Strong focus on diversity as police officer recruitment opens

Wiltshire Police is launching a new recruitment drive today (Monday 9 March) with a strong diversity focus aimed at increasing the numbers of police officers who are female or from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic background.

The Force is publishing its first Positive Action Plan to support the workforce changes it is seeking and employs a dedicated Positive Action Team who work with under-represented communities, ensuring candidates can compete on level terms with everyone else. Of the 1,000 police officers currently employed in Wiltshire, 36% are female and 2% ethnic minority.

"We want our police force to look more representative of the communities we serve," said Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills.

"That means hiring the best talent, reflecting our diverse communities. We're particularly keen to attract people who may want to become a police officer, but have concerns that a certain characteristic, educational qualification or past experience may be holding them back. 

"Race, age, sexual orientation, gender and some disabilities may have been perceived as barriers to becoming a police officer. Today, this could not be further from the truth.

"Our Positive Action team specialise in working with members of underrepresented groups to open up a career in policing to them. The team are available to help candidates with the application process and we are particularly keen to attract women and people from ethnic backgrounds, who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. If you have the passion and desire to become a police officer, we want to hear from you."

PCC Angus Macpherson said: "The Force is recruiting more officers than ever, with 57 currently in training and a further 120 students expected to start over the next 12 months.  The Government's promise of 20,000 additional police officers is set to fund 148 new officers in Wiltshire over the next three years - in addition to numbers already planned to replace leavers - bringing the expected number of serving officers to 1,050 by March 2024".

Applicants must be prepared for the realities of modern day policing - it is demanding, physical work with seven day shifts and no two days the same; you never know where the next call is going to take you. There are a number of stages in the recruitment process, including awareness workshops with practical demonstrations and day in the life of stories from serving officers.  In June, the first students in Wiltshire begin the new three-year Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship, working in partnership with the University of South Wales    

All candidates must have Level 2 qualifications to apply - functional Maths and English at GCSE or equivalent and one A-Level. However, if you do not have an A-Level Level 3 or equivalent, relevant experience will be considered.

To find out more about the new training routes, entry requirements and to apply, go to https://www.wiltshire.police.uk/Officers. Wiltshire is accepting 300 applications this month and plans a further campaign later in the year.