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Police Officer Recruitment Position
I have been reading comments on the recruitment blogs concerning recent events. First, I really want to express my personal regret about what has happened. We didn’t plan it like this and I truly regret the disappointment that our decision has caused you. What we could not anticipate is that our staff attrition levels would so seriously reduce to a level that our recruitment plans, commenced so many months ago, would prove to be unsustainable. I understand the comments that many of you make but want to assure you that our decision has been taken after the most careful consideration and in anticipation of fairly serious and unprecedented budget reductions.
There are some topics on the blogs that I think I can clarify:
- At this stage it is just not possible to predict exactly when we will be in a position to recruit police officers. Our current assessment would suggest around 2 to 3 years but be assured that our position will be reviewed frequently
- Candidates who have passed their (Police officer) NRS Day 1 assessment and decide to become a ‘Special’ will not be required to undertake the NRS Day 1 assessment again. When we are recruiting police officers in the future and there are more qualified candidates than vacancies, a competitive selection process will be introduced but this is likely to be a scaled down process from the current NRS assessment process.
- I confirm that a NRS Day 1 pass is now valid for 2 years from the date of your assessment.
- Joining the Metropolitan Special Constabulary will have a positive impact on any future applications you make. It will provide skills and experience in policing which will equip you to be an effective patrol officer at the outset of your police career. In addition, if successful in your application to be a police officer, your conversion from MSC to police officer likely to be rather shorter than the current 25 weeks.
I hope this provides a little clarity.
Martin Tiplady
Director of Human Resources