The Police

Whether you make an application to the regular force, join as a recruit to the High Potential Development scheme (HPD) or as a volunteer with the Specials, becoming a police officer is a real challenge. It is tougher on your body, more taxing on your brain, more draining on your emotions and more demanding on your whole life than most other careers. So do you think you could do it?

Out of the 35,000 people who apply every year, 5,000 are successful. That’s 1 in 7. If you read this site and feel that being a police officer is what you want to do and could do, that's great. However, if you decide you couldn't do it, that's fine too. We'll have saved you a lot of time and effort. Either way, we're sure you will think rather differently about what it means to be a police officer.

Not everyone can be a police officer. Could you?