The Police Constable Entry Programme (PCEP) is a pathway for non-degree holders. This entry route requires candidates to have the following:

GCSE Maths at grade C/4 or above

GSCE English Language at grade C/4 or above

Level 3 (equivalent to 32 UCAS points)

or

18 months service as a PCSO / Call handler / Special Constable or service in one of the other accepted roles:

• Detention Officer (18-month service)
• Police Staff Investigator (18-month service)
• Military Personnel (e.g., Army, Navy, RAF) (24-month service, exemplary discharge within the last 5 years)
• Neighbourhood/Community Wardens (24-month service)
• Security Professionals - with recognised accreditation (24-month service)
• Paramedic/Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) - (24-month service)
• Firefighter (24-month service), Prison Custody Officer (24-month service)
• Border Control and Immigration Enforcement Officer (24-month service)
• Probation Service Officer (24-month service)
• Emergency Control Room Dispatcher/Operator - Ambulance or Fire (24-month service)
• Other Public Service roles may be considered on a case by case basis.

Overseas Qualifications

International equivalent qualifications for Level 2 (GCSE C/4 or above) in Math and English are accepted and welcome.

Applicants who have an international equivalent qualification will need to obtain a statement of comparability.

Statement of Comparability.

Additionally, the International Certificate in Christian Education (ICCE) is accepted as equivalent to a (Level 2) standard pass in Maths and English, for this qualification a Statement of Compatibility is not required.

Applicants can apply at the age of 17 but cannot start in role until they are 18.

There is no upper age limit but the usual retirement age for police officers is 60.  This pathway has a 3 year probationary period which new constables need to complete. 

All full time new recruit officers are required to have a full manual driving licence on appointment. Applications can be submitted with a provisional licence but any appointment is subject to achieving a full licence.

The purpose of the residency criteria is to ensure that applicants have a checkable history in the UK, so that meaningful vetting enquiries can be undertaken.

• Non-Police Personnel Vetting (NPPV) – three years
• Recruitment Vetting (RV) – three years
• Management Vetting (MV) – five years

The residency requirements refer to the period immediately before an application is made, and not any other three or five year period, or any other accumulation of time spent in the UK.

• An individual who has moved overseas and severed major ties to the UK (for example, closed bank accounts and sold property) is considered, for the purposes of vetting clearance, to have surrendered their residency in the UK. This would also apply to people who maintain bank accounts purely for the purpose of receiving regular payments, for example, a UK pension.
• An individual travelling overseas on a gap year or similar is considered to be on an extended holiday and has therefore maintained residency in the UK. If the individual stays in one country for longer than 12 months then then they will be required to provide a certificate of good conduct.

A right to work check means that the Force will check a document which is acceptable for showing permission to work in the UK. This must be done before employing a person to ensure that they are legally allowed to do the work. If the person has time-limited permission to work in the UK, a follow up check must be undertaken.

Devon & Cornwall Police and Dorset Police have a duty to prevent illegal working by carrying out in-house prescribed document checks on all potential employees and encouraging management to do the same. The Force will prevent illegal working and ensure only the employment of people who have permission to work lawfully in the UK.

Applicants should not have any tattoos which could cause offence. If they have a tattoo they will be asked to provide a brief description and photographs of the tattoo. The nature, location, size, prominence and appearance of tattoos will be considered.

Political restrictions apply to Police Officer roles. Political Restrictions are determined under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. If a role is politically restricted, individuals in this role are prevented from having any active political role either in or outside the workplace and will automatically be disqualified from standing for or holding elected office.   They are also restricted from canvassing on behalf of a political party or a person who is or seeks to be a candidate and speaking to the public at large or publishing any written or artistic work that could give the impression that they are advocating support for a political party. 

Applicants must not be or have been a member of an extreme political organisation such as British National Party, National Front, Combat 18 or similar organisations.

Previous convictions or recent cautions, bind-overs or findings of guilt.

Ideally, applicants should not have a criminal conviction or cautions.

If they do have one, acceptance will depend on the age and nature of the offence. It is not possible to set out a full list of convictions that will preclude a person from becoming a Police Officer.

Each case will be considered on its own merits, and if the offence is deemed sufficiently serious a person will be rejected irrespective of age at time of offending.

There may be circumstances where an individual does not fall within the criteria, but whose suspected involvement in crime, or criminal associations make an offer of employment inappropriate.

Candidates need to be able to successfully complete a fitness test which comprises of an aerobic shuttle run test (15m Multi Stage Fitness Test – 15m MSFT at level 5:4).

BMI needs to be between 18-30. Applications are accepted from people with a BMI higher than 30 but they will remain on hold until within the BMI standard.

Candidates may apply to more than one force at a time, however they can only sit the assessment centre once within a 6 month period, unless otherwise notified by the Force they are continuing their application with.

People who have previous home office experience and have completed their probation period may be eligible to apply via our re-joiner entry route.

Applicants are asked to provide personal details such as full name, full residential address, driving licence details and national insurance number. They will also be required to provide proof of these details later on in the application process.

Eligibility Screening.
This screen checks eligibility in line with the national recruitment standards. Applicants will be advised at the end of the questionnaire if they have met all the eligibility criteria to be able to progress to the next stage.

Sometimes an applicant will be referred as a result of answers they have submitted.  In that case a member of the recruitment team will contact them to advise of the outcome.

Upon successful completion of the application stage, candidates will be invited to complete two online assessments which form a Police Assessment known as the National Sift. 

The two exercises, Situational Judgement Test (SJT) and Behavioural Styles Questionnaire (BSQ), are designed to assess potential to perform effectively in the role of a police officer, and allow candidates to demonstrate their suitability to be invited to an interview.

No knowledge of policing or the role of a police officer is required to successfully complete this stage.

Candidates will be required to complete the national application form and attach any relevant documentation, such as proof of qualifications.  

A link will be sent to the candidate to access the application form online.

Every request for a reasonable adjustment or accommodations is considered individually to reflect the understanding that every individual has unique requirements.

In determining any adjustments the force follow the guidance provided by the College Of Policing Selection & Assessments policy on accommodations and reasonable adjustments.
If a candidate requires an adjustment to the recruitment process in relation to a Specified Learning Difficulty e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia, supporting information in the form of a medical or specialist’s report which provides information regarding their disability/the difficulties they experience should be submitted with their application form.

Positive Action can help eligible candidates work out what adjustments they may require. 

Following application approval, candidates will be invited by email to complete the College of Policing online assessment. This online process is a series of stages containing exercises that test the key competencies and values that are important for police constables.

The online assessment process is a staged process that consists of a competency-based interview, a written exercise and a briefing exercise.

Competency-based video interview

Candidates will be asked 5 questions about how they have dealt with specific situations in the past. This is their opportunity to provide some examples of the key competencies and values that are important for police constables. They can use examples from their work and personal life.

Candidates will have five minutes for each question and are provided with one minute preparation time before each question.

Approximate time to complete: 35 minutes.

The interview will be recorded and the content will be reviewed by a qualified assessor. Results will be communicated via email.

Written exercise and briefing exercise

Written exercise – Candidates will be provided with written materials outlining a scenario in the community. They will have various sources of information and will be asked to provide typed written responses to their sergeant in relation to the issues contained in the materials. This exercise lasts approximately 50 minutes.

Briefing exercise – Candidates will be presented with a short brief of a community-based scenario and they will have time to prepare their responses to key questions. The scenario will evolve and additional information will be presented to the candidate for them to consider and respond to. Candidates’ verbal responses to the questions will be recorded.

This exercise lasts approximately 60 minutes.

Both exercises will be reviewed by a qualified assessor and results will be communicated via email.

Positive Action can help eligible candidates prepare for the online assessment centre.

If successful at the Assessment Centre candidates will be required to complete a local force interview. This will be a structured interview with a panel of two interviewers consisting of Police Officers and Staff.

The interview is expected to last up to 30 minutes. The questions in the interview are aimed at exploring values and motivation to join Devon & Cornwall Police or Dorset Police as a Constable. These will be structured against the role profile for a Police Constable based on the Competency and Values Framework.

We will also take Biometric Vetting samples and candidates will be required to complete a fitness test.

Positive Action can help eligible candidates prepare for their force interview.

Candidates will be required to provide fingerprints and DNA for vetting purposes. This is usually carried out on the same day as the force interview.

The police Job Related Fitness Test (JRFT) is a critical component of the recruitment and deployment of police officers. The core rational for the test is to ensure that prospective police officers have a minimum level of fitness to be able to undertake personal safety training. The fitness test is benchmarked against the aerobic demands of Personal Safety Training (PST) and comprises of a 15 meter shuttle run, commonly known as a beep test. Candidates are required to reach level 5:4.

Positive Action can help eligible candidates prepare for the fitness test.

A medical assessment will be carried out by our Occupational Health Support Unit. They will check the following:

• BMI (Body Mass Index)
• Eye sight test
• Colour vision 
• Lung function
• Hearing

Candidates will be asked to complete a confidential medical history questionnaire. They will be advised not to pay for their GP to sign these forms until they know they have been successful though the earlier stages.

Depending upon their medical history, we may have to contact their GP/ specialist for further information.

Once candidates have been declared medically fit we will then progress their application to the next stage.

The vetting process is entirely confidential and the outcomes (other than pass/fail) are not shared with anyone else in the organisation (including trainers, future line managers or fellow trainees) or anyone outside of the organisation (including family).

We will carry out security checks on the candidate's:

• Spouse/Partner
• Father
• Step father/mother’s partner
• Mother
• Stepmother/father’s partner
• Brothers/sisters (full/half/step)
• Children/children of their partner (only those age 10 years and over)
• Any other adult living at their address
• Financial circumstances – applicants will have their financial status checked

These checks are carried out because Police Officers have access to privileged information, which may make them vulnerable to corruption.

Applicants with outstanding County Court Judgements (CCJs), Individual Voluntary Agreements (IVAs) or who have been registered bankrupt with outstanding debts, will be rejected. If a candidate has discharged bankruptcy debts then they will need to provide a Certificate of Satisfaction with your application. At least three years will need to have passed since the date of discharge.

Applicants with cautions/convictions/reprimands, other than some motoring offences, may not be accepted.

References

We send reference requests to all previous employers in the last 5 years. If a candidate has not been employed for 5 years, we will ask for a character reference or an educational reference.

Drugs Testing

As part of the Vetting process candidates will be required to undergo drugs testing. All drug testing processes are entirely confidential and only the presence of illegal substances will be disclosed to the Force Vetting Unit (by the third party drug testing laboratory). Prescribed medication, including that for individuals with certain disabilities or individuals that may be transitioning, is not tested for in the process.