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At the end of each stage of the recruitment process, you will be notified by email whether or not you have been successful and are therefore eligible to proceed to the next stage. You can also log in to view your application status. If you have not received an email, you should check your junk mail/filter settings in case the email/emails get filtered by your spam software.
Below are some important dates setting out the time frames for this recruitment process:
Cohort start date: September 2025
You must be available to complete the above stages during the dates shown. If you are not available for any stages of the process for any reason, for example, pre-arranged holidays, we may not be able to process your application as alternative dates may not be available.
For this campaign there is only one cohort in 2024 with limited spaces, once we have sufficient applications, we may close this campaign earlier the expected.
The first step will be an online application process which includes some eligibility ‘killer questions’. If you pass this stage you will be required to complete two online tests. If successful, you will then complete the online application form.
You will receive one invitation email with a link which takes you to the national sift platform which you will need to register your details.
There are 2 tests that every applicant must complete (regardless of qualifications), these are a Situational Judgement Test and a Behavioural Style Questionnaire. Both must be passed in order to continue to the next stage of the process.
The Police Behavioural Styles Questionnaire measures your typical behaviour and preferences at work. The purpose of the questionnaire is to assess whether you have the right behaviours and attitudes to be effective in the role.
You will be presented with 80 statements regarding your typical behaviour and preferences at work. You will need to indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each statement.
Depending on your responses, you may also be asked to rank particular statements in terms of how well they describe your typical behaviour at work. There is no time limit, but it should take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete the questionnaire. The test does not require any specialist knowledge to complete.
This exercise is untimed. However, this is expected to take approximately 20 minutes.
The Police Situational Judgment Test assesses your judgement and decision-making skills in relation to job-relevant situations. In the test you will be presented with 15 scenarios, which police constables may face in their role. For each scenario, you will be given four actions. You will need to rate the effectiveness of each action in addressing the scenario.
The test does not require any specialist knowledge to complete. Your responses should be based solely on the information presented in each scenario.
This exercise is untimed. However, this is expected to take approximately 30 minutes.
Visit the College of Policing website for further information on the 'Sift and online assessment process'
We are able to accept national sift scores providing you meet the following requirements:
The national recruitment process does not allow applicants to take more than one national sift in any three-month period.
Application form
The national recruitment process does not allow applicants to take more than one national sift in any three-month period.
If successful at the national sift and online application form, you will be invited to attend a National Online Assessment. Candidates are required to undertake a variety of exercises, which will be based on the Competency and Values Framework (CVF).
Read the College of Policing - Online Assessment Process for Applicants.
Also, can you amend the reference sections on all pages to the following please.
References
We send reference requests to your current employer and all previous employers in the last five years. If you haven't been employed for five years, we will ask for a character reference or an educational reference.
If successful at the national sift and online application form, you will be invited to attend a National Online Assessment. Candidates are required to undertake a variety of exercises, which will be Competency and Values Framework (CVF)
Read the College of Policing - Online Assessment Process for Applicants.
Note: You will not be able to submit an application if you have attended the SEARCH assessment centre within the previous three months from today's date.
We are able to accept transferred scores providing you meet the following requirements:
You will need to provide proof of your score (either confirmation from another force or College of Policing) and submit it to us with your online application form.
If you have been declined at any other stage of the national process, for example national criteria, Competency Based Questionnaire (CBQ), assessment centre, medical, fitness and vetting you will not be able to transfer your score.
Applicants transferring scores should be aware of the following:
If successful at the online assessment centre, you will be invited the national force interview and also undertake a case study which has been designed to replicate the tasks and scope of the work you’ll face when in the role with our senior managers. You will be provided with further details nearer the time, so you are able to prepare.
If you are successful at the National Interview assessment, you will receive a letter stating that you will be appointed, subject to satisfactorily passing vetting, media, finance, references, drug test, medical and fitness tests. Once you clear all these pre-employment checks, you’ll get an official offer, conditions of service, a starter pack and joining instructions.
Throughout the application and selection process, we’ll be checking your mental and physical fitness for the role.
You’ll be invited to a pre-employment day from 8.45am to 3pm at force headquarters. Where you’ll go through the steps below and get briefings from Recruitment (HR Service Centre), Occupational Health and Wellbeing, Employment Vetting and Force Trainers. Plus, you’ll have the chance to ask any questions you might have.
The Job Related Fitness Test (JRFT) looks to see whether you are fit for the job and are ready for Officer Safety Training, where you learn to protect yourself and others. You’ll have two attempts to complete this.
You will be required to undertake:
TO PASS - improve your fitness before your medical. For the bleep test, aim for a hard run for 20 to 30 minutes, three times a week.
A medical assessment will generally be carried out by our Occupational Health and wellbeing Team. They will check the following:
We do not carry out a Body Mass Index (BMI) check as part of the application process. However, please bear in mind that as part of the Occupational Health Assessment, BMI may be considered if there are other medical concerns.
You will be asked to complete a confidential medical history questionnaire. Depending on your medical history, we may have to contact your GP/specialist for further information.
Once you have been declared medically fit, we will progress your application to the next stage.
The panel's role is to evaluate the medical advice given during the medical review checks, specifically to assess whether the suggested reasonable adjustments are compatible with the role requirements.
This review is to decide whether these adjustments can be reasonably implemented, or if it requires pausing or withdrawing your application.
The panel is not a medical panel, but rather a review panel comprising of:
We send reference requests to your current employer and all previous employers in the last five years. If you haven't been employed for five years, we will ask for a character reference or an educational reference
The force has a strict absence policy set of criteria of no more than nine and/or more than three separate occasions of sickness absence in the previous 12 months.
The vetting process is entirely confidential and the outcomes (other than pass/fail) are not shared with anyone else in the organisation (including future line managers or fellow trainees) or anyone outside of the organisation (including family).
We will carry out security checks on you and your:
Applicants will have their financial status checked. These checks are carried out because police officers have access to privileged information, which may make them vulnerable to corruption.
Applicants with outstanding County Court Judgements (CCJs), Individual Voluntary Agreements (IVAs) or who have been registered bankrupt with outstanding debts, will be rejected. If you have discharged bankruptcy debts then you will need to provide a Certificate of Satisfaction with your application. At least three years will need to have passed since the date of discharge.
Applicants with cautions/convictions/reprimands, other than some motoring offences, may not be accepted.
We will need to take fingerprints and DNA samples to carry out some final vetting checks against the national police database.
As part of our pre-employment checks, we undertake drug screening. This is conducted by an external company called Abbott. The process involves samples of hair being collected and analysed to determine whether any of the following six core substances are present:
Before this you will be required to complete a consent form to confirm that:
Any candidate who refuses to sign the consent form will have their application terminated. All new police officer recruits will have to have these samples taken as part of the recruitment process.