Police Constable Entry Programme (PCEP) | Merseyside Police

FIND YOUR BEAT….. 

Protecting your streets

Caring for your community

Taking pride in what you do

Student Police Officer – Police Constable Entry Programme (PCEP)
Starting Salary: £29,907
Normal working hours: 40 hours per week - working shifts (including nights, evenings and weekends) 
Various locations across Merseyside

About a Policing Career in Merseyside Police

From intelligence operator to armed officer, wherever you see yourself specialising, we'll help you find your beat. Police Officers are the face and voice in the community - they’re on the ground, speaking to victims, preventing crime and making a real difference. They come from different walks of life but are united by the same goal – to keep communities safe.

From Liverpool's bright lights to Sefton's sandy beaches, you'll be serving a population of 1.5 million and covering a geographical area of 647 square kilometres. Being a part of Merseyside Police is a unique experience.  You won’t just be building better communities, you’ll be building a career that counts.

We want our people to reflect the communities we serve, people who can bring diversity of experience, people who are willing to protect our streets. It’s not always easy, some days will be tougher than others, but the sense of pride makes it worth every second. 

About our PCEP Programme

It’s a two-year programme where you’ll focus on learning the skills needed for the job rather than working towards a qualification.  It’s all about developing the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to be ‘confirmed in rank’ as an operational police officer.

As a student officer you’ll be supported from day one by experienced trainers. You’ll get a good mix of working on the front line and time spent learning the theory. You’ll also get to experience working in different policing teams to boost your experience and give you a chance to apply your learning.

By the time you’ve completed your two-year probation period – demonstrating that you’ve gained and continually used your policing knowledge, skills and behaviours, you’ll be eligible to be confirmed in rank as a police officer.

You’ll be amazed at how many different roles there are in policing. When you’ve finished your training and been confirmed in rank, your first posting will be to either in Response and Patrol or Local Policing, Uniform Area Investigations/Protecting Vulnerable People. This will give you a fantastic grounding in the nuts and bolts of policing and is the perfect starting point to help decide what direction you’d like your career in policing to take. 

We anticipate a high number of applications for this new entry route and may close earlier than the advertised closing date so if you think this is the role for you, apply today!

Join us and you'll be on the ground, preventing crime and making a real difference to people's lives. It's not always easy, it's not always predictable, but the sense of reward and excitement is like nothing else.

Nothing beats being a Merseyside Police Officer…

Our Recruitment Process

Due to Merseyside Police’s recruitment requirements for 25/26 and the volume of applications we will receive it may be a while before you receive email correspondence as the Force prioritises entry routes based on earliest start date however, please be rest assured that your application will be reviewed. We ask you to regularly check your emails and respond at your earliest convenience to ensure you have sufficient time to progress towards our intakes.

We require evidence of Level 2 Maths and English Language GCSEs which can be Grade C/4 and above or Level 2 Functional Skills or equivalent. We can only accept qualifications which are equivalent to this level of Maths and English specifically and cannot accept qualifications in other subjects.  Please ensure you have these certificates ready to upload to the supporting documents section before applying and do not upload any qualifications that are not relevant. If in the event you have any questions, or you have trouble uploading your qualifications / tattoo images, please send them to careers@merseyside.police.uk at the time of application.

Please provide 5 years employment/education history without gaps as part of the experience and education history section of your application form. We will use this information to obtain references with your permission. 

Our process consists of a number of stages and we are wishing to progress applicants for a 2025/2026 intake so please make yourself available for all stages as/when you are invited to enable us to process your application in time for this.

• Initial sift – this will be against the criteria outlined on our Police Constable Entry Programme page here under “Am I eligible to apply” - please note that you would not be eligible for this route if you already have a degree in Professional Policing Practice  - you need to upload images of qualifications and any tattoos to progress
• College of Policing National Sift 
• College of Policing Online Assessment – details about this can be found here - Assessments are scheduled in January for mid 2025 intakes 
• In Force interview assessing your values and behaviours aligned to the expected standards of a Police Officer
• Pre-employment checks which include references, fitness test, medical, biometrics and vetting.
• Final offer and confirmation of start date.

We anticipate a high number of applications for this new entry route and may close earlier than the advertised closing date so if you think this is the role for you, apply today!

Please note: Internal applicants must apply externally using a new personal email address.

If you have been unsuccessful for any Police Officer with Merseyside or any other Home Office force within the past 3 months, you must wait 3 months from the date of application before applying again. Please contact careers@merseyside.police.uk for further information 

If you are a degree holder and have a greater interest in becoming a detective and investigating crime then please apply via our DC DHEP advert (prior to the advert closing). If you are a non-degree holder or are unsure about what policing career suits you, please be aware, albeit vacancies exist and after completion of your probationary period, you will be able to request participation on our internal CID AIDES programme should you wish to embark on this career pathway to become a detective.

About our commitment to Inclusion

Building a workforce that represents our communities is important to us. Not only do we aim to attract and keep people with the best skills and highest potential, we want to attract people into policing who may not have considered a career with us before. We particularly welcome applications from females, and black and ethnic minority candidates; these groups are growing, yet are under-represented within Merseyside Police at officer level currently.

To help us achieve a workforce that represents our communities, we have a dedicated Inclusion team who work to encourage people from diverse communities to build their career with our force. They also provide support and guidance throughout the job application process to candidates from under-represented groups. To find out more about the support on offer from our dedicated Inclusion team please click here or contact us at Outreach@merseyside.police.uk