No qualifications are required.

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

There is no requirement to have a driving 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.

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 Special Constable.

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.

Applying for the role of police officer at the same time as applying for the role of special constable:

The force has an obligation, as it is publicly funded, to ensure that training, uniform and subsistence costs are not inadvertently misspent, which can often be the case when a candidate has dual applications.

As a force we are supportive of helping candidates meet their career objectives but this cannot be at the expense of tax payers’ money. Therefore, applicants can complete the online parts of the Special Constable Recruitment process, including the National Sift process, however their application will then be paused until the outcome of their Police Officer application is known.

Unfortunately, several jobs are considered incompatible with the role of a Special Constable. 

• Serving members of HM Armed Forces*
• Members of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force
• Royal Naval Auxiliary Service
• The National Hospital Service Reserve
• Members of the fire service, unless written permission is given by their Chief Officer.
• Traffic Wardens and School Crossing Patrols
• Members of employers’ police forces and private constabularies
• Magistrates
• Clerks to justices and clerks to courts
• Court Usher
• Probation officers
• Youth workers and social workers involved in the administration of criminal law
• Bailiffs, warrant officers, private detectives and inquiry agents
• Custody escort officers
• Security personnel, guards and doormen**
• Anyone working for a security company
• Employees of security organisations
• Neighbourhood and Street Wardens and other uniformed Patrol Wardens
• Police Community Support Officers
• Prison Custody Officers (Prison Officers are eligible, but only with written permission from their Prison Governor)
• A local authority parking warden
• Persons taking an active part in politics
• Highways Agency Traffic Officers (and traffic officers who are employed by other organisations, such as Vehicle and Operators Services Agency)
• Border and Immigration Officers with powers of arrest
• Customs Officers
• Barristers, Solicitors and Judges
• Members of Police Authorities
• Transport Network Revenue Protection Inspectors
• Local Authority field officers e.g.: trading standards officers
• Civilian enforcement officers
• Vehicle removal officers
• High Sheriff
• Councillors who work within local or regional councils

Applicants are asked to provide personal details such as full name, full residential address 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.

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.

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 Special Constable, and allow candidates to demonstrate their suitability to be invited to an interview.

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

Those who pass the National Sift will be invited to attend a formal interview. The interview will be held at Police Headquarters and is expected to last approximately 30 minutes. The questions are aimed at exploring your values and motivation to join as a Special Constable, are structured against the role profile for a Special Constable and 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 you prepare for the interview. Find out more in the Preparation Resources section.

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 special constables. The core rational for the test is to ensure that prospective special constables 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 you prepare for the fitness test. Find out more in the Preparation Resources section.

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.

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.

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.