Why work for us?
If you are looking for a fresh challenge, a unique opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives, and the chance to broaden your experience in an organisation that genuinely cares about its employees, Avon and Somerset Police is for you.
Avon and Somerset Police is a progressive and caring organisation of more than 6,500 people. As one of the largest police forces in England and Wales, we serve a population of over 1.65 million, across a large and diverse area. While we have more than 3,500 police officers, PCSOs and special constables, we also employ thousands of people in a variety of staff roles.
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How we support our applicants
We are committed to creating a supportive, inclusive recruitment process, read how we can support applicants.
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Equality, diversity and inclusion
We employ people from all backgrounds with a range of professional and life experiences so we are truly representative of our communities.
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What type of role is for me?
Download our latest careers brochure (PDF) to get an insight to the types of roles we offer.
What we offer
We offer unique careers where you will be valued, inspired and feel rewarded. From accountants to police officers and from investigators to web developers, we have a wide range of roles where you can make a difference.
The police are here to help people when they need us most and everyone who works at Avon and Somerset Police plays a vital role in our vision to deliver outstanding policing for everyone. We believe in empowering our people to make decisions and see individuality as a strength.
We are a courageous organisation which is committed to learning. Innovation is at the heart of what we do and we are always searching for new ways to help our people perform at their best, whether that is through the latest tech, pioneering different approaches or training and personal development.
Employee benefits
We offer our employees:
- Flexible working, full time, part time and job share opportunities
- Annual leave of 23 paid days, increasing to 28 days after five years’ service, plus public holidays
- Training and development, including mentoring and leadership programmes
- Career opportunities available in various locations across the force area
- The chance for career progression across different departments and areas of the organisation
- Local Government Pension Scheme
- Enhanced maternity benefits
- Lifestyle benefits, including gyms and sporting groups, and a cycle to work scheme
- Career break opportunities
- Free parking at Headquarters and some of our local sites
- Wellbeing and health support and advice, for professional and personal matters including an employee assistance programme, physiotherapy and an in-house occupational health service
- Access to the Police Staff Insurance Scheme for accident and illness cover
- Access to the Police Staff Welfare Fund
- Access to join the Force Club for discounts on various activities and local attractions
- Access to join the Blue Light Card discount scheme
- Access to a wide range of supportive and active staff groups, networks and associations
What makes Avon and Somerset unique?
We police 1,855 square miles and service a diverse population of 1.65 million people and approximately 679,000 households.
Avon and Somerset is home to stunning areas of natural beauty, historic sites and eclectic urban communities. From coastal towns and villages, to the hills of Exmoor, World Heritage cities and the multi-cultural vibrancy of Bristol, our force area provides a great place to live and work.
Our policing areas include:
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bristol
- Mendip
- North Somerset
- Sedgemoor
- Somerset West and Taunton
- South Gloucestershire
- South Somerset
Our inclusive culture
We are on a journey to become the most inclusive police force in the country. Below are the steps we are taking, and will continue to take, to help us realise our ambition.
Our commitment to increasing diversity
Avon and Somerset Police are committed to representing the diverse communities we serve and run a Positive Action Programme of work to support under-represented communities with their recruitment journey.
Our focus is to support Black, Asian, minority and ethnically diverse groups, LGBTQ+, those with a disability and females, to consider and apply for a career in policing through our Outreach Team.
The team encourage and support applicants through both Police Officer and Police Staff roles, running workshops on the application process, pre-assessments and interviews for the recruitment journey as well as signposting our internal workforce to mentoring, coaching and support.
If you are from an under-represented background and interested in finding out more about our Positive Action Programme, a career in Policing, or working with us, contact our Outreach Team.
Outreach Team
We have a dedicated team of six Outreach Workers, whose mission is to transform and challenge our recruitment process.
Their focus is on identifying and removing barriers that may prevent individuals from under-represented communities from joining Avon and Somerset Police.
This team:
- plays a crucial role in improving how policing is perceived as a career option among minority groups
- works to increase the diversity of applicants and enhance the talent pool
- encourages individuals to pursue careers with us
- provides mentorship and guidance throughout the recruitment stages, ensuring new employees are better equipped for success and thrive within the service
The team’s key objectives are to:
- shape and promote our employment opportunities to attract a more diverse range of applicants, resulting in richer talent pools
- actively support and recruit underrepresented groups into policing roles through positive action
- raise awareness of career opportunities in policing by identifying and addressing barriers in internal processes
- enhance the perception and accessibility of police careers for diverse communities
- foster stronger community engagement and insights with our diverse populations
- drive lasting, positive, and progressive changes within Avon and Somerset Police
To contact the Outreach Team, email outreachteam@avonandsomerset.police.uk
National Equality Standard (NES) accreditation
In April 2020, Avon and Somerset Police became the first police force in the UK to achieve the accreditation for the National Equality Standard (NES).
Backed by the Home Office, Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), and Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the NES sets clear benchmarks for equality, diversity, and inclusion, which organisations are independently assessed against.
The assessment process involved the assessment of seven key areas within the organisation:
- Core components
- Talent
- Business
- People
- Leadership
- Relationships
- Review and measurement
We were successfully able to renew our latest assessment to secure full accreditation for the next three years, and will continue to implement NES recommendations to drive ongoing annual improvements.
Ready to join us?
If you have thought about a career in the police, but are unsure what steps to take, contact our Outreach Team for further information.
We are proud to be…
- Part of the Disability Confident employer scheme – we have been assessed as a Disability Confident Leader, challenging, changing and leading attitudes towards Disability and Neurodiversity, to remove barriers for disabled people in our organisation, to ensure provision of opportunities to fulfil individual potential and realise aspirations.
- Fully certified by the National Equality Standard (NES) and to have achieved the NES compliant accreditation for best practice in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in the workplace.