Police officer recruitment

Could you compassionately support someone who has just been assaulted, lost a loved one or is feeling suicidal? How do you think you would cope when required to talk someone down from a bridge who wants to harm themselves? How would you react when faced with a child abuser who wants to tell you what they’ve done? Do you have the courage to walk into a public order situation and physically restrain individuals who are fighting? Could you investigate gang culture, drug supply, fraud or corruption?

As a Police Constable you will be responsible for upholding the law, responding to calls for assistance and protecting people from harm using a range of sworn powers in line with organisational standards.

To be successful you will meet our minimum entry requirements, together with demonstrating a passion and commitment to providing a first class policing service to the people of Essex.

Please be aware that on appointment and during your service you may be posted to any location in Essex based on operational need.

To be eligible applicants must meet at least one of the following entry qualification criteria:

• Have reached an educational standard of 2 x A levels (or above) or an equivalent ‘Level 3’ qualification. Note: individuals with qualifications higher than the minimum educational requirement will also be eligible to apply.
• Have achieved an academic or vocational qualification gained outside England and Wales which is considered by the UK National Recognition Information Centre to be a level 3 qualification (see our guide: ‘Becoming a Police Constable in Essex').
• Have previously served, such as in the military or armed forces, or similar law enforcement agency, where the applicant has successfully completed the minimum term of service (usually 5 years) and has achieved an exemplary reference on discharge.
• Have completed and passed the Level 3 Certificate in Knowledge of Policing.
• Be a serving Special Constable* with Essex Police who has attained independent patrol status at the time of application.
• Be a serving Police Community Support Officer* with Essex Police who has successfully completed a professional development plan and passed their probationary period at the time of application.
• Be a serving member of Essex Police staff and have successfully passed probationary period and has the existing command team support to confirm that they are suitable for consideration to be appointed as a police constable.

Notes: *Candidates who are not relying on being a Special Constable or Police Community Support Officer as part of the qualification requirements, but who are existing Special Constables or a Police Community Support Officers may not progress to appointment until they have attained independent patrol status as a Special Constable or completed their probationary period as a Police Community Support Officer.

In addition to meeting at least one of the above 'Education and experience' entry qualification criteria at the time of application candidates must also:

• be a European Economic Area (EEA) National or a Swiss National. Commonwealth citizens and Foreign Nationals are also eligible to apply but are required to have leave to enter or leave to remain in the UK for an indefinite period.
• have resided in the UK for three continuous years immediately prior to application.
• be aged 18 years of age.
• possess a full UK manual driving license with no more than 6 points.
• not have applied to become a police constable and been unsuccessful at any stage of the Police National SEARCH Assessment process in the last six months with any force.
• not have tattoos which cause offence, are excessive or considered unprofessional. (See Appendix C of our guide 'Becoming a Police Constable in Essex').
• ideally not have a criminal record. Any previous criminal convictions or cautions (including those spent), fixed penalty notices, traffic offences or any involvement with the police must be declared.
• not be registered bankrupt, subject to County Court Judgements or Independent Voluntary Agreements
• meet the basic eligibility criteria to become a police constable (see our guide: ‘Becoming a Police Constable in Essex’).

There are many great reasons to join Essex Police. 

You’ll get the chance to make a difference and really contribute to the lives of the people in the community, build relationships and tackle crime. If you’ve got what it takes, we can offer you a wide range of benefits and rewards.

Salary

As a new Police Constable, you’ll receive a starting salary of £24,077, potentially rising to £40,382 within your first 7 years. This includes an annual South East allowance of £2,000.  

Leave

The starting annual leave entitlement is 22 days per year, rising to 30 days a year depending on your length of service. This is on top of public holidays in lieu. You can also expect other forms of leave, including maternity, paternity and adoption leave, special leave (with or without pay), parental break and career breaks of up to five years.

Pensions

When you start as a new Police Constable you’ll receive automatic membership of the police pension scheme. This isn't compulsory, so you can choose to opt out if you want to.

Benefits and Offers

As an Essex Police Constable you will be able to join the Essex Police Sports Association (EPSA) via which you can enjoy a multitude of discounts and special offers from many high street stores, national attractions and travel suppliers. These offers include cinema tickets, restaurants and even reduced prices on several car brands.

Through Payroll you will be able to access Childcare Vouchers, our Cycle 2 Work scheme and other salary sacrifice schemes.

EPSA also provides access to approved companies who offer our members financial advice, preferential insurance rates and discounted legal services. 

Training and Development

We offer a range of career development and training opportunities, including an online portal enabling you to take control of your learning outside of the workplace, update your knowledge and skills.

Personal Support and Advice

We pride ourselves on being a caring employer and provide a range of support initiatives to help with both you and your family's welfare, including support for employees with caring responsibilities, staff support networks, occupational health and welfare counselling, resettlement and outplacement support services. In addition, we offer membership of the Police Federation and staff support associations to support and represent your needs. 

Sports and Social

As a Police Constable with Essex Police, you will get access to a number of subsidised leisure and sporting activities. There is a wide range of sports and sports associations to enjoy whilst making new friends and increasing your fitness.

Many police stations have gym facilities and you’ll benefit from ongoing training and development opportunities. As well as our annual Croker Cup sports competition, we are affiliated to Police Sport UK who regularly run national and international police tournaments. 

Reward and Recognition

As well as our monthly Commendations ceremony at our Headquarters, our Annual Essex Police Awards celebrate the valuable contributions made by officers, Specials, police staff and volunteers who go above and beyond what is expected of them.

A respected career

Joining Essex Police as a new Police Constable is the start of an exciting and rewarding journey that could take you anywhere.

During your first two years with the force, you’ll be working alongside experienced officers and putting your training into practice – dealing with everything from robbery and burglary to missing people and domestic incidents. 

After completing your probationary period and becoming a full constable, we offer a range of training and continuing professional development opportunities to help make the most of your skills.

Specialist Roles

After becoming a Police Constable, you will be able to build upon your experience or move into a variety of specialist roles, each with competitive salaries and excellent benefits. The availability of these roles will be depend on which units have vacancies - whether it’s dog handling, firearms, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), there are hundreds of potential career opportunities.

To find out more about the different roles you can progress in with Essex Police, visit our job profiles.

The application form will  require you to fill in your personal details and will give you the option to submit ethnic and disability details.  
 
In addition we will ask you what your motivations are to become a police officer and what preparation you have undertaken before applying.  
 
In this section, we expect you to provide a detailed response including your reason and motives for applying, what your understanding is and expectations are of joining Essex Police as a police officer and finally any research and/or actions you have undertook to help better prepare you for life as a Police Officer with Essex Police.
 
Your spelling, punctuation and grammar will also be assessed.
 
If you wish to apply please complete and submit the application form in the BEGIN YOUR APPLICATION section.

During the eligibility process we must check you meet all the criteria before continuing your application; this includes all of the below:

• Tattoos
• Qualifications 
• Driving licence

If you do not meet the eligibility requirements your application will not continue. 

If you pass the previous stages, you will be invited to a briefing which provides you with more information about the process of becoming a police officer. There will be the opportunity to speak with our recruitment team and raise any questions you might have. This is an event to help support you with any advice or support you might need from our recruitment team. Applicant’s identification and eligibility documents will be verified at this event too. 

The assessment consists of five elements; interactive role play, written exam, verbal and logical reasoning exam, numerical exam and an interview. Applicants must get 50% across these exams to pass. This is a national process that all police forces carry out.

• Medical appointment 
• Fitness test 
• Pre-employment weekend 
• Uniform fitting 

• Vetting checks 
• Biometrics clearance (DNA and finger prints are taken at their senior interview) 
• References 
• Professional standards questionnaire (completed at senior interview) 

Once we have received all of their pre-employment checks back and they are satisfactory to us, we will send applicants a final offer of employment.

The candidate will receive a number of forms with their final offer letter which need to be processed before starting their course. The applicant will be placed on the next available training course which will be based at Essex Police Headquarters in Chelmsford.  

Applicants will attend a rigorous and thorough training process to give them the best head start in their career with us.

As part of the national recruitment process, Essex Police consider applications from individuals who achieve an overall pass mark of 50% at the national assessment process (SEARCH).

If you are interested in a career with Essex Police, we are currently accepting transfer of SEARCH result.

If you have attended a SEARCH assessment within the last 12 months and met the national standard of 50% or above, then we would be happy to consider an expression of interest from you.

If you are interested in your results being transferred, then please email

[email protected] and attach your confirmed SEARCH results.

The recruitment team will then contact you and advise on the next stages of the process.

Please note we are unable to accept transfer of results from applicants that have failed at local force interview or pre-employment checks.