Police recruitment across England and Wales is at an all-time high, with over 3,000 regular officers being recruited in the next 12-18 months. Get expert guidance and tips to boost your chances with Bluelight's preparation services!

Definitive Police Recruitment Guide

December 06, 2024•2 min read

Police recruitment across England and Wales has never been better for aspiring police officers, transferee police officers, PCSOs and Special Constables.

Forces are now recruiting large numbers of officers just to keep their numbers from dropping any lower. Over the next 12-18 months forces across England and Wales will recruit in excess of 3000 regular police officers. The numbers are greater if PCSO and Special Constabulary recruitment are considered.

The below table is the current recruitment situation, updated very week, for all 43 police forces in England and Wales including Regular PC, Transferee, Special Constable and PCSO vacancies.

Now is the time to start preparing for when your chosen force opens its recruitment window. Enter your details on this webpage to receive my newsletter and a free guide containing my six top tips to help you prepare for the police recruitment process.

To ensure your application form succeeds, Bluelight also provides a support and guidance service, which includes a, ‘how to’ guide (includes guidance for online assessment tests) and two personal feedback checks of your form to ensure you have the very best chance of success at this stage. Forces will whittle the numbers down at this stage by up to 80% and if you fail at this stage you cannot apply for another six months.

If you are invited to the National Police SEARCH Assessment Centre Bluelight’s online assessment centre preparation courses (you can access the first two modules for free) and assessment centre seminars will guarantee your success (our pass rate is 98%). If you don’t pass we will provide you with a partial or full refund (of course, sensible terms and conditions apply).

And when you are invited to a final interview – Bluelight’s Final Interview Coaching has a success rate of about 85%.

PS – Thanks for my Twitter follower who pointed out that Durham is missing from the below table.

They’ll be added to the table soon, but in the meantime, they’re not recruiting!

Good luck in the recruitment process for your chosen force, actually, with my support, you won’t need it!

Brendan O'Brien

Following a 28-year career working for police forces within the UK and Bermuda, having worked in many roles including Response, CID, and Special Branch, I retired at the rank of inspector and founded Bluelight Consultancy. Twelve years on, we have helped over 15,000 police officers achieve their dream of becoming a fully substantive police constable. We boast a success rate of 98% for new joiners completing the Online Assessment Centre and 90% for those taking on their final interview.

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