Detective Constable
Our Detective Constable recruitment is now open.
We are accepting applications from new candidates and candidates with a valid Online Assessment Centre score.
If you have a valid Online Assessment Centre score, you can transfer your score to Gloucestershire Constabulary.
New candidates can apply further down this page.
Find out more about the role and how to apply further down this page.
About the role
As a detective, it is your job to uncover the truth. You will manage and conduct complex investigations which require you to talk to witnesses, analyse evidence and build trust with those around you.
You could be working in Major Crime dealing with homicides and Public Protection protecting our most vulnerable from abuse/exploitation.
You may find yourself in Serious Organised Crime, tackling high-level drug dealing and importation, or as part of our Intelligence and Investigations teams; solving some of the most serious crimes possible.
You will work closely with your uniformed colleagues and while it is not always like what you see on the TV, you will deal with some interesting and challenging situations.
You will need compassion to build relationships and the tenacity to see a case through from start to finish – from the crime scene to the court where through your investigation, justice could be served. The desire to seek results for victims and the emotional resilience to keep calm, yet confident are also critical.
Typical duties involve:
- Acting as the point of contact for victims of crime; seeking justice for them
- Analysing and interpreting data, examining records and documents
- Attending court, providing evidence and waiting for the verdict
- Handling forensic material and dealing with its submission
- Identifying witnesses and obtaining statements
- Interviewing suspects
- Liaising with partner agencies i.e. courts, schools, social care and health teams
- Participating in and/or conducting raids, searches and arrests
- Preparing and submitting case papers and evidential files
- Working with crime scene investigators, local prevention teams and media, among others, making a difference, together.
Training
The qualification you'll receive through our Detective Constable DHEP programme will be a Graduate Diploma in Professional Policing Practice. The course will run over 2 years.
All student officers in Gloucestershire Constabulary begin their careers doing front line police work. After the successful completion of the probation period, you will then work towards learning the skills required to become a detective.
The learning will consist of part time study alongside your operational role. Although we'll provide you with protected learning time, you will likely need to use some of your own time to complete the course.
Your work will be assessed in a variety of ways, including through essays, reports, presentations and professional discussions.
Throughout your police career, you'll receive on-going training, development, support and guidance to ensure you are fully equipped to do your job safely and confidently.
Benefits
- Pay of £28,551 for new full time Gloucestershire Detective Constables
- 22 days paid annual leave for police officers at the start of their careers, rising to 30 days plus 8 bank holidays
- Generous contributions to individual pension plans
- Maternity/paternity leave
- Our own awards programmes where we formally recognise excellence
- Access to our well-being package.
For full details of the benefits we offer, please visit our benefits package page.
Eligibility
Applicants must hold a degree to be able to apply for this role.
There is no upper age limit for applying to the police service, but bear in mind that being a detective is demanding both physically and mentally.
We welcome all ages as we believe a diverse workforce that is reflective of everyone who lives in our community is the best way to be effective. No matter your age, you bring important skills and perspectives that are key tools for being a detective.
You must hold a degree in any subject to be able to apply for the Detective Constable Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP).
You will need to provide proof of your qualifications as part of the application process.
You must be a British citizen, an EC/EEA national, Switzerland citizen or a Commonwealth citizen or foreign national with no restrictions on your stay in the United Kingdom. As we need a minimum of five year's residential history to be able to complete background checks, foreign nationals and UK citizens who have lived abroad may have to wait some time for security and vetting clearance. You must have been resident in the UK for at least 3 years with no breaks of longer than 3 months during this time immediately before applying.
You will need to have a full UK manual driving licence and be medically fit to drive to be appointed as a Detective Constable.
You are able to apply if you have a provisional driving licence but will not be allocated onto an intake until you have obtained a full UK manual driving licence.
A number of crimes will mean a definite or likely rejection of your application, including anyone who has received a formal caution in the last five years, committed a violent crime or public order offence. If you are at all unsure, get in contact and ask.
Tattoos are very common; all tattoos are reviewed to check appropriateness.
Images that are grotesque, violent, have a strong religious or political connection or would undermine the dignity and authority of your role would not be acceptable.
You will be required to upload photos of all tattoos located on your hands, wrist, forearms, neck and face within the application form.
Applicants will have their financial status checked. These checks are carried out because detectives have access to privileged information which may make them vulnerable to corruption.
Applicants with, or who have had, County Court Judgements or who may be on a Debt Recovery Plan will be assessed on a case by case basis. If you have any concerns, please ask before applying for more information.
To ensure you are fit enough for the role and to keep you safe, you will undertake a job related fitness test which you must pass before you can be appointed.
We are looking for no more than the minimum standard needed to enable you to work effectively as a detective. You will be given help to improve your fitness and if you prepare yourself properly, there is no reason for you to fail.
Detectives encounter stressful situations, trauma, physical confrontation and work long hours on shifts. They need to be resilient enough to cope with the demands and pressures of police work. Applicants must therefore be in good health mentally and physically to undertake detective duties. You will undergo a medical examination to ensure you meet the health standards required.
Applicants will have their eyesight tested at the medical assessment stage. You may be asked to go to an optician to have your eyes tested and the eyesight form filled in. Failure to pass this test will lead to rejection.
You can apply to more than one force at any one time if you wish, but it is important that candidates do not attend more than one Assessment Centre at a time.
If you have previously applied to join the police service and been unsuccessful at the Online Assessment Centre, you must wait three months from your initial rejection to apply again.
If you have already been to a SEARCH/Online Assessment Centre assessment and have received a successful result, this will be valid for 24 months maximum.
If you have a valid Online Assessment Centre Score and wish to transfer this to Gloucestershire Constabulary please use the link in the Apply to become a Detective Constable section.
Criteria
The need for the residency rule arises from the requirement to vet all applicants in an equitable manner. This is because the UK police service does not currently have any means of facilitating vetting enquiries overseas to the extent required for those who are resident in the UK.
The purpose of the residency criteria is to ensure that applicants have a checkable history in the UK, so that meaningful vetting enquiries can be undertaken. The criteria provide reassurance when considering the health and safety of police personnel and the public. Effective vetting cannot be conducted if there is no way to assess the honesty, integrity, reliability and overall suitability for clearance of appointees against the information available.
The residency requirements refer to the period immediately before an application is made, and not any other three-, five-, or ten-year period, or any other accumulation of time spent in the UK.
If an individual resides permanently in the UK, they are considered to be a UK resident.
An individual who has moved overseas and severed major ties to the UK (e.g., closed bank accounts and sold property) is considered to have surrendered their residency in the UK. This would also apply to people who maintain bank accounts purely for the purpose of receiving regular payments, e.g., a UK pension.
An individual is considered to be on an extended holiday if they have:
- spent a significant period of time overseas without returning to the UK, but intend to return in the future
- taken a gap year before or following university
- travelled for a year
- spent time overseas visiting family.
This is not an exhaustive list.
Individuals who meet the above criteria maintain their UK residency and may therefore be considered for vetting clearance.
An individual who has been posted overseas as part of their service with His Majesty's Government or the Armed Forces is considered to have been resident in the UK for the period that they were abroad.
Where an individual has been overseas as the spouse, partner or dependent of a member of the Armed Forces posted overseas, they can be considered to have been resident in the UK if their place of residence was within the confines of the establishment, e.g., a military base. If they were residing outside this, they are considered to have been resident overseas.
To be eligible to apply you need to have been resident in the UK for at least 3 years, with no breaks of longer than 3 months, immediately prior to submitting your application.
Recruitment stages and timelines
The start of the recruitment process will be to complete the online eligibility section of our E-Recruit system. It is important that you are open and honest with your responses.
This section checks your eligibility in line with the national recruitment standards. If you have met all the eligibility criteria you will be able to progress to the application form.
If you are successful through the online eligibility section, you will be able to access the application form. Your online application form must be submitted by the deadline of the particular recruitment drive you're applying for.
For candidates who are required to complete a competency based personal statement, you will be given 5 additional days to submit the personal statement for review.
You will be required to attend a mandatory familiarisation event before we progress your application to Assessment Centre.
This event is designed to give you a real insight into the role of a police officer and detective constable, the reality of daily tasks, training, career development as well as the benefits of joining the police.
You will hear first-hand accounts from Detectives and will give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have.
You must be able to attend the event in order to progress to the next stage of the application process, the assessment centre.
For applicant's applying by 2pm on Thursday 21 March 2024, the mandatory familiarisation event will take place at 1pm on Saturday 23 March 2024.
Following attendance at the Mandatory Familiarisation event your application will progress to next stage of the recruitment process the National Sift.
This process is run by the College of Policing and is a virtual process designed to assess your capabilities, strengths and behaviours to ensure you have the relevant competencies and values to become a police officer.
You will have 1 week to complete the two exercises:
- Situational Judgement Test (SJT)
- Behavioural Style Questionnaire (BSQ)
You should receive your results within two weeks of completing the National Sift. If successful at this stage, you will be invited to attend the Online Assessment Centre.
If you are unsuccessful you must wait for 3 months before you can apply again within a police officer recruitment campaign.
The Assessment Centre will be run by The College of Policing and is a virtual process designed to test the key competencies and values that are important for police constables.
You will have 1 week to complete the three exercises:
- Competency-based video interview
- Written exercise
- Briefing exercise
These exercises are designed to test your ability to think on your feet, make quick decisions based on sound judgement and also to measure your basic numeracy and literacy standards.
You should receive your results approximately four weeks after the Assessment Centre closes. If you are successful at this stage, you will then be invited to attend an interview at Police Headquarters in Quedgeley, Gloucestershire.
We use the interview to get to know more about you and how well suited you are to the role of a detective with Gloucestershire Constabulary.
The interview is based on Competency and Values Framework (CVF) and you will be assessed against Level 1 (Practitioner) in each case. The detective specific questions are focused on the competencies and values highlighted as priority for the detective pathway. The investigation exercise has been designed to test the thinking styles and behaviours relevant to the role of detective constable.
The exercise puts candidates in the role of a detective constable and allows them to explore how they would investigate a mock case scenario.
A medical assessment will generally be carried out by our Occupational Health Unit.
We will check:
- BMI (between 18-30)
- Eye sight (full details later in this guide)
- Colour vision (full details later in this guide)
- Hearing
You will be asked to complete a confidential medical history questionnaire. Depending upon your medical history, we may need to contact your GP or other specialist for further information.
The role of a detective is demanding. During the application and selection process we will be assessing your mental and physical fitness to undertake the role.
Fitness test
We test endurance through a fitness shuttle run commonly known as the Bleep Test. A good indicator of the fitness level needed for this test is to be able to run at a good pace for around four minutes over a distance of about 700 metres.
Bleep Test
Bleep Test (shuttle run) explained:
Required level is 5.4 = 5 levels and 4 shuttles over a 15 metre course.
Biometric Vetting
Prospective police officer are required to have their fingerprints and a DNA sample taken in accordance with Regulation 10A of the Police Regulations 2003 (as amended by the Police (Amendment) Regulations 2015).
The purpose of obtaining fingerprints and DNA samples is to allow for a speculative search to be made against the local and national databases prior to your appointment to the police service.
Your fingerprints will be retained separately on the Police Elimination Database and your DNA profile will be retained on the Centralised Elimination Database in line with the Police Regulations 2003. Your fingerprints and DNA profile will be used for the purposes of elimination only.
Substance Misuse Checks (Toxicology)
Applicants are required to complete a substance misuse test to check for any illegal substances. This involves taking a 3cm long sample of your hair normally from your head but it can be taken from other areas if you do not have sufficient head hair.
We will carry out security checks on you and your:
- Spouse/partner
- Father
- Step father/mother’s partner
- Mother
- Stepmother/father’s partner
- Brothers/sisters (full/half/step)
- Children/children of your partner (only those age 10
years and over) - Any other adult living at your address.
Financial circumstances
Applicants will have their financial status checked. These checks are carried out because police officers and police staff have access to privileged information, which may make them vulnerable to corruption. Applicants with outstanding County Court Judgements (CCJs), Individual Voluntary Agreements (IVAs) or who have been registered bankrupt with outstanding debts, will be rejected.
If you have discharged bankruptcy debts then you will need to provide a certificate of satisfaction with your application. At least three years will need to have passed since the date of discharge.
Ideally you should not have a criminal record, but some minor offences may not exclude you.
References
We will send reference requests to your current and previous employers in the last 5 years. If you haven’t been employed for 3 years, we will ask for an educational reference.
Successful candidates will be contacted by our Resourcing department with an offer of employment.
September 2024 intake
The timelines below are relevant for candidates who submit their application before 14:00 on Thursday 21 March 2024.
Applications submitted after this date will be processed for our next intake.
Opening date
2 January 2024
Closing date and time for applications to be submitted online
To ensure you have a place on the April 2024 Online Assessment Centre you must submit your full application by 14:00 on Thursday 21 March 2024.
Applications received after this date will be processed for our next Online Assessment Centre.
Mandatory familiarisation events
Information to be sent to candidates who apply by 14:00 on Thursday 21 March 2024. The event will be at 1pm on Saturday 23 March 2024.
National Sift
For candidates applying by 14:00 on Thursday 21 March 2024, both National Sift exercises by must completed and submitted online by 23:59 on Monday 22 April 2024
Assessment Centre
Opens on Thursday 25 April 2024. The Online Assessment Centre will be available 24 hours a day and closes at midnight on Thursday 2 May 2024.
Interviews
Commencing June 2024
Pre-employment checks and in force appointments
Commencing June/July 2024
First intake start date
September 2024, date to be confirmed.
Before you apply
Prior to your application, please make sure that you have checked the eligibility and criteria information and that you are able to attend one of the mandatory familiarisation events.
Please note that if you are unable to attend any of the mandatory familiarisation events you will not be able to apply for this role.
You can prepare for your application by having:
- Your National Insurance Number.
- All of your educational qualification certificates ready.
- Your educational history information including the name and contact details of any secondary schools, colleges, universities or other institutions attended.
- Your employment history information for the past 3 years ready. You will need the employers name and contact details.
- 5 years of residential details ready. For example, details of university accommodation if you have lived at another address whilst at university within the past 5 years.
- 2 photographs of any tattoos located on your hands, wrist, forearms, neck or face; 1 close up of the tattoo and 1 clearly showing the location on your body.
- If you do not have a level 3 qualification you can prepare your competency based personal statement so you can submit along with the application form. Please view the Eligibility section and competency based statement for guidance on the requirements.