Am I eligible?
To apply for the role of police officer, you will need to:
- Be aged 17 years or over (on the day you submit your application) and may take up appointment on reaching the age of 18 or above, if successful.
- Have lived in the UK for three continuous years, immediately prior to application. The calculation of the three year period of time refers to the period immediately before an application is made.
- Have leave to enter or leave to remain in the UK for an indefinite period. This is to satisfy the requirement to vet all applicants in an equitable manner since the UK Police Service does not currently have any means of facilitating vetting checks overseas to the extent required of those who have been resident in the UK.
- Not be a member of the British National Party (BNP) plus other organisations such as Combat 18 or The National Front.
- To be able to respond to general enquires over the phone and face to face through the medium of Welsh (level 1) or willing to achieve this level within 6 months, see our Welsh Language Requirements for more information.
- Have achieved a standard of education equivalent to Level 3* for the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship, or a Degree for the Degree Holder Entry Scheme. Acceptable Level 3 qualifications are:
A-levels (you must hold 2 A-levels in any subject)
BTECs
Cambridge International Pre-U Diploma
Cambridge Technicals
International Baccalaureate
Welsh Baccalaureate
Scottish Advanced Higher
Scottish Higher
Scottish Baccalaureate
Access to higher education diploma
Advanced apprenticeship
International Baccalaureate diploma
Level 3 award
Level 3 certificate
Level 3 diploma
Level 3 ESOL
Level 3 national certificate
Level 3 national diploma
Level 3 NVQ
Certificate of Knowledge of Policing
Please note: Awarding bodies such as AQA, Active IQ, NCFE CACHE, CILEx, CISI, City & Guilds, LRN, IMI, NCFE, OCN, OCR, Edexcel, LCCI will need to be at level 3 certificate and level 3 Diploma in any subject.
*If you do not a hold a level 3 qualification, you can undertake an academic suitability test as part of the application process.
Previous applications
If you have applied to join the Police with any force in England or Wales within the last 6 months and your application was rejected, you are unable to submit a new application form.
You are eligible to apply to more than one force at a time however you can only undertake the Assessment Centre process with ONCE force. By default this will become your CHOSEN force unless you choose to withdraw and transfer your score to another force.
Driving Licence
You will need a full driving licence in order to join as a police officer. You will be required to pass a Police Driving Test during your probationary period.
Tattoos
Tattoos are not a bar to appointment. However, some tattoos could potentially offend members of the public or colleagues, or could bring discredit to the Police Service.
Tattoos are not acceptable if they: undermine the dignity and authority of the police officer; could cause offence to members of the public or colleagues and/or invite provocations; are garish or numerous or particularly prominent; indicate unacceptable attitudes towards women, minority groups or any other section of the community; indicate alignment with a particular group which could give offence to members of the public or colleagues; are considered to be discriminatory, rude, lewd, crude, racist, sexist, sectarian, homophobic, violent or intimidating.
Health
Applicants must be physically and psychologically capable of effectively undertaking the duties required. Successful applicants will be required to undertake a medical assessment and pass a fitness test.
Fitness Test
Policing can be physically demanding, so you will need to be in good physical condition to pass the fitness test. As part of the recruitment process, you will be tested to ensure your fitness levels are high enough. It is a thorough test, but don’t worry, it’s not about being super fit. We only want to make sure you would be physically able to carry out your duties.
If you don’t meet the standard first time around, you can take the test again up to a maximum of three times, with six weeks in between each attempt in order for you to develop and improve.
Medical
Due to the nature of police work, good health and fitness is paramount. However, applications are welcome from people with disabilities and every effort will be made to make reasonable adjustments if required. If you are successful at interview you will complete a medical questionnaire and undertake a medical examination.
There are certain medical conditions and disorders that may have a detrimental effect on your ability to conduct the role effectively; each case will be considered carefully as part of the medical process.
BMI
If your application is successful, your weight range will be assessed during a medical assessment. The healthy weight range is based on a measurement known as your body mass index (BMI).
This can be determined if you know your weight and your height. The actual calculation is your weight (in kilograms) divided by your height (in metres squared). Guidance and easy to use charts on how to calculate your BMI can be found on the NHS website. The NHS advises that a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 suggest a normal healthy weight. This means your body is not at risk of weight-related disease. The Home Office sets BMI standards for police officers. The current Home Office circular 59/2004 outlines this as between 18 and 30. Applicants who do not meet this standard may find their application delayed and / or will not be appointed.
Vetting
The importance of honesty and integrity is made clear throughout our application process. Dyfed-Powys Police Officers are subject to the Standards of Professional Behaviour, which clearly set out what communities can expect from their officers.
Criminal Convictions
Due to the nature of policing, it is essential that we conduct rigorous vetting checks on successful applicants before they can join Dyfed-Powys Police. Therefore applicants MUST declare:
- All convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings for past offences (including as a juvenile)
- Bind-over imposed by the courts.
- Traffic and driving convictions (including details of any relevant disqualification)
- Any involvement with the military authorities on disciplinary matters
- Involvement in a criminal investigation (whether or not this has led to a prosecution) or any association with criminals.
Financial checks
Applicants to the police service should normally be free from undischarged debt or liability and able to manage any existing loans. The emphasis should be on sensible management of debt.
Undisclosed information
Where it is suspected that an individual has failed to declare information, enquiries will be made to ascertain if the individual deliberately failed to disclose this information. If so, their application will be rejected.
Biometric vetting
Legislation has been introduced that requires Police Constable applicants to undergo biometric vetting. Please refer to NPIA Circular 03/2012 which can be viewed on College of Policing website. This means we will be asking you to sign a consent form to take your fingerprints and a sample of your DNA for the purposes of a speculative search and for your fingerprints and DNA profile to be retained on the Police Elimination Database (PED).
The purpose of obtaining fingerprints and DNA samples is to allow a speculative search to be made against the local and national databases prior to your appointment to the police force. This is to ensure that you have not previously come to adverse police attention, which you have not informed us of, and that you are not linked to any outstanding crime scenes. We will ask you to take these tests when we have issued you with a conditional offer of appointment.
HM Forces
Applications from service personnel are only accepted if you have 12 months or less to serve. It is at the discretion of the Chief Officer as to whether successful applicants are allowed to remain on the Reserve List. Enquiries will not be made with your current employer until you are recommended for appointment or if you have agreed to let us approach them now.
Please note the recruitment cycle can take some time to complete. At the end of each stage of the recruitment and selection process you will be notified whether or not you have been successful and therefore eligible to proceed to the next stage.