Would you like a career like no other? If so… JoinUs
South Wales Police brings together thousands of people with the same aim – to keep South Wales safe.
We want to be the best at understanding and responding to our community’s needs. To do this we need the very best candidates from a wide range of backgrounds to become part of our policing family.
A career as a police officer demands skill, compassion, leadership, initiative, and a genuine desire to make a difference to society. We work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across an area of about 800 square miles from Swansea to Merthyr Tydfil to our capital city, Cardiff. It’s a job but where no two days are the same – and it offers a variety of fulfilling and exciting career opportunities.
The role can be challenging, and you will need to be resilient and resourceful, but we are here to support you. You will need to be committed to a journey that requires balancing academic requirements and a new role within a 24/7 policing service. It is a job like no other and we are looking for people with diverse skills and experiences to join our successful team.
Do you want to pursue a career in investigations? Are you degree qualified, you must have a achieved a degree to be eligible to apply for this route?
Detectives are responsible for investigating serious and complex crimes, pursuing criminals, prioritising victims, protecting the vulnerable and leading the case management of such crimes through to conclusion. The role can be challenging, and you will need to be resilient, resourceful, analytical and compassionate. However, it is a role like no other and one which offers much professional and personal reward.
At SWP we are offering an exciting new opportunity for capable and passionate people, to join our team through our Fast Track Detective Constable Entry Programme. After initial Police training and reaching key milestones, you will deploy to uniformed policing teams where you will develop your core Policing skills. During this time you will complete specialist investigative attachments including suspect investigation teams to develop the investigative mind-set.
Upon completing your two-year probationary period, you will take up a Detective Trainee Investigator role and embark on enhanced investigative Detective training & development to achieve your Detective accreditation. You will be required to successfully pass the National Investigator’s Examination (NIE) – we will support you through this process with a study package and study days.
This two-year programme is supported by on and off the job learning, through which you will be able to access the highest level of training and professional support. Your training will be delivered within force and there will be no requirement for you to complete any academic qualification.
Training Information
If successful in your application, you will receive the highest level of training and support and you can expect excellent career prospect and benefits.
PHASE 1 - You will spend your first 6 months within training where you will learn the relevant legislation and processes alongside technical skills such as Personal Safety Training, First Aid and force computer systems. This will be based from SWP HQ in Bridgend.
PHASE 2 - Following this you will deploy with an experienced tutor constable to a uniformed response team for a month working a rotating shift pattern of days (0700-1700), onto afternoons (1500-2300 or until 0300 on Friday / Saturday) and onto nights (2200-0700) across 7 days of the week followed by 4 rest days. This may include Public Holidays. This will give you an insight into the role of an operational police officer and investigator.
At the end of this phase as long as you have demonstrated and evidenced the necessary skills you will achieve Independent Patrol Status and remain within uniformed Policing to develop your core Policing skills.
During your 2-year probationary period, you will be required to evidence your operational competence by dealing with a variety of different Police incidents.
From day one you will be expected to contribute to making our communities safer places to live and bring your experiences and ideas to a modern and progressive force. In return and in addition to a comprehensive training programme you can expect excellent career prospect and benefits.
For this campaign, we are accepting candidates in the final year of a degree programme. If you are applying in your final year, we will require you to upload evidence from your Higher Education Provider in place of the full degree certificate.
General Information
The salary will start at £31,164 and which increases upon completion of your probationary period. Further information is available using the following link
Pay, Benefits and Rewards | South Wales Police (south-wales.police.uk)
There are numerous benefits to working for South Wales Police, from learning and development opportunities to schemes which aim to improve your lifestyle and wellbeing, as well as generous Police Pension Schemes, paid annual leave, flexible working and family friendly policies and many more, click here for more information
South Wales Police encourages individuals from under-represented groups to join so we can achieve a workforce representative of the communities we serve.
Think you’ve got what it takes? Here’s what else you need to know to apply:
The applications process will close at 12 midday on 14th July 2026. Please note the response for this advert is anticipated to be high and South Wales Police reserves the right to close early when we receive sufficient applications. Only completed applications will be accepted at that point, therefore applicants should consider this, and early completion and full submission is advised.
You will be invited to compete the national sift please note this needs to be completed within 7 days of your invitation or by the closing time/date of the advert whichever is the soonest. The online tests are not compatible with handheld devices e.g. tablet or mobile phone so must be completed on a desktop/Laptop computer. Also note that we can only reset a test once. It is also advisable to register and complete the application process on the same device to avoid compatibility issues.
We will be holding our assessment centres in August 2026, depending on the application date, all information on the application and assessment process can be found here
Please note the assessment centre is part of the national recruitment standards set by the College of Policing. Please refer to our website for full details about what the role entails, eligibility criteria, the application process and answers many of the frequently asked questions.
https://recruit.college.police.uk/Officer/after-I-apply/Pages/Constables-Assessment-Centre.aspx .
South Wales Police reserves the right to restrict the candidate numbers attending the assessment centre and subsequent intake numbers in line with organisational requirement.
Applicants requiring reasonable adjustments for the assessment centre must be able to provide evidence to support the request at the time of application. Applicants enquiring about additional reasonable adjustments should do so via the HR Recruitment team (email as below).
The Assessment Centre will be followed by a Detective focused face to face assessment and interview.
All prospective police officers will be required to participate in Biometric Vetting e.g., to provide samples of fingerprints.
All candidates will undertake eligibility and vetting checks. All applicants need to meet the Eligibility criteria for the role of police constable which is set nationally.
Candidates who are successful at the eligibility-sift stage will be invited to attend a fitness test session, we will provide you with more detail closer to the time but please view the following link in relation to the national standard:-
Prepare for the police fitness test | Join The Police (joiningthepolice.co.uk)
Please note, if you have made an application to become a police officer in the last 3 months to South Wales or any other force and were not successful during any part of the recruitment process, unfortunately you will not be eligible to apply on this occasion.
Please note the following if you are completing concurrent applications to more than one Police Officer recruitment campaign: you will be asked to make a decision as to which one you want to pursue. This will include all other Police Officer entry routes into South Wales Police as well as other forces.
Any Final Questions?
If you have any questions or need additional support don’t hesitate to contact us at HR-Policeofficercampaigns@south-wales.police.uk or call 01656 869225.
Opening hours for queries are Monday to Thursday from 9am to 5pm and Friday 9am – 4.30pm.
Don’t miss this excellent opportunity, apply today and join #TeamSWP
