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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.
Apply via one of the two application routes:
Traditional route (6 month training programme - weekends/evenings)
Fast-track route (6 week training programme - Monday to Friday) - CLOSED
The application form will include a number of eligibility checks.
If you have any tattoos, please ensure you enclose a photograph of them as per the application form guidelines.
Applications will go through a presift process and assessed against the application criteria.
If successful at the application form stage, you will be invited to attend a telephone interview. This will last for approx. 20 minutes and will take place from:
You will be told in advance about what will happen on the day and be given details so that you have time to prepare.
If successful at the telephone interview, you will be invited to attend an assessment centre which will take place between:
You will be told in advance about what will happen on the day and be given details so that you have time to prepare.
If you are successful at the assessment centre, you will receive a letter stating that you will be appointed, subject to satisfactorily passing vetting checks, media checks, finance checks, references and medical.
Once you have successfully completed all pre-employment checks you will receive an offer of appointment, conditions of service, starter pack and joining instructions.
During the application and selection process we will be assessing your mental and physical fitness to undertake the role.
A medical assessment will generally be carried out by our Occupational Health Team.
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.
The assessment will include:
Once you have been declared medically fit we will progress your application to the next stage.
Your medical history is confidential and is not disclosed to those not authorised to hold this information.
We send reference requests to your current employer and all previous employers in the last three years. If you haven't been employed for three years, we will ask for a character reference or an educational reference.
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.
To check your fitness levels, applicants will be required to pass a Job Related Fitness Test (JRFT). The fitness test 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 will be required to undertake a running test (known as a multi-stage shuttle run or bleep test) to a minimum pass level 5:4, over 15 meters.
There is one element to the test and you must pass it (reach 5:4 or above) before you can be appointed.
Important - You will be given a choice between two options for your initial training, the traditional route or the fast-track route:
The traditional training route will last for 6 months and will take place during weekends and a number of evenings. It will begin on 21 November 2022.
The fast-track training route will last for 6 weeks and will take place Monday to Friday, 0800-1600. In order to apply to the fast-track training you must be able to commit to the full six-week course. It will begin on 15 August 2022 and finish on Friday 23 September 2022.