Become a police officer - Avon & Somerset Police · 3 are you up to the challenge? If you want a job that’s incredibly rewarding and exciting then becoming a police officer

www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/recruitment

Become a policeofficer

Join our force

3www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/recruitment

are you up to the challenge?

If you want a job that’s incredibly rewarding and

exciting then becoming a police officer may be

the future career you’re looking for.

As a police officer you will reduce crime and make

a real difference to the communities of Avon and

Somerset, helping people feel safe and be safe.

Every day will be different and you’ll provide

support and reassurance to people who have

been a victim of crime.

Many will look to you for guidance and protection

and you will need to tailor your approach to address

particular needs and fears.

Join our force

Join our force

4 www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/recruitment

We want people who will provide

an outstanding service to our

communities; somebody with

integrity and the values to hold a

position of trust and responsibility.

You need to care about making a

difference, enjoy helping people,

and want to actively engage in

partnership with others,

understanding their needs,

whatever their background or

situation.

We want someone who is both

professional and friendly who can

build relationships with their

colleagues and their communities.

You need to be enthusiastic,

reliable, self-disciplined, flexible

and confident enough to take

control of situations.

We want people who take pride in

their work and who will be proud to

say they are a police officer.

What We look for

We offer a unique, stimulating

and rewarding career with an

opportunity to make a real

difference to your community.

For many of our officers, that’s

enough. But we also offer:

•Startingsalaryof£19,000

–22,000(dependingonskills

and experience)

•Annualleaveof22paidannual

holiday days, plus public

holidays, which increases to

30daysdependingonlengthof

service.

•Afinalsalarypension

•Traininganddevelopment

opportunities throughout

your career

•Supportandadvicethrough

our Occupational Health Unit

and a range of staff associations

•Lifestylebenefits,includingsports

and social facilities and activities,

cycle to work scheme, childcare

vouchers.

What We offer

www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/recruitment 5

pc maz collacott-nuur

“It sounds clichéd and a bit cheesy

but I really joined the police to help

people. I’m a people person and I

never really wanted to sit in an office

so this was the natural choice for me.

I have two young daughters and I

would strongly recommend the police

service to them. Working here gives

you such a huge range of different

opportunities. You meet so many

people from different walks of life

and learn something new every day.”

Join our force


Stage 1

online aSSeSSment

Thefirststageoftheprocessisanonlineassessment

tool which is made up of the following:

registration

Initial registration of your details, including driving

licence(ifapplicable)andNationalInsurancenumber.

realistic Job preview Questionnaire

Thepurposeofthisquestionnaireistohelpyou

understand more about the role and whether it’s right

foryou.Thequestionnairewillfocusonsomeofthe

demands that would be placed on you if you were to

becomeapoliceofficer.Thereisnopass/failforthis,

but at the end of the questionnaire the system will

give you an overall rating of your suitability for the role

based on your responses so you can make a decision

if you would like to progress.

eligibility Screen

Thissectionchecksyoureligibilityinlinewiththe

national recruitment standards and will advise you

immediately at the end of the questionnaire if you meet

the required criteria. Should you be referred as a result

of any of your answers, a member of our recruitment

team will be in contact to let you know the outcome.

Behaviour Styles Questionnaire

Thisquestionnaireinvitesyoutoreviewanumber

of statements and indicate which statements you

completely agree with or completely disagree with

on a sliding scale. You will be provided with

feedback once this has been completed and

advised of the result.

Situational Judgement test

If you pass the Behaviour Styles Questionnaire,

you will be invited to complete the final stage of the

online process - a situational judgement test.

Thisdescribesanumberofscenariosandpotential

actions per scenario. You will be asked to identify

which actions will result in a very effective or

counterproductive outcome.

You will be provided with a feedback report and if you

are successful you will be asked to complete an

application form.

Stage 2

application form

Our application form asks for the usual information you

might expect such as personal details and education

and employment history details. We also want you to

complete some competency based questions so we

can start to assess your suitability for the role.

For example, we’ll ask you to give us details of when

you’ve provided a great service or you’ve taken

personal responsibility for making something happen.

If you’re successful we’ll invite you to an assessment

centre.

Join our force


Stage 3

the aSSeSSment centre

Theassessmentcentreconsistsof:

•A20minutecompetency-basedinterview

•Twowrittenexercises

•Fourroleplayexercises

•Numericalreasoningquestionnaire

and a verbal logical reasoning test.

Theseexerciseswilltestyourabilitytothinkon

your feet, make quick decisions based on sound

judgement and also measure your basic maths

and literacy levels.

Thiswilltakehalfadaytocompleteandyou’ll

receive your results two to three weeks later.

If you’re successful, we’ll invite you for a

second interview.

Stage 4

Second intervieW

After you pass the assessment centre – we’ll invite you

for an interview out on one of our districts.

At this stage we want to know more about you – what

motivates you, what life skills or experience you’ll bring

to the role and whether you can relate to people from

all walks of life and different backgrounds.

Thekindsofthingswe’llaskyouaboutmightinclude:

•Communityfocus

•Achievementfocus

•Integrity

•Personalstandards

•Leadership

Some of our questions may be scenario-based –

we’ll ask you to tell us what you have done –

or what you would do in certain situations so we can

see how you might respond as a police officer.

Join our force


Stage 5

pre-employmentcheckS

Theroleofapoliceofficerisdemanding.Duringthis

assessment we’ll be checking to make sure you’re

medically and physically fit to do the job.

medical risk assessment

What we’ll check:

•bloodpressure

•urinetest

Thiswillensureyou’refittotakethephysicaltests.

physical assessment

We test two areas: endurance and dynamic strength.

Endurance is tested through a fitness shuttle run

oftenknownastheBleepTest.Agoodindicatorof

the fitness level needed for this test is to be able to

run at a good pace for around four minutes over a

distanceofabout700m.

TheDynamicStrengthtestinvolvesperformingfive

seated chest pushes and five seated back pulls on

amachinecalledaDyno.Ifyoucandofivefullbody

press ups, i.e. lifting your own body weight, then

you’re in good shape for this test.

If you pass – the next stage is your medical

assessment which will be carried out by the

ForceOccupationalHealthNurses.

medical

What we’ll check:

•BMI

•Eyesight

•Colourvision

•Lungfunction

•Hearing

We may ask you to have a further medical carried out

at our Occupational Health Unit.

YouwillalsobeaskedtocompleteaConfidential

Medical History questionnaire and bring it with you to

the assessment.

Pleasebearinmind–atsomepointduringthe

recruitment process – we will carry out a drugs test.

Once you have been cleared medically and

physically then we will progress your application

to the next stage.

Join our force


Join our force

Stage 5 contd.

vetting checkS

We carry out security checks on you and your:

•spouse/partner

•paternalfather

•stepfather/mother’spartner

•paternalmother

•stepmother/father’spartner

•brothers/sisters(full,halfandstep)

•children/childrenofyourpartner

(onlythoseover10yearsold)

•anyotheradultlivingatyouraddress.

You must declare any convictions or cautions on your

application form and security questionnaire. If you do

have any to declare, it will not necessarily preclude

your application, we’ll need to take the nature and the

circumstances into account.

10

Sergeant Shaun finn

“It’s a bit of a cliché, but I joined the

police because I wanted to make a

difference. I wanted to actually be

in a position where I was physically

able to do something about burglars,

thieves and anti-social behaviour.”

11


Join our force

Stage 5 contd.

Biometric vetting

Once you have received your provisional offer for

the post of student officer – we’ll need to take your

fingerprintsandDNAsamplestocarryoutsome

final vetting checks against our databases.

referenceS

We send references to all of your previous employers

in the last three years. If you haven’t been employed

for three years, we’ll ask for a character reference or

an educational reference instead. We’ll send the

reference requests out around five to eight weeks

before your start date.

Once all the vetting checks and references have been

carried out and we’ve received clearance – we will

write to you to congratulate you on your successful

application and inform you of a start date.

Stage 6

Starting your training

All new student officers will take part in a two-year

trainingprogramme.Thisprogrammeisstructured

around three distinct phases, designed to give new

officers the best possible start to their careers.

Phase1:InitialtrainingisbasedatPoliceHQbasedin

Portishead.Taking20weekstocomplete,thetraining

coversbasicpolicing,lawandskillspractice.During

this phase, student officers may only take annual leave

at set times.

Phase2:Duringthisphasestudentofficerswillbe

posted to their home district and will work closely with

a tutor constable, completing a range of operational

tasks.Theywillbeguidedandsupportedtohelpthem

reach the required standard for independent patrol.

Thisphasecanlastupto15weeks.

Phase3:Fortheremainderoftheirtrainingstudent

officers will work independently as part of a shift or

teamofmoreexperiencedpoliceofficers.Theywill

complete additional ‘protected learning’ and will be

assessed against national standards. If successful,

studentofficerswillbeawardedaDiplomainPolicing

and will be confirmed as constables.



Free page

Join our force

chief inspector norman pascal

“Working as a police officer has given

me an education and a good standard

of living. I’ve been an officer for over

twenty years now and I would

definitely recommend it as a career.

There are lots of different career

opportunities available in the police.

I’ve worked all over the service, from

the Communications department –

which deals with the emergency calls,

to CID to being a frontline officer.”

avon and Somerset constabularyWorking together to make the communities of Avon and Somerset feel safe and be safe

www.avonandsomerset.police.uk

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Become a police officer - Avon & Somerset Police · 3 are you up to the challenge? If you want a job that’s incredibly rewarding and exciting then becoming a police officer