Vacancy Information
Make a difference to your community.
Careers don't come more rewarding than this. Tackling crime, taking knives off the street, engaging and educating young people and being the person everyone looks towards for help. A police officers' role is demanding and diverse - no two days are the same. We are looking for people who have the judgement to make quick decisions; are confident to be the first person in; have the compassion and empathy to help those in need; who have their colleagues' back no matter what, and the resilience to serve the community every single day. In return, we promise a good starting salary, great training experiences, opportunities for progression, a chance to achieve a professional qualification in policing practice and the pride that comes from helping others. You will become part of our policing family; dedicated to keeping communities safe, and feeling safe, identifying and protecting vulnerable people, preventing and responding to harm.
Eligibility
To apply for the role of police officer you will need to:
- be aged 18 years or over on the day you submit your application
- have lived in the UK for 3 continuous years immediately prior to application
- have leave to enter, or leave to remain in the UK for an indefinite period
- have achieved GCSE/Level 2 functional skills in both Maths and English (A*-C/9-4) or educational equivalent.
- have achieved one A Level Grade A*-C or equivalent Level 3 qualification that is a minimum of 32 UCAS points. (You can check how many points your qualification is worth on the UCAS tariff calculator https://www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator)
- applicants without a Level 3 qualification can be considered if the are a current serving (or have left within the last 18 months, having completed 18 months' service) as a Special Constable or PCSO with Independent Patrol with any police force.
We will also accept current Investigating Officers, PIP Investigators, Contact Officer or Controllers who have completed 18 months service (or have left within the last 18 months, having completed 18 months' service).
Experience in other operational policing roles can be considered on a case by case basis for candidates who have served a minimum of 2 years service within the last 6 years and have exemplary references. - applicants will also be considered as meeting the Level 3 qualification requirements, who have served for minimum of 2 years within the last 5 years in the armed forces or similar law enforcement agencies and have exemplary references.
- have a current full UK manual driving licence, by the time of appointment
- not be a member of the British National Party (BNP) or other relevant organisations such as Combat 18 or the National Front
- not have tattoos which cause offence
- not have serious motoring offences (please see the guide to becoming a police officer on our website for further details)
Further Information
By successfully completing the a recruitment process, you will be joining Sussex police as a Police Officer through the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) as the new entry route for police constables, which was launched in December 2019. It is a 3 year apprenticeship programme with both on and off the job learning. Upon successfully completing the programme, and completing probation, individuals will achieve a degree in Professional Policing Practice.
Starting salary is £22,380 per annum (which includes £1,500 South East Allowance). You will be employed as a police officer from day one, gaining valuable experience of the role alongside studying towards your degree. You will also be paid a salary whilst studying and will not be charged any tuition fees - therefore no need for student loans.
Key dates
9th March 2020 - 23 March 2020: Application window open
6th April 2020 - 14 April 2020: BSQ and SJT Online Assessments
20th April 2020 onwards: Invites to Assessment Centres
May 2020 - August 2020: Assessment Centres carried out, exact dates to be confirmed
June 2020 onwards: Invites to interviews sent out
July 2020 onwards: Sussex Police Interviews.
This recruitment campaign is expected to fill our intakes in January and March 2020.
With limited opportunities available and anticipated high interest, we would encourage you to submit your application as early as possible as it may be necessary to close the vacancy early.
Degree Holders
If you currently have a bachelors degree with honours and are interested in applying for the Degree Holder Entry Programme, please do not apply for this role, Please instead register your interest via the expression of interest advert and we will contact you to let you know when we open for applications via this entry route.
If you have a degree you can still apply for the PCDA, but will need to undertake the full 3 year apprenticeship programme.
Diversity Statement
At Sussex Police we're committed to diversity in the workforce. We welcome applications from everyone in the community and particularly people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and white other backgrounds. We also encourage applications from women, the LGBT community and people with disabilities. As part of this commitment, we provide a mentoring scheme for BAME candidates. To find out more please email: joinus@sussex.pnn.police.uk.