Officer Recruitment - Current Campaign Timeline

Student Officer October 2026 Recruitment Campaign Timeline

The timeline below highlights key stages of the October 2026 recruitment process and provides indicative dates for those stages. Please note, dates are subject to change.

Throughout the process, candidates are reminded that they should keep a regular check on their registered email (including junk/spam folders) in case of contact about your application. Also, double-check Recruitment News on the homepage of this website, in case of any urgent updates.

Recruitment Stages / Key Matters	Date / Timing
Applications Open	12th October 2026 at 9am.
Applications Close	30th November 2026 at 3pm.
Date that age criteria applies	30th November 2026. Your 17th birthday must be on or before this date. Your 58th birthday must be after this date.
Reasonable Adjustments Evidence Due Date	30th November 2026 at 5pm (Initial Phase).
Important date by which you are asked to contact us if you have NOT heard from us by email to confirm receipt following submission of your original application	10 working days following submission of application. We will update Recruitment News on the Police-Officer homepage to indicate when we have processed all applications and have communicated with everyone to confirm receipt, so it is worthwhile checking there regularly, particularly if you are applying close to the application deadline. (We would ask for your patience while we process applications, but it is important that you follow up if you have not heard from us, to be sure everything is in order. Please refrain from contacting us until you know that the 10 working days have elapsed, or as informed via Recruitment News).
Initial Selection Test Phase	December 2026, exact dates TBC (please check regularly for updates on exact timeline via this page and via Recruitment News on our homepage).
Evidence Uploader Phase (Education and Right to Work)	Late January 2027, exact date TBC (please check regularly for updates on exact timeline via this page and via Recruitment News on our homepage).
Date by which you must have achieved the necessary education qualifications (This date aligns with the closing date of the Evidence Uploader Phase)	Exact date TBC, but will likely be a date in Late January 2027. When known, this will be communicated via this page and via our Eligibility Criteria - Key Matters webpage.
Assessment Centre Phase	TBC - Spring to Summer 2027.
Merit List	TBC - Summer 2027.