Brompton Academy

Police Service

Sector Outlook As a result of budget cuts, career oppor tunities in the police are unfor tunately few and far between. Over the next four years police budgets in England and Wales are expected to fall by 20% and there could be a reduction of more than 16,200 officers. The effect will be felt par ticularly in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, Nottinghamshire and London. In par ticular the number of young police officers in England and Wales has fallen significantly. Between 2010 and 2012 in Cleveland, Nor th Wales and Staffordshire the fall in the number of officers aged under 26 was more than 70%. Although recruitment is down, it’s wor th remembering that there are 43 regional police forces in England and Wales each with its own authority. You might need to be prepared to move elsewhere to find the oppor tunity you want. You could also consider a career with the British Transpor t Police or volunteer as a special constable, a role that hopes to select 9000 new recruits. In Scotland there has been a rise in the number of police officers leaving the force due to dissatisfaction with changes to the pension scheme and lucrative salaries being offered by the oil industries. As a result new oppor tunities are likely to become available with Police Scotland as the force looks at how to improve retention rates and recruit new officers. Gaining life experience is one of the keys to entry into the Police Service, so you may want to consider other security careers or the armed services prior to applying. If you have IT skills, customer service skills, business administration ability or other skill sets, you may want to look at the range of suppor t oppor tunities that are available in the police.