Eligibility to become a Police Support Volunteer

We seek to encourage individuals from all backgrounds to become Police Support Volunteers (PSVs) and we aim to be representative of the communities we serve.

The basic requirements for being a PSV are to be:

• A British citizen, or a national of a country within the European Economic Area or, if not, have leave to remain in the UK free of restrictions
• At least age 16 to apply
• Of good character (to meet the professional integrity and ethical behaviours of a member of the ‘police family’)
• In good health generally (but this will be assessed via completion of a medical questionnaire, and any relevant risks/adjustments identified)
• Able to speak and write English competently

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for appointment as a Police Support Volunteer, the following criteria apply:

Nationality

• You must be a British citizen or a citizen of a country that is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. Commonwealth citizens and foreign nationals are also eligible to apply but only if they are resident in the UK with indefinite leave to enter or remain, or EU settled status
• Applicants who are Commonwealth citizens or other foreign nationals, must provide proof (by submitting a copy of their passport) there are no restrictions on their stay in the UK. Nationals of the EEA or Switzerland must provide evidence their stay is free from restrictions

Residency

• You must be resident in the UK for 3-years prior to applying. If you have been out of the country for more than 3-months in the last 3-years, then you will have to provide sufficient information for consideration for us to carry out necessary security vetting checks
• All applicants must possess a valid national insurance number

Age

• Most PSV roles will require you to be 18 years of age and above (although some roles are suitable from age 16 years)
• You can therefore apply to become a PSV from 16 years of age
• There is no upper age limit for appointment

Convictions & Cautions

• Convictions or cautions will not necessarily preclude you from appointment. It will depend on their nature and the circumstances of the offence
• Failure to disclose convictions or cautions will, however, result in your application being terminated
• You will not be considered if you have any convictions for theft, dishonesty, violence, or Public Order offences
• You must have no Cautions or Juvenile Convictions for recordable offences within the last 5-years
• You may be considered if it is 10 years since the date of conviction for drink driving, or 5 years since the date of conviction for driving without insurance

Financial Position

• PSVs are in a privileged position regarding access to information and could be considered potentially vulnerable to corruption. Applicants should not therefore be under pressure from undischarged debts or liabilities and should be able to manage loans and debts sensibly
• You must have no County Court Judgments (CCJs) outstanding against you. You may be considered if you have a discharged CCJ
• If you have been registered as bankrupt and your bankruptcy depts have been discharged, you will only be considered after 3-years from the discharge date
• If you are the subject of a current Individual Voluntary Arrangements, you may not be considered

Tattoos

• Tattoos are not a bar to appointment. However, some tattoos could potentially offend members of the public or colleagues or could discredit the police service.  It depends on their size, nature and location, and sometimes on the extent
• We won’t accept candidates with tattoos which are visible on the hands, face or neck
• We won’t accept candidates with tattoos considered offensive by GMP (ie rude, lewd, crude, racist, sexist, sectarian, homophobic or violent), whether the tattoos are visible or not
• We will consider candidates with tattoos that are non-visible and considered to be non-offensive by GMP as they can be covered by uniform or clothing whilst on duty (eg a tattoo on the forearm should be covered by long sleeves)

Health & Fitness

• In order to become a PSV, you must be in good general health, of sound constitution and able to perform the role once appointed
• Prior to appointment, successful applicants fill in a medical questionnaire which will be reviewed by our Force Medical Officer. If any concerns are identified, you may be invited to attend a medical consultation with the Force Medical Officer, in order to ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to enable you to perform the role

Qualifications

• Although you do not need any formal qualifications, a good standard of education is required
• PSVs must be competent in both spoken and written English

• Incompatible Jobs
• Some occupations may be considered incompatible with being a Police Support Volunteer, this may be due to nature of a role, working in a particular industry or sector, or the role responsibilities
• Your occupation will be reviewed within the recruitment process during the initial application sift
• If you start a new job at any point during your application, or if there are changes in any of the information you provide in your application, you must inform us immediately.

Further Information

If you have any general queries about becoming a Police Support Volunteer, please email us.