Apply to Become a Police Officer

To apply to become a police officer, you don’t need any formal qualifications. What matters most is the relevant skills you might already have.

You may have gained skills from the job you do, the community you live in or through your friends and family. The way you live, the values you hold, and how you treat others all count. We look for real-life skills during our selection process.

Skills you need

Being a police officer can be tough. It will test you mentally and physically, and one of major traits we look for in all our candidates is resilience.

Our officers support people through very difficult times and share in their good moments too.  We need people who can stay strong and help others through it all.

You can apply if you:

• are 18 or over
• are physically fit
• have lived in the UK for at least three years
• hold a manual driving license
• meet the national eyesight standard

You need to be able to drive police vehicles in different conditions. This means you need to meet DVLA’s group 2 medical driving licence standards.

Pay and benefits

We offer a competitive starting salary of £32,725. You will receive yearly pay increments over 11 years up to £52,549.

Your pension

You are entitled to automatic entry into the contributory police pension scheme. This is one of the best pensions schemes and starts at the age of 60. You can work beyond this and retire later.

Learn more about our pension scheme from the Scottish Public Pensions Agency.

Work and life balance

We offer:

• flexible working (including part-time working and full-time compressed hours)
• 28 days annual leave
• adoption, maternity and paternity leave
• shared parental leave (for the first year after a child is born)
• special leave (which covers both paid and unpaid leave for family emergencies)
• parental leave (a total of 18 weeks’ parental leave is available for each child under the age of 18)
• career breaks (process for taking unpaid time off for up to five years)

Health and wellbeing

Your wellbeing is one of our priorities. We have a wide range of services in place to support you. These include:

• Occupational Health
• Employee Assistance Programme, which includes 24/7 in the moment support, resources and advice, and access to free face to face or virtual counselling
• eligibility to pay a small fee to access the Police Treatment Centres, which offer a wide range of physical and psychological support options
• eligibility to join the Scottish Police Credit Union
• eligibility to access Police Mutual Financial products and resources
• eligibility to join Scottish Police Recreation Association (SPRA) and utilise gyms throughout the Police estate
• support and trauma risk management assessment after traumatic incidents

Financial services and discounts

You can access:

• loans and savings at competitive rates through the Police Credit Union
• financial advice from Police Mutual
• a range of discounts and offers, and wellbeing support
• the Scottish Police Recreation Association offering a range of sport and recreational benefits
• the Blue Light card

What to expect

Your probationary period lasts for 2 years, and you will spend most of that time working in response policing. During this time you will face lots of different challenges and learn quickly.

After your probation, you will continue learning and can also apply for specialist roles and training. These career areas include:

• public order
• intelligence
• armed policing
• negotiator
• wildlife crime
• detective
• cybercrime
• road policing
• counter terrorism policing
• child protection

A supportive team

You’ll be part of a very supportive team. Together with your colleagues, you will build strong bonds and share memorable moments.

You will always have a partner by your side, as well as group, shift and division support.