Study in Cambridge or Chelmsford and gain the knowledge and skills you need to become a police constable.*

You’ll get hands-on experience in our crime scene rooms and mock court rooms, as well as through practical role-playing, case study scenarios, workshops and study trips.

All our BSc (Hons) Professional Policing students follow the College of Policing’s National Policing Curriculum, learning to think like a police officer and developing problem-solving, communication, negotiation, leadership and research skills. These skills will help you rise up the ranks when you join the force, potentially doubling your salary in just seven years.

Policing is growing as a profession. The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and National Police Chiefs Council recently set out a ten-year plan for transforming the police, in order to deal with rapidly changing demands in England and Wales.

As of 2020, taking a pre-join degree will be one of three possible routes into policing as a Police Constable. This route, licensed by the College of Policing, will allow you to follow their curriculum, as well as gaining a wider understanding of law enforcement and the justice sector.

You’ll learn how to tackle the latest challenges facing the police force, work with our Policing Institute for the Eastern Region on cutting-edge research projects, and attend guest lectures by serving officers. Our team of expert lecturers will guide and support you throughout the course.

In Essex alone, the number of police officers grew by 5% from March 2017 to March 2018. Our course will help you stand out as a potential police constable, so you can become fully qualified, and gain Independent Patrol Status, soon after you graduate.*

The future of the police will increasingly feature multi-agency collaboration, or ‘inter-operability’, driven by new forms of technology, evidence-based policing and innovation. Our course will prepare you for these developments, as well as training you to reflect critically and constructively on their implications.

Studying our BSc Professional Policing will put you in an excellent position to apply to be a police constable, demonstrating your ability to contribute to the policing profession through being a capable problem solver, communicator, negotiator and leader, as well as being socially and emotionally intelligent in the performance of a professional policing role. The skills and knowledge you gain on this course will also prepare you for work within the wider criminal justice sector, including the prison service, local government or the security industry.

However, successfully completing the degree does not guarantee your entry to any police force: you must also meet the eligibility criteria of the force you intend to apply to and follow their specific recruitment processes. You will need to pass medical and fitness tests, background and security checks, and a series of assessments including National Recruitment processes and Force vetting. If you complete the course and are subsequently employed by a force, you will be subject to a two-year probationary period post-join, as specified in Police Regulations.

While recruitment processes and eligibility criteria are broadly similar for entry as a police constable, each police force in England and Wales sets its own recruitment process and selection policy, and entry requirements can vary from force to force. You are advised to check your eligibility against the information on the website of the force that you are interested in applying to. More detailed eligibility criteria are available on the College of Policing website, and the websites of individual police forces.