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How to Become a Police Officer

If you’re looking for a career where you focus on others and help to make your community a safer, better place then becoming a police officer could be the right path for you. Police officers uphold the law and keep the peace, often working long shifts with public safety at the forefront of their minds. Police officers are incredibly important and valuable members of our society: there are currently 135,301 police officers in the UK and each one is highly trained and active within their local communities.

Are you thinking about becoming a police officer? Wondering what police officer salary to expect or what police officer jobs are really like? Here’s everything you need to know about how to become a police officer:

What is a Police Officer

The primary role of the police officer is to protect the general public from crime, supporting victims and witnesses of crime, and providing a reassurance presence in your local community. The role of a police officer can be dangerous and challenging, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. As a police officer, you will hold a position of authority, and that is a responsibility that you should take incredibly seriously.

The role of a police officer is an incredibly varied one, with no two days being exactly the same. Your career could see you working in a police station, or on patrol amongst the general public. For this reason, you will often find yourself working outdoors, no matter what the weather. As a public-facing police officer, you will usually wear a uniform when you are on duty.

If you work on a full-time basis, then you will work 40 hours per week. This will be in eight-hour shifts, and you can expect to work unsociable hours, including evenings and weekends. In an emergency, you may be called out at short notice, and it is not unusual for police officers to work longer shifts, although any overtime will be paid at a higher rate. It is possible to secure a role as a police officer on a part-time or job-sharing basis, and after you have finished your probationary period, you can also request career breaks and flexible hours.

Personal Qualities of a Police Officer

Whilst each police officer will have their own personality and perspective, if you wish to become a police officer then you will need to possess the following personal qualities:

  • Excellent verbal communication skills to enable you to deal with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds with both tact and diplomacy
  • Excellent written communication skills to enable you to take comprehensive notes, create written reports that will be shared with your peers and other regulatory professionals, and record details of your interactions with members of the public
  • A strong presence and authoritative personality that commands attention from others
  • Good knowledge of public safety and security, and the negotiation skills needed to use this knowledge to keep the public safe
  • The ability to keep your cool and remain calm in stressful situations
  • Strong emotional stability to enable you to deal with traumatic situations with sensitivity and understanding, without taking those situations home with you at the end of your shift
  • Great interpersonal skills and the ability to read people, understanding what they are feeling and their reactions to unexpected situations
  • Community focus and a strong desire to work within your community and help to make it a better place
  • A strong sense of personal responsibility, integrity, and a strong moral compass
  • Good leadership skills and the ability to work well as part of a team, whilst still being able to work independently and of your own initiative
  • Good problem-solving skills and the ability to use those skills for the greater good of community protection and safety
  • The ability to use a computer and the most popular computer software packages with competence
  • High levels of physical fitness, as working within the police force is a physically and mentally demanding role
patrolling duties

What a Police Officer Does

No two days are exactly the same in the world of modern policing, and it is the varied nature of the role that makes it so appealing to many people. However, there are certain tasks that you can expect to undertake on a regular basis, including:

  • Conducting patrolling duties in uniform to provide a visible policing presence on the street. This will reassure the general public and deter crime. These patrolling duties are undertaken either on foot, by bicycle, or by car
  • Build relationships within your community, ensuring you are better able to identify at-risk individuals or at-risk businesses that may be targeted by criminals
  • Respond to calls for help from members of your community. Assist at events where a police presence is requested. This could include social events. Sporting events, public meetings, public protests or strikes
  • Conducting interviews, gathering evidence, maintaining the integrity of crime scenes, and ensuring that you always comply with the relevant legal requirements so that the evidence you gather is admissible in court
  • Work with members of the public to provide reassurance when needed: this could involve building relationships with local councils or community groups
  • Ensure that public safety is always maintained, where possible, by using your skills to diffuse any potentially volatile situations
  • Maintain a calm and sensitive presence when dealing with triggering crimes, or when delivering bad news (such as that of a sudden death) to members of the public
  • Attend court cases and give evidence in court when necessary
  • Make arrests where necessary
  • Complete comprehensive paperwork, ensuring that your records are always complete, and ensure that other administrative procedures are adhered to
  • When information is given to the force by members of the general public, you should investigate this fully and take any appropriate action required
  • Prepare crime reports and present case files to senior officers and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) (England and Wales), the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) (Scotland) or the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPSNI). This will ensure that the correct people are prosecuted
  • Follow directions issued by senior colleagues, and give directions to more junior colleagues when needed
  • Promote respect for people in relation to their race, diversity and human rights. Be the change you want to see in the world, and treat people with the same respect you would like them to show to others

How Much Does a Police Officer Earn?

The amount you will earn as a police officer in the UK will depend on where you choose to work. As a police constable, you will earn a slightly higher starting salary in Scotland than you would in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, for example. The starting salary for a police constable in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is £21,402. This is subject to annual pay rises, with the maximum police constable salary of £41,130 payable at the end of seven years. In Scotland, these figures sit at a starting salary of £26.737 and a top-end salary of £41,578.

All police officers start their career as police constables. They can then seek to be promoted to police sergeant and will earn a higher salary range of between £43,965 and £46,227. The next rank is that of an Inspector, with salaries ranging between £52,698 and £57,162 whilst Chief Inspectors earn between £58,332 and £60,732.

If you are a police officer based in London or in the South of England then you will receive London weighting in addition to your basic salary. This London weighting is currently worth an additional £6,735.

In addition to your salary, police officers also benefit from a minimum of 22 days of annual leave, fully paid sick leave, maternity and paternity leave benefits, and a generous police pension scheme. You may also be entitled to free local travel, flexible working opportunities, and access to the Blue Light Card scheme, which offers discounts in a wide variety of different shops, restaurants, and other locations.

Qualifications Needed for a Police Officer

In order to apply to become a police officer, you will need to be a British or Commonwealth citizen, or an EC/EEA national or foreign national who has no restrictions on your leave to remain in the UK. You will also need to pass a physical fitness test, and an eye test before you can be accepted to the force.

Many people don’t realise that police officers are highly qualified individuals and in almost all cases you will now need to either hold a degree or be ready to study for a degree or apprenticeship in order to join the force. Whilst entry requirements may still vary slightly from police force to police force, the three most common routes to entry are:

  • Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA). This is a 3-year apprenticeship which would lead to a level 6 degree qualification. This route would allow you to learn the basics of policing on the job, whilst also studying in a college setting, and you would earn a salary throughout your apprenticeship period. At the end of a successful apprenticeship, you would secure a position as a police constable and hold a BSc degree in Professional Policing Practice
  • Degree Holder Entry. If you already have an undergraduate degree, regardless of the subject, you can take a slightly shorter route into policing. Degree-holder entry is similar to an apprenticeship, in that you would learn both on the job and in an off-the-job setting, but this route only takes two years to complete. At the end of the programme, you would have a Graduate Diploma in Professional Police Practice
  • Pre-join degree. If you would prefer to secure your degree before you join the force, then you can take a pre-join degree specifically in BSc Professional Policing Practice. Once you have completed your degree you would then apply to join a force and undertake a short period of on-the-job training. The main drawback of this route is that your degree would have to be self-funded

Regardless of which route you choose; you will need to have some post-school education before you make your application. If you wish to join the police force by applying directly to a degree programme then you will need 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, to take this route. And if you wish to start a degree level apprenticeship programme then you will need 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels. Given the focus on communication and problem solving in modern policing, many forces will ask you to demonstrate that you have a GCSE in both maths and English.

On the job training

On the Job Training

Regardless of your route to entry, all new police officers will have to complete a series of probationary training courses and much of your training to become a police officer will be on the job training. This will include role-plays and practical sessions to help you understand how best to interact with members of the general public. You will also go out on patrol with a more senior member of your policing team who will provide mentoring to help you develop your practical skills, whilst your theory skills will be developed in the classroom: you will demonstrate your learning by completing coursework and assignments.

Once you are a fully qualified police officer the learning won’t stop, because continued professional development is an integral part of modern policing and ongoing training, regular supervision, and guidance and support from your peers will be expected to ensure you remain qualified to fulfil your role.

Professional Bodies

The College for Policing is the professional body for police officers. The role of the College for Policing is to set the framework for operational and training standards, professional development and to provide a knowledge base for police officers when they need advice and support.

If you choose to climb up the ranks, then you might wish to gain membership to The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). Membership is only available to officers holding a substantive rank, and the role of the association is to bring together the expertise and experience of chief police officers from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.  The main benefit of membership to this body is that it would leave you at the forefront of conversations about the direction of modern policing, and you would be able to use your skills to shape the development of your force.

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