Police Constable CV Example (UK)

A Police Constable who wants to transfer to another force is read by a recruitment team and then a panel of sergeants and inspectors, and both look for the same things: confirmed in rank, a clean professional standards record, sound judgement on response, and behaviour that fits the College of Policing Competency and Values Framework. The CV is usually the evidence behind a transferee application form, so every bullet should show what you did, why, and what happened.

The Sample CV below is for a PC who joined through the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship, completed probation and independent patrol status, and now has three years on emergency response. Its bullets cover calls attended and grade one responses, a domestic abuse case built to a charge, tutoring a student officer, and the driving and public order courses that make a transferee useful from the first week.

Tailor it to the receiving force's advert. A rural force wants lone working, long blue-light runs and community engagement; a neighbourhood post wants problem solving with partners; a specialist route such as roads policing or investigation wants the courses that lead there. The US counterpart of this page is the police officer resume example, written for American departments and academies; the Civic template keeps the CV plain for public sector portals.

Updated . The person and employers in this Sample CV are fictional. Written for applicants in the UK; the page for applicants in the US is the police officer resume example.

Police Constable sample CV

Drawn at A4 proportions, the paper a UK CV is printed on.

Garrick Ollerenshaw

Police Constable, Emergency Response, Confirmed in Rank, Response Driver

Kendal, LA9garrick.ollerenshaw@example.com07700 900358

Summary

Police Constable with five years' service, confirmed in rank and on emergency response since gaining independent patrol status. Attend grade one and grade two calls across a mixed urban and rural area, build files to CPS standard and tutor student officers. Response driver, Level 2 public order trained and a clean professional standards record. Seeking a transfer to a neighbouring force to be closer to family.

Experience

Police Constable, Emergency Response Team, Pennine Fells Constabulary

– Present

Kendal, LA9

  • Respond to emergency and priority calls on a five-team rota, often as the single crewed officer for a rural sector, including road traffic collisions, missing people, violent incidents and concern-for-welfare calls.
  • Arrested a suspect at a domestic abuse incident, secured body-worn video, a victim statement and a 999 recording, and built the file that led to a charge and a guilty plea; the victim was referred to an independent domestic violence adviser the same night.
  • Tutor student officers on their first operational weeks, signing off evidence in their professional development portfolio and giving honest feedback to their assessor.
  • Use the National Decision Model on every call and record my rationale in the incident log, including a use of force form for each restraint.
  • Volunteered for the team's licensing operation, visiting late-night premises with council officers to reduce violence in the town centre on weekends.
Student Officer, Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship, Pennine Fells Constabulary

–

Penrith, CA11

  • Completed initial training and tutorship, reaching independent patrol status in my first year and confirmation in rank at the end of probation.
  • Worked on the neighbourhood team for a ten-week attachment, running a problem-solving plan with the housing association that cut repeat anti-social behaviour calls on one estate.
  • Gained the degree through work-based assessments and academic modules alongside full operational duties.
Special Constable, Lune Valley Police

–

Lancaster, LA1

  • Volunteered more than 16 hours a month on response and neighbourhood shifts, reaching independent patrol status as a Special.
  • Supported events policing at the city's summer festival and match days.

Education

BSc (Hons) Professional Policing Practice (PCDA)

University of Morecambe Bay, Lancaster, LA1

Degree apprenticeship completed while serving; dissertation on repeat missing-person reports from children's homes.

A levels: Law, Psychology, Geography

Eden Fellside Sixth Form, Kirkby Stephen, CA17

Skills

  • Emergency response and incident management
  • National Decision Model
  • Arrest, interview and file building
  • Domestic abuse and safeguarding
  • Body-worn video and digital evidence
  • Use of force recording
  • Tutoring student officers
  • Problem-oriented policing
  • Rural and single-crewed working
  • Report writing to CPS standard

Certifications

  • Response Driver (standard and response driving), Pennine Fells Constabulary driver training unit,
  • Level 2 Public Order, Pennine Fells Constabulary,
  • Officer Safety Training and Emergency Life Support, in date, Pennine Fells Constabulary,

Start yours from this example

Opens this sample in the editor, in one of the templates below. Swap in your details, then tailor it to each vacancy in about two minutes.

Use this example

How a UK CV differs

A UK Police Constable CV is not a US-style police officer resume. There is no academy certificate or state licence: officers enter through the Police Education Qualifications Framework (the degree apprenticeship, the degree holder entry programme or the newer non-degree entry route), are confirmed in rank after probation, and are assessed against the College of Policing Competency and Values Framework. Transferees usually complete the receiving force's application form, so the CV is the evidence bank the form is written from.

For a police constable in the UK

  1. Rank, status and entry route

    State confirmed in rank, the date you reached independent patrol status and your entry route, such as the PCDA or the Degree Holder Entry Programme. A force checks probation is complete before accepting a transfer.

  2. Write to the Competency and Values Framework

    Shape bullets around the CVF competencies, such as emotionally aware, taking ownership and analyse critically, and the values of integrity, impartiality, public service and transparency. Panels score against these words.

  3. Courses and accreditations with dates

    List response or advanced driving, public order level, taser, officer safety and first aid with the year. A receiving force uses them to decide where you can be posted and what you need to retake.

  4. Professional standards and vetting

    Transfers require a clean professional standards and attendance record and fresh vetting. Say there are no live complaints or sanctions, and be ready to disclose family and finances on the vetting forms.

  5. Keep operational detail safe

    Describe incidents without names, case numbers, addresses or sensitive tactics. A CV may be seen by people outside the service, and the panel will judge your discretion.

Every CV in the UK

A4 paper
Set the page to A4, 210 by 297 millimetres. A Letter-sized PDF prints with odd margins on A4 and reads as imported from the US.
Two pages is normal
Most UK CVs run to two pages. One page suits a first job; three is rare and only for senior roles with a lot to show.
No photo, no date of birth
UK employers do not expect a photo, a date of birth, marital status or nationality on a CV, and most prefer not to see them.
Dates as DD/MM/YYYY
Day first where a full date appears, and month and year for each role: "Mar 2022 – Present". Never the US month-first order.
British English
Organise, programme, centre, licence, specialise. A CV in American spelling reads as written for somewhere else.
Town and postcode area, not a street address
A line such as "Manchester, M4" is enough. A full postal address, and the US-style "City, ST 12345" line, are not expected.

More on applying in the UK, with every CV example for it, on the UK page.

Templates for the police constable CV

All templates

Every template exports on A4. The previews are drawn on Letter; the editor sets the page size when you export.

How the CV changes with experience

The same police constable CV, written at three levels: a profile and three bullets for each.

Entry level

Zero to two years, or a first post in the title

Applicant for the Police Constable Entry Programme with a degree in Criminology, two years as a Special Constable and customer-facing work in retail security. Ready to begin initial training.

  • Served as a Special Constable on response shifts, assisting regular officers at arrests and taking first accounts from victims.
  • Worked as a store detective, dealing calmly with shoplifters and giving statements for prosecutions.
  • Volunteered on a youth mentoring scheme for teenagers at risk of exclusion.

Mid level

Three to seven years, owns a process or a workload

Neighbourhood Police Constable with four years' service, leading problem-solving plans with councils and housing providers on a busy urban ward.

  • Run monthly ward panels and turn residents' priorities into problem-solving plans with the council's community safety team.
  • Obtained a closure order on a property linked to drug supply after building the evidence with partners.
  • Lead the team's work with schools on knife crime and online safety.

Senior

Eight years or more, leads people, budgets or programmes

Police Constable with twelve years' service, an accredited detective on the criminal investigation department, now applying for sergeant.

  • Investigate serious and complex crime as a PIP Level 2 accredited detective, including robbery and serious assault.
  • Act up as sergeant for response teams, supervising up to eight officers and reviewing their files.
  • Mentor constables working towards detective accreditation.

Skills to put on the police constable CV

Hard skills

Decision making under the National Decision Model
Every force trains and assesses officers on the NDM, and a transferee who records clear rationale is easy for a sergeant to trust.
File building and evidence
A file that meets CPS standards first time saves custody time and wins cases, and supervisors check it.
Safeguarding and vulnerability
Much response work involves domestic abuse, mental health and missing people, and forces assess how you spot and protect the vulnerable.
Driving qualifications
Response drivers are always short on shift, and a transferee who arrives with the course done is deployable straight away.
Public order and officer safety
These are in date or they are not, and a receiving force wants to know before it sets your start date.
Digital evidence
Body-worn video, phone downloads and CCTV are part of most investigations now, and forces want officers who handle them properly.

Soft skills

Emotional resilience
Traumatic calls are part of the job, and panels look for officers who cope, ask for support and keep working well.
Communication and de-escalation
Most incidents are resolved by talking, and a calm officer reduces the need for force.
Integrity
The Code of Ethics underpins every police assessment, and the panel will ask how you challenged poor behaviour.

Mistakes that cost police constable interviews

  1. Copying the role profile

    Responded to calls and made arrests describes every PC in the country. Pick two or three incidents and show your decision, the action and the result, written to the CVF.

  2. Leaving out probation and status dates

    Without the date you were confirmed in rank, a recruitment team cannot tell if you are eligible to transfer. Put it in the headline or the first role.

  3. Sharing operational details

    Victim names, case numbers or tactics on a CV are a red flag for vetting. Keep every example general and offer detail at interview.

  4. Expired courses listed as current

    Officer safety and first aid have renewal dates. Give the year you last passed so the receiving force does not discover a lapse at the start of your posting.

  5. No reason for the transfer

    Panels want to know why you are moving. One line in the summary, such as family or a specialist route the force offers, answers it before it is asked.

Write bullets with the XYZ formula: what changed, the number that shows it, and how you did it, in one line.

Questions about the police constable CV

How do I write a CV for a police transfer?

Lead with confirmed in rank, years of service, current role and courses, then write each post's bullets as short examples against the Competency and Values Framework. Use it to complete the receiving force's transferee form.

What do I put on a CV to become a Police Constable?

Your degree or entry route, any Special Constable, PCSO or volunteer police cadet experience, customer-facing or security work, and examples of resolving conflict, working in a team and acting with integrity. Forces assess these at the online assessment centre.

What are the entry routes for a Police Constable?

The Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship, the Degree Holder Entry Programme for graduates, and a non-degree entry route that some forces offer. Each leads to the same rank, so name yours on the CV.

Should a Special Constable put that on a CV?

Yes, near the top. Hours a month, independent patrol status and the duties you covered show you already know the job, and many forces value it in applications.

How long should a police CV be?

Two pages of A4. Keep the current role, courses and status dates on page one, and put earlier civilian jobs briefly on page two.

How do I tailor a police CV to a specialist role?

Move the courses and incidents that match the specialism to the top, such as investigations for CID or collisions for roads policing, and use the advert's words. Paste the advert into Resume Master and it rewrites the CV against it in about two minutes.

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