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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.
Police Service