Police officer recruitment process

Once you pass the online assessment the next step to becoming a police officer is the fitness test.

It's simply to test you've got the basic level of fitness needed to be a police officer, not an Olympic athlete.

It involves a multi-stage run known as the bleep test.  It takes 3 minutes and 35 seconds and is made up of 35 15-metre shuttle runs between two points.  You'll hear a bleep at set intervals.  You need to reach the other side before the next bleep.  The bleeps speed up during the test.

Your running speed will start at 7.9 kilometres per hour and will increase to 9.9 kilometres per hour, which means you'll end up running the 15 metre stretch in five to six seconds by the end of the test.

Think you're not fit enough?  Don't worry, it's not super hard as long as you're reasonably fit and do some training in advance you should be absolutely fine.

Let's take a look at the best way to train.

Focus on exercise activities that increase your cardiovascular fitness, for example running.  Regular runs build up your heart and lung capacity and your leg muscles. 

Try a mix of interval training and steady running.

With interval training, warm up for 5 minutes followed by 30 seconds hard sprint then 30 seconds of walking.  Do this 10 times then cool down. 

Interval training simulates what your body will go through in the bleep test.

With steady running, warm up for five minutes followed by running at a steady pace for a few minutes eventually building up to around 15 minutes, then cool down.

It's good to include some 180-degree turns into your runs.  That's where you pivot and run the other way.  That's because you'll be running back and forth between two points in the bleep test rather than in a straight line

And you can mix up running with other aerobic exercise like swimming, rowing, cycling and cross trainer.  These all use large muscle groups and are great for building up your heart and lung capacity but as the test is running based make sure you're building up your leg muscles.  Running really should make up the bulk of your training.

Here's some of our top training tips

• don't start training the week before the test, start training at least six weeks before.
• not a regular exerciser? Seek medical advice before starting your training .
• start slowly and build up the length and intensity of your training sessions.
• always warm up and cool down properly.
• remember to stretch and build in toning and strengthening exercises they'll really help increase your overall fitness.
• record your progress. Seeing your fitness improve will help keep you motivated.
• don't forget to keep your fluid levels up as you train.
• why not train with friends? it's safer and more enjoyable.
• don't overdo it. Give yourself rest days to recover.

Looking for some extra support?  Here are some handy training resources.

Search fifteen metre bleep test on i-Tunes, Google Play and You Tube and try the NHS couch to 5k app.

Remember you don't need to be superhuman to pass the fitness test.

Follow our training tips and you should be able to pass no problem.

Best of luck.

Getting to the vetting stage of the recruitment process is a huge achievement, so well done

You're just one step away from becoming a police officer.

You now need to pass the vetting stage of the recruitment process.

It's a very thorough process involving detailed background checks plus fingerprinting and DNA checks with your consent

Why is it necessary?

It's because police officers are in a position of trust, so we need officers who are 100% honest and trustworthy with the highest levels of integrity who aren't vulnerable to blackmail or corruption.

So what's involved in vetting?

We'll ask you about your previous names and any aliases that you've used and your address history for the last five years.

Why?

We need to confirm your identity and eligibility to work in the UK.  We'll also ask you about your finances.  We'll ask

• how you describe your overall financial situation
• whether you own or rent your home and details of your mortgage if you have one,
• your monthly income and expenditure,
• whether you have any savings and borrowings, whether you are or have ever been declared bankrupt or had a county court judgment against you
• and we'll ask if you've had any secondary employment or business interests.

Why?

We need to assess how vulnerable you could be to bribery or corruption.  It's important to note that we don't base our assessment on the amount of debt you might have.  We're assessing your ability to manage it well.  We'll also ask you about your family and friends.  We'll ask about your partner and their address history for the last five years, your parents and your partner's parents, your full, half and step siblings, your children if they're over 10 years of age and we’ll ask about all co-residents at your current address like lodgers or

other family members.

Why?

We need to assess whether they have any criminal convictions and if so whether you could be vulnerable to corruption or coercion. 

We'll ask you about

• all your previous contact with the police,
• if you have any cautions or convictions or have been issued with a fixed penalty notice,
• if you've ever been arrested,
• if you've ever been involved in an investigation,
• your traffic offences excluding parking
• or if you have any criminal associates and if so their details.

Why?

We need to consider the potential for embarrassment to be caused to our force or the police service.  We also need to consider your credibility and whether there's a potential for information to be leaked or for you to be put under pressure by associates.

So what are the most common errors on the vetting forms?

• failing to provide your full address history
• failing to list all family members for example step-parents step siblings and half siblings
• failing to include details of your partner whether you live together or apart
• failing to declare cautions convictions and any previous contact with the police

It's good to assume all previous contact will be on our system.  If you don't declare it, it raises questions around your honesty and integrity.

Here are two key things to get right

• always be 100% honest
• and if you're unsure about whether to declare something it's best to declare it. Your honesty will be valued and we'll be able to help you through the vetting process

And that's it.  We hope that's helped you prepare for the vetting stage of your application process.  Best of luck.