Accessibility links
The UK’s official graduate careers website
Accessibility links
There are currently 43 police forces in the United Kingdom - a list is available from the Association of Police Authorities (APA) - and they employ around 140,500 police officers, 14,000 volunteer special constables and 13,400 community support officers.
Chief constables report to local police authorities (known as policing boards in Northern Ireland), which are independent statutory bodies identifying the strategic direction of police services. Pay, conditions of service and discipline are regulated by the Home Office , the Scottish Executive Justice Department or the Police Service of Northern Ireland .
Specialist forces, such as the British Transport Police , the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) , operate in their own areas in a similar way to the local forces. Roles also arise within the National Policing Improvements Agency (NPIA) , which is responsible for providing support in areas such as information and communications technology and national training and development programmes for future generations of police staff.
The Forensic Science Service (FSS) is a government-owned company and is the key provider of forensic science services to police services in England and Wales. It is managed from its headquarters in Birmingham with centres in Wetherby, Chorley, Huntingdon, Chepstow and London. In Scotland, the largest forensic science service is based in Strathclyde (see Strathclyde Police under 'specialist units') and there are also four forensic science laboratories, in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Support staff are increasingly used to meet the needs of specific police investigations across a wide spectrum of crimes such as drugs, traffic, organised, property, high-tech, commercial, serious and international.
Search graduate jobs on this site.
Recruitment agencies, such as Police Vacancies and Police Information advertise roles for police officers who want to transfer services and for retired officers. Some support roles are advertised via the Civil Service Jobs Online .
See also job hunting tips and applications, CVs and interviews.
This website is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with CSS enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets if you are able to do so.
