Police officer numbers have been increasing in Thames Valley as part of the Home Office funded recruitment programme. With around 4,500 officers serving across our communities, supported by more than 3,500 PCSOs, Special Constables and staff, police officers numbers are now higher than they have been decade.
There are several ways to join the police, including a degree apprenticeship and an entry for those who already have a degree. These new entry routes were introduced in the last few years by the College of Policing to recognise the significantly more complex roles that officers have to manage in modern policing.
The traditional, non-academic, route still remains an option - for now - and Thames Valley Police are currently open to the final tranche of applications under this scheme. The Initial Police Learning & Development Programme, or IPLDP as it's known, is due to be phased out early next summer.
The degree and degree apprenticeship entry routes are well used by Thames Valley Police and attract a wide range of candidates, but I believe there remains a place for the traditional entry into policing. Additional training, whether academic or vocational, is always required to rise through the ranks, so an entry as a Police Constable should not be solely restricted to those with academic ability. The increase in recruitment nationally is a great opportunity to increase diversity in our workforce. We are seeing many more women joining the ranks of Thames Valley Police and an increasing diversity in our ethnic mix means that police officers are more representative of the communities they police. But diversity comes in many forms and the traditional IPLDP entry into policing, run alongside the new degree-level entry, will bring depth and experience to the front-line of Thames Valley Police.
Thames Valley Police is currently accepting applicants under all entry-routes, details can be found at tvpcareers.co.uk/roles/police-officer/.
