Are you looking for a career where no two days are the same? A career where you can help communities, keep people safe and catch criminals?

We have opportunities for those wanting to become a police constable or  detective. And we can also support those looking to transfer, return to policing or in search of promotion opportunities.

Whatever your reason, whatever your needs, we want you to grow with us.

Entry routes into policing

You can apply to join us as either as a police constable (PC) or a detective constable (DC). While both roles are similar, detectives have different duties and receive extra training and additional exams.

1. police constable: you’ll have a front-line role preventing and detecting crime, patrolling, responding to emergency calls and engaging with the community
2. detective constable: you’ll receive the same training as a PC for the first year, plus specialist investigative training in year two. You’ll lead investigations into serious and complex cases like serious assaults, robbery and domestic abuse

When deciding to join, think about whether you want to start as a PC or join the detective programme. If you start on the detective programme and later want to switch to a PC, you'll need to formally apply to change roles. If you are still in application stage and wish to change paths, you will need to reapply and start over.

You don’t need a degree to join, but we do require a certain level of education or equivalent work experience.

We know that being a police officer isn't for everyone. But that doesn’t mean you can’t work with us. We have more than two thousand police staff who work alongside our officers every day. Their hard work and dedication help to keep people in Essex safe. We have a huge range of roles, all requiring different expertise so we have something to suit a variety of skills.

At Essex Police, we are extremely proud and grateful for the 1200 people who volunteer their valuable spare time across Essex to support our communities, keep people safe and help us catch criminals.

There are many volunteer opportunities available at Essex Police, whether it’s serving your community as a Special Constable, providing crime prevention advice to your neighbours as an Active Citizen or supporting young people as part of our Volunteer Police Cadets scheme.

Information and advice to support you with your application.