Police launch recruitment drive

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said: “We are looking for people who want to make a positive contribution to Northern Ireland and are committed to making a difference.

“We need individuals who understand the benefits of policing with the community and the positive impact it can have on people’s lives.

“We know from our previous campaigns that people from across Northern Ireland want to join the Police Service. To ensure that potential candidates have all the information they need we are hosting three familiarisation events taking place on October 10 in Belfast, Londonderry and Omagh. I would encourage anyone who has ever thought about a career in policing to come along to one of the events.”

So what will you need to apply?

The application process is as follows:

• Candidates must complete an application form (on-line). You need at least 5 GCSEs (or equivalent) at A* to C grade, including Maths and English Language. For equivalent qualifications check JoinPSNI.co.uk. An IT qualification is no longer required, but you do need to be computer literate. Your level of computer literacy will be established as part of the assessment process.

• Those applicants who meet the criteria are then invited to sit an Initial Selection Test (IST). This test is designed to accommodate a high volume of candidates over a short period of time, and uses an ability test developed specifically for PSNI to assess how well candidates use their critical, numerical, and verbal reasoning to deal with a series of problems. The test also assesses how well candidates deal with a series of situations that a police officer may be expected to face. Those candidates who score highest against the various elements of the test are invited to the Assessment

Centre.

• The Assessment Centre consists of a series of exercises designed to assess how candidates deal with real-life policing scenarios. These are both interactive and written exercises, and are similar to the types of exercises that the successful candidates will encounter in training.

• Those who meet the required standard are placed on a merit list, and this list is then passed to the PSNI. At this stage there are five further stages to be looked at: medical; vetting; physical competency assessment; substance misuse testing; and online learning.

Information sessions will be held on Saturday 10th October 2015.

Sessions will commence at 10am and will take place every hour, with the last session at 3pm, at the following venues:-

Strule Arts Centre, Townhall Square, Omagh, BT78 1BL

Waterfoot Hotel, Caw Roundabout, Waterside, Derry / Londonderry, BT47 6TB

Belfast Metropolitan College, Millfield Campus, 125-153 Millfield, Belfast, BT1 1HS

Information is also available on www.joinpsni.co.uk