Wiltshire Police will become the first force in the south west to recruit new officers since the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review in October 2010, when the application process starts tomorrow.

The force will be recruiting police officers to create a pool of applicants from which to fill 15 positions, with successful candidates starting work in late 2013 and early 2014.

Applicants must be aged between 18 and 57 and have a minimum of five GCSEs grades A*-C or equivalent, including Maths and English.

The application process will take around 46 weeks from the initial application stage to the date employment will commence with Wiltshire Police.

Chief Constable Pat Geenty said: “I am delighted that we are in a position to open our recruitment for police officers. Although the service is facing many challenges, policing remains an excellent career choice.

“It offers an exceptionally diverse career in public service, offering individuals the chance to make a real difference to local communities.”

All applicants must reside within Wiltshire, Avon and Somerset, Gloucestershire, Devon and Cornwall, Thames Valley, Dorset, Hampshire or South Wales in order to apply.

Current Wiltshire Police staff and members of the public are welcome to apply, with applications particularly encouraged from minority ethnic communities, as they are presently under-represented within Wiltshire Police.

The initial salary will be £19,000 per year and applicants will be required to be physically fit and in good health, have good unaided vision and hold a full UK driving licence by the start date.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Angus Macpherson said: “I am very pleased that the Constabulary is starting the process to recruit new police officers.

“I have said that having frontline officers out on the beat within our local communities is very important to me and recruiting new officers will ensure that we continue to do just that.

“Being a police officer can be a very challenging and rewarding job to do with a range of development opportunities.

“Our Police should reflect our communities and I would particularly encourage people from minority ethnic communities to consider applying for this very interesting career opportunity in Wiltshire and Swindon.”

Wiltshire Police will open recruitmen at 4pm tomorrow via the online pre-assessment tool, a link to which will be available on the Wiltshire Police website, Facebook and Twitter pages.

Applications will be monitored and will be closed once required levels of interest have been met. Applicants must apply via the online pre assessment tool which can only be hosted on the following browsers -Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3.6, Google Chrome 8, Safari 5 (Mac and PC).
The online pre assessment tool has not been developed for mobile platforms (iPads, tablets, iPhones etc) so applicants will need to use a laptop or normal computer.

For more information please call the dedicated HR Recruitment phoneline on 01380 734 132 or email policerecruit@wiltshire.pnn.police.uk