Police Constable Entry Program

Protecting your streets, caring for your community, and taking pride in what you do.

Starting Salary: £31,164 per annum

Normal working hours: 40 hours per week - working shifts (including nights, evenings and weekends)

Various locations across Merseyside

About a Policing Career in Merseyside Police:

From intelligence operator to armed officer, wherever you see yourself specialising, we’ll help you find your beat. Police Officers are the face and voice in the community - they’re on the ground, speaking to victims, preventing crime and making a real difference. They come from different walks of life but are united by the same goal – to keep communities safe. From Liverpool's bright lights to Sefton’s sandy beaches, you'll be serving a population of 1.5 million and covering a geographical area of 647 square kilometres. Being a part of Merseyside Police is a unique experience. You won’t just be building better communities, you’ll be building a career that counts. We want our people to reflect the communities we serve, people who can bring diversity of experience, people who are willing to protect our streets. It’s not always easy, some days will be tougher than others, but the sense of pride makes it worth every second.

About our PCEP Programme:

It’s a two-year programme where you’ll focus on learning the skills needed for the job rather than working towards a qualification. It’s all about developing the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to be ‘confirmed in rank’ as an operational police officer. As a student officer, you’ll be supported from day one by experienced trainers. You’ll get a good mix of working on the front line and time spent learning the theory. You’ll also get to experience working in different policing teams to boost your experience and give you a chance to apply your learning. By the time you’ve completed your two-year probation period – demonstrating that you’ve gained and continually used your policing knowledge, skills and behaviours, you’ll be eligible to be confirmed in rank as a police officer.

If you aspire to become a Detective, Merseyside Police runs its own internal detective programme (CID AIDES) for substantive uniform officers who want a change in career. Should you apply and be offered a place on our Police Constable Entry Programme (PCEP) and subsequently are successful in the completion of your 2 year probationary period you would be eligible to request participation onto the CID AIDES programme.

We anticipate a high number of applications for this entry route and may close earlier than the advertised closing date so if you think this is the role for you, apply today! Join us and you’ll be on the ground, preventing crime and making a real difference to people’s lives. It’s not always easy, it’s not always predictable, but the sense of reward and excitement is like nothing else.

Our Recruitment Process:

Due to Merseyside Police’s recruitment requirements for 2026/2027 and the volume of applications we will receive it may be a while before you receive email correspondence as the Force prioritises entry routes based on earliest start date however, please be rest assured that your application will be reviewed. We ask you to regularly check your emails and respond at your earliest convenience to ensure you have sufficient time to progress towards our intakes.

We require evidence of Level 2 Maths and English Language GCSEs which can be Grade C/4 and above or Level 2 Functional Skills or equivalent. We can only accept qualifications which are equivalent to this level of Maths and English specifically and cannot accept qualifications in other subjects or degrees. If your qualifications were obtained abroad, a UK ENIC translation will be required to confirm equivalency. Please ensure you have these formal certificates ready to upload to the supporting documents section before applying and do not upload any qualifications that are not relevant.

We will use this information to obtain references with your permission. Our process consists of a number of stages:

• Initial sift – this will be against the criteria outlined on our Police Constable Entry Programme page under “Am I eligible to apply” - you need to upload images of qualifications (GCSE Maths and English Language Grade C/4) and any tattoos to progress
• College of Policing National Sift
• College of Policing Online Assessment
• In Force interview assessing your values and behaviours aligned to the expected standards of a Police Officer
• Pre-employment checks which include references, fitness test, medical, biometrics and vetting.
• Final offer and confirmation of start date.

Please note: Internal applicants must apply externally using a new personal email address. If you have been unsuccessful for any Police Officer role with Merseyside or any other Home Office force within the past 3 months, you must wait a minimum of 3 months before applying again however this is dependent on the stage you were unsuccessful at.

About our commitment to Inclusion:

Building a workforce that represents our communities is important to us. Not only do we aim to attract and keep people with the best skills and highest potential, we want to attract people into policing who may not have considered a career with us before. We particularly welcome applications from females, and black and ethnic minority candidates; these groups are growing, yet are under-represented within Merseyside Police at officer level currently. To help us achieve a workforce that represents our communities, we have a dedicated Inclusion team who work to encourage people from diverse communities to build their career with our force. They also provide support and guidance throughout the job application process to candidates from under-represented groups.