Essex Police

Want to be part of the Essex Police family? You can apply now

At Essex Police, we value difference. That’s why we have officers from all sorts of backgrounds in a variety of roles, who protect and serve the wonderfully diverse communities in Essex.

We have over 300 job roles available in the Essex Police family and, if you decide being a Police Constable isn’t for you, why not consider our Detective Pathway or joining as a member of staff? To find out which role best suits you, and what you’re eligible to apply for, please visit our ‘Who we are looking for‘ page.

If you’d like to volunteer your time, you can join us as a Special Constable, or young people can join us as a Police Cadet to learn new life skills.

As a police officer there are hundreds of opportunities for your future career. Whether you’re protecting our coastal communities in our Marine Unit, safeguarding vulnerable victims of domestic abuse, or stopping the supply of drugs in your local area, there are so many ways that you can make a difference to the people of Essex.

It’s no secret that our differences make us stronger, and our officers definitely don’t let their differences hold them back. They embrace them and use them as strengths – whether it’s their age and experience, their language, their gender, or their cultural background, everyone has something unique to bring to the workforce.

Whether you pride yourself on your sense of adventure, your creativity, or your problem-solving skills, we know that every applicant can bring something new to the Essex Police family.

Our officers are from military, retail, office and teaching backgrounds to name just a few. Whatever their background, their skills have brought something valuable to their role.

Driven by their motivation to keep people safe, our officers pride themselves on acting with integrity and honesty and are guided by a strong moral compass.

Want to know more about your future colleagues? Visit our ‘Life as a PC‘ page where you can read the profiles of officers, staff and detectives – ranging from the Chief Constable to a fingerprint expert.

Our officers fit the bill, could you?

Starting salary range is: £25,812 to £26,682 plus £3,000 South East allowance. Your salary will increase in yearly increments up to £43,032 within seven years along with a number of other benefits.

Officers from the rank of constable to chief inspector will receive an additional 10% of their basic pay for all hours worked between 8pm and 6am. This payment is not pensionable and will be paid for each full hour worked. Where overtime is worked between 8pm and 6am, the rate of the allowance is still 10% of basic pay, not 10% of the overtime rate. The allowance is paid in full in respect of each full hour worked.

Policing Essex

The county of Essex has an estimated population of 1.7 million, making it the fifth most populous county in England. Essex Police operates across an area of 1,405 square miles which borders the counties of Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Kent and four London boroughs.

The county is home to one city, four large urban towns and small rural villages linked by a strategic road network, including the M25, M11, A12, A127 and A13. The Dartford River Crossing, linking Essex with Kent, is used by around 51.5 million vehicles a year and an average of 150,000 vehicles daily.

Essex has an extensive coastline which includes the ports of Harwich and Tilbury. A third deepwater port, the London Gateway at Stanford-le-Hope, is part of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure. This is the closest deep-water port to London, enabling the world’s largest container ships to dock in the UK’s main economic and population centre.

Essex is home to London’s third largest airport, Stansted, which had over 25 million passengers in 2017. Southend Airport has also undergone significant expansion in recent years and in the same period handled over a million passengers.

In addition, the county has an extensive rail network with 80 stations, including eight on the London Underground network.