APPLYING FOR A ROLE

The recruitment process for police officers

Our work is of national importance. So it’s vital that our recruitment process is as thorough as possible. Learn more about the stages you’ll go through to become a CNC officer.

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Application form

Firstly, you’ll have to fill out an online application form. This gives us all of the details we need to identify whether you’re eligible to go through to the next stage.

Please note, our application form does ask you to provide details about a wide range of topics. This includes information about your family, tattoos, business interests, financial position, and any previous convictions or involvement with the police (visit our Entry Requirements section to find out more).

Shortlisting

After submitting your application, we’ll shortlist it against our national recruitment criteria.

We’ll let you know the outcome of the initial sift within 5-10 working days of submitting your application. We may contact you during this time to request further information about your application.

If you’re successfully shortlisted, you'll be contacted by our recruitment team, who will progress you to the online assessment stage. You will also be contacted by our Occupational Health team to begin your pre-employment checks. 

Assessment Centre

The CNC follow the College Of Policing online assessment process to assess your suitability to be a police officer.

This is split into two stages.  

Stage 1 - The National Sift – this comprises 2 exercises:

  • Situational judgement test
  • Behavioural questionnaire

You need to achieve a pass to progress to the next stage.

Stage 2 - The Online Assessment Centre - this comprises 3 exercises:

  • Competency based interview
  • Written exercise
  • Briefing exercise

Applicants who successfully pass the online assessment will be invited to undergo a firearms assessment to test your dexterity and ability to take instruction when handling firearms.

Recruitment Day

Candidates will be invited to a CNC Selection and Assessment Recruitment Day. You will attend a morning or afternoon session where a CNC insights presentation will be delivered. You will also undertake a firearms briefing and weapons handling assessment to test your dexterity and ability to follow instruction whilst handling a firearm and a CNC Values Based Interview.

Pre-employment assessments

As part of your pre-employment assessments, you'll be required to obtain a signed medical declaration from your GP and a signed opticians form. You'll also be asked to undergo a medical examination which includes a fitness assessment, which may be held at any point during your recruitment process. 

Conditional offer

If you successfully pass our assessments, we’ll be in touch to make you a conditional offer. Once you’ve accepted, we’ll contact your current employer for references and begin the security vetting (more information on this can be found in our hints and tips section below).

As we carry out reference checks for the last three years of your employment, it can be a lengthy process. To help speed things up, we’ll ask you to provide all of the necessary information we need. If appropriate, we’ll also carry out military and police service checks, which can take up to three months to complete. If all of your references pass our checks, you’ll then need to have your fingerprints taken during your first week at the Corporate Learning and Development Department. These are used purely for crime scene elimination purposes.

Initial training

Now it’s time to start your initial 19-week training. This will be a residential course delivered by our Corporate Learning and Development (CLD) and Firearms Training Teams. You will spend the first week at our Headquarters, and then your training will be held at one of our delivery centres in Oxfordshire, Surrey or Cumbria. We'll cover all of your accommodation and meal costs, as well as some travel expenses. 

The recruitment process for police staff

Our work is of national importance. So it’s vital that our recruitment processes are thorough. The application process will vary depending on which police staff role you are applying for.

Search Jobs
Application Form

Firstly, you’ll have to fill out an online application form. This gives us all of the details we need to identify whether you’re eligible and have the required skills/experience to go through to the next stage.

Please note, our application form does ask you to provide quite a bit of your personal details about a wide range of topics. This includes information about you, your business interests, financial position, and any convictions or involvement with the police.

Shortlisting

After submitting your application we’ll begin shortlisting applications. Part of this process will include a telephone conversation with a colleague from our HR Resourcing team, to find out more about your application and experience and to talk you through the rest of the process. Your application and notes will then be sent to the hiring team for shortlisting against the role requirements. Once this process has been completed, we’ll let you know the outcome.

Interview

If you’re successful following the shortlisting exercise, we’ll invite you to a competency based panel interview. In relation to managerial level positions the interview stage will also include a presentation and in some circumstances a 2nd Interview.

Conditional Offer

If you’re identified as the successful candidate following the interview, we’ll be in touch to make you a conditional offer – this will be conditional based on passing our security vetting procedures. Once you’ve accepted we’ll ask you to provide all of the necessary information we need to start the vetting process. It can take a number of weeks for us to receive your Police Vetting and Security Clearance, but we’ll be sure to keep in touch with you throughout the process to keep you updated. Once we receive your clearance, we’ll then confirm your start date and send your employment contract to you.

Hints and tips for applying

  • Be honest and detailed

    The more information you give us in your application, the quicker the whole process will be.

    We’ll ask a lot

    Be prepared to answer a lot of questions, including every interaction you’ve had with the police.

    Get fit

    If you are applying to join as a police officer you’ll have to complete a multi-stage shuttle run to level 7.6. We recommend practicing a few times before your fitness assessment.

  • Health conditions

    While many conditions won’t impact your application, some may not be compatible with specific roles. A full list of our medical standards can be found here.

    Security vetting

    This is the most time consuming part of the application process, and can take up to three months. So make sure you account for this. The type of vetting required will depend on the role you’re applying for.

    Training locations

    The initial foundation training course for a CNC Police Officer is 19 weeks and takes place across our delivery centres in Oxfordshire, Surrey, and Cumbria.

  • Carrying firearms

    Many of our new police officer recruits have never used a firearm before. Our training is recognised internationally as being excellent and our experienced firearms instructors will show you how.