatory training or a serving Special Constable who has attained independent patrol status at the time of application, who are consistently completing sixteen hours per month and are up to date with all mandatory training
  • hold a full UK driving licence by February 2021

It is likely that applications for this will open in later in the autumn with successful candidates starting the following autumn. 

Degree holder programme

If you have a degree in any subject you can join and follow a work-based programme, supported by off-the job learning. This route normally takes two years and the learning you have undergone is recognised with a graduate diploma in professional policing when you complete your probation.

As this route will be launched in 2020, the final details around the course are still being confirmed.

Pre-join degree

If you want to study first, you can do a three year degree in professional policing at a participating university at your own expense and then apply to a force and follow a shorter on-the-job training programme. Becoming a Special Constable is part of this route. 

In the first year, you would apply to become a special constable with the force, and if successful, would volunteer in this role for the duration of their degree. In the third year, you would apply to be a police constable through the standard recruitment process.

It will be a three year degree course. If successful, students would become police constables in the June/July of their third year, and as they would have gained independent patrol status as special constables, can be deployed straight to division with no further training required.

The best way to see what jobs and opportunities are available with Leicestershire Police is to sign up to ‘job alerts’ on the police website. Vacancies are also advertised on the College of Policing website.