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Police Constable

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Police Constable Career Details

Police constables, often referred to as police officers, serve the community. They aim to protect life and property, preserve order, prevent and investigate crime, and detect and prosecute offenders.

After training, police constables work as uniformed constables on the beat (either on foot or in a patrol car) or on police station duties, these would be working on the reception desk and dealing with the public, custodial duties and working in the communications room in two-way contact with officers on the beat.

Police constables undertake a range of tasks, including:

responding to calls for assistance from the public
making enquiries into crimes and offences and making arrests
interviewing witnesses and suspects, preparing crime reports and taking statements
searching for missing persons
giving evidence in court
attending accidents and fires
policing large public events, concerts and demonstrations
visiting schools to give talks.

Working Environment

Police constables normally work 40 hours a week on a shift system which can include nights, with two rest days each week. Constables would usually be expected to work weekends and public holidays. Overtime is often available. You can apply to join the police force on a part-time basis.

Police constables may spend much of their time outdoors, on foot, in a patrol car or on a motorcycle. Work indoors is in a police station, a court of law, or on private or business premises.

Police Constable Related Skills

To be a police constable you should:

be honest, confident and socially aware, with a mature attitude
be able to weigh up a situation, react quickly and take positive action
be resilient and able to remain calm in sometimes life-threatening situations
have the ability to work alone or in a team and to communicate clearly
have courage initiative and common sense
be physically fit to deal with incidents and disturbances
be able to record details of incidents and arrests accurately
be firm, yet tactful and able to show tolerance and courtesy to the public
have the ability to be disciplined, and able to give and receive instructions.

Police Constable Career Opportunities

The police service consists of 52 forces throughout the UK.

As higher rank positions are filled from within the police service, there are frequent promotion opportunities on passing the appropriate examinations.

Police constables may have the opportunity to specialise in one of the many specific branches such as the traffic police, the fraud squad or underwater search units.

A High Potential Development Scheme (HDP) exists to enable talented members of police forces to take advantage of fast track promotion opportunities. Any serving officer can apply to join the scheme after serving the initial two years as a constable. It is particularly attractive to graduates as the selection process is fairly intensive and favours candidates with good educational achievements and strong leadership abilities.

Further Career Information

If you would like to know more about a career as an Police Constable related facts, statistics, articles and websites.

Career Steps

Not quite sure about a career as a Police Constable? Try our step-by-step career guide to reaching your chosen career.

Career Courses

Not quite qualified to be a Police Constable? Take a look at Training Police Constable courses, our course browses or use our search form and find courses which will help you on your chosen career path.

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