Recruitment within the Police Sector

There are currently three main routes to join the service as a police constable (PC). The route taken will depend on whether a candidate has a degree or not and what routes the recruiting force offers. Different forces will have specific eligibility requirements but in general candidates need to:

• be over 18 years old and there is no upper age limit

• be a British citizen, an EC/EEA national or a Commonwealth citizen or foreign national with no restrictions on stay in the UK

• be in good health, including fitness and eyesight

• have no criminal record (sometimes a force will consider a candidate with certain offences).

The current Government has committed to recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers in England and Wales by 31 March 2023. As at December 2021 an increase of 11,053 from the baseline:

• 8771 had been recruited from funding for the Police Uplift programme

• 499 additional officers had been recruited through other funding streams such as local council tax precepts

• female officers made up more than 4 in 10 new recruits up to April 2020 and accounted for 45% recruits between July and December 2021

• 11.3% of the new recruits are from ethnic minority backgrounds and as of December 2021 the police force is as ethnically diverse as it has ever been in its history, with officers from ethnic groups making up 7.9% of all officers.

In 2022, concerns began to be raised regarding attrition rates in forces leading to calls for a focus on retention as well as recruitment numbers.

Data from the National Police Chief’s Council has shown the average attrition rate of 9.1% for recruits recorded in November 2019 and leavers in April 2020. Of great concern are figures such as 19.3% of Northamptonshire recruits leaving during their probation period since the start of the uplift programme.

North Yorkshire recorded 16.8%, followed by Cambridge at 16.1% and Bedfordshire at 15.7%.

• College guidance sets out the eligibility considerations forces should consider in their selection processes. College of Policing Eligibility Criteria for the role of Police Constable

• The Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) provides a route into policing whilst undergoing degree level training. Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA)

• Some may join the police force through the pre-join degree route. Pre-join Degree in Professional Policing