Mounted Unit - Constable
About the role:
Do you have what it takes to join an exciting and unique team? For the first time in 25 years, police horses are returning to the West Midlands. The West Midlands Police Mounted Unit is recruiting Constables to become an integral part of this prestigious department to deliver first-class policing to our communities.
This is your opportunity to support key policing events, community engagement activities, and public order deployments, all while developing equine expertise.
The Mounted Unit plays a vital role in public order policing, intelligence-led patrols, reassurance, and community engagement. Successful applicants will be involved in all aspects of mounted policing, including horse riding and equine care.
For individuals considering applying to join the mounted unit, we are hosting a briefing sessions Friday 10 January 2025 at 10:00. Please click here to register your attendance.
We encourage attendees to submit their questions in advance to help us address as many as possible during the sessions.
As a Mounted Constable, your duties will include:
• Deployments in public order policing, major sporting events, and crowded spaces.
• Supporting pre-planned and spontaneous public disorder operations.
• Conducting crime reduction patrols, reassurance patrols, and community engagement.
• Providing operational support to Local Policing Areas (LPAs) in line with force priorities.
• Horse care, equine management, and maintaining high equestrian standards.
The Mounted Unit provides Force cover 7 days a week, with shifts between 0700 and midnight. Flexibility is essential, as deployments may sometimes occur outside these hours at short notice.
Key Dates:
The assessment for this role requires a significant commitment from applicants. All applicants must confirm availability for the following:
• Role Suitability Assessment: 8th- 16th February 2025.
• Interviews: 10th–14th February 2025.
• Riding Suitability Assessment: Week commencing 24th February 2025 (location – London)
• Standard Equine Course (Residential, location - London): March–July 2025 (20 weeks, in partnership with MPS).
Who We’re Looking For:
We welcome applications from officers who are passionate about serving their communities and developing specialist skills. To ensure we reflect the communities we serve, we particularly encourage applications from female officers, officers from ethnic minority backgrounds, and LGBTQ+ officers.
While previous horse-riding experience is not essential, applicants must demonstrate:
• Flexibility to meet the demanding schedule of the Mounted Unit.
• Strong operational policing experience.
• Excellent communication and engagement skills.
Essential Skills:
• Flexibility with working time demands of the department.
• Knowledge and experience of Public Order Policing
• Evidence of strong operational policing competence
• Experience of level 2 public order policing
• PST trained
• Excellent communication & engagement skills
• Willingness to complete mandatory Suitability Assessment Ride in MPS 8th/9th,15th/ or 16th February 2025?
• Willingness to complete 20-week Residential Standard Equine Course in MPS
Desirable Skills:
• Prior horse-riding skills and knowledge
Vetting
Successful applicants will be required to pass Recruitment Vetting and Counter Terrorism Clearance scrutiny prior to commencing their role, this will include a full background & financial disclosure as part of the vetting process. Upon being successful we will contact your current force regarding any PSD previous or outstanding Investigations.
Medical
Appointment to this role will be dependent upon successfully medical checks, which may include a drugs test and if required a fitness test.
Prospective officers and staff must be held to a higher standard of behaviour and accountability than members of the public, and that therefore their right to privacy can be fettered in certain circumstances. This is to ensure that members of the police are fully aware and accountable for the unique powers entrusted to them and the standards of professional behaviour they swear to uphold.
West Midlands Police is a Disability Confident Leader - the highest level an organisation can achieve under the scheme run by the Department of Work and Pensions. As part of our commitment we operate a ‘Disability Confident Interview Scheme’ - all candidates who declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be offered an interview.
It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people who meet the essential criteria for the job. For example: in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. In these circumstances, the employer could select the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job, as they would do for non-disabled applicants.
"Diversity and Inclusion Vision: Maximise the potential of people from all backgrounds through a culture of fairness and inclusion to deliver the best service for our communities