How to Become a Police Officer in England

If you are a citizen of UK and desire to do something worthwhile for your country, you should become a police officer. It is a career with a difference and exciting opportunities as you get to face challenges and are entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order among people. If you do not know how to become a police officer in England, this article attempts to make the process easier for you by explaining the requirements and the steps you need to take.

How to become a police officer in England – Facts

You have to pass security and background checks

There are various police forces in England and recruitment in these forces are handled by these departments only. Their requirements vary but you can become a police officer in England if you are a citizen of UK and you have passed the security and background checks. This means that you can become a police officer even if you belong to any other country provided you have been living in UK for the last three years. Anyone who fulfills the nationality criteria can aspire to become a police officer if he is between the ages of 18 and 50. If you are in a good health and have a good character, you can easily become a police officer in England.

• You must have a good command over English language.

• You must be able to think logically.

• You must be able to handle numbers efficiently.

Different police departments have different criteria for selection

Recruitment as a police officer in different police forces varies significantly. However, there is a basic competency test that is more or less of same intelligence level that one needs to pass to become a police officer in England. You need to contact the police department in your area and ask for an application pack. You must fill it carefully and submit it to the authorities. Once it is accepted, you are called in for an assessment test that judges your abilities in English, logical reasoning and maths. If you pass this test, there is a series of physical examinations and interviews that you have to pass. There is also a Job Related Fitness Test or JRFT that tests your endurance and physical fitness.

Make sure that you have enough knowledge of the police department that you wish to join. You must have knowledge of the area covered by it, its structure, senior officers in the force and the major challenges faced by this police department. If you have basic competency in English and you can demonstrate your resolve to tackle the challenges posed by the job of a police officer, it is easy to become a police officer in England.

Photos By: West Midlands Police (CC BY-SA 2.0), Aires Almeida (CC BY 2.0)