Why work at West Mercia Police?
At West Mercia, we believe in creating an inclusive and dynamic culture to allow our officers and staff to provide a quality policing service. We are committed to providing a quality police service to our communities within Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire, one of the largest jurisdictions in the country of over 2,800 square miles.
You’ll work with dedicated, passionate and caring professionals who, like you, joined the force to make a difference and protect people from harm. Irrespective of the department you’d like to join, your skills and experience will help us shape the future of policing.
When you work for us, you will join a fantastic team of police officers and staff who care about our communities; about our colleagues; about making a difference and about continually developing our force to be the best we can be.
- Annual leave, starting at 22 days and increasing to 33 after 5 years’ service (dependant on grade).
- Pay increases (national).
- Generous pension scheme, Local Government Pension Scheme.
- Flexible working, we welcome applications.
- CPD (Continuous Professional Development) opportunities.
- Access to EAP (Employer Assistance Programme).
- Staff associations, helping us to drive change.
- Social clubs, sports clubs, and regional events.
- On-site restaurant (Hindlip HQ).
- Health and wellbeing, occupational health services, staff network and PAM assist.
- Police Mutual, affordable private healthcare and other savings.
- New vehicle discount.
- Gym membership discounts.
- Register for a Blue light card – over 15,000 discounts from large national retailers.
- Free mortgage services.
- Free parking (some sites).
West Mercia is an area that covers the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Worcestershire. These areas are made up of picturesque countryside landscapes, vibrant city centres, an array of urban suburbs and historic scenery.
What makes us special is our people. To keep the communities of West Mercia safe, we require a wide variety of people from diverse backgrounds who bring to the force an array of skills, beliefs and motivations. We are a force made up of digital specialists, data analysts, cleaning staff, trainers, administrators, and more. Could you be part of this team? Apply today!
Our dedicated Occupational Health team work to support both officers and staff when they need them the most. They provide support for mental health or medical concerns, and make sure reasonable adjustments are being made for neurodiversity, physical and psychological support. If an officer injures themselves on duty, they offer physiotherapy support through one-to-one appointments to make sure they receive the support they need.
We also offer a 24/7 employee assistance programme to all officers and staff who are facing difficulties at work or at home. This includes free 24/7 telephone support to fully qualified counsellors and support specialists, as well as face to face and virtual counselling.
Not only do we aim to attract and keep people with the best skills, we want to attract people into policing who may have not have considered a policing career before. We want our people to be representative the different communities within West Mercia so that our communities feel represented in their police force.
We are proud to run a Positive Action Programme that aims to create a level playing field and ensuring the same starting point for everyone. The team provides practical support to candidates, such as Discovery Sessions to walk them through the application process, 1-2-1 support and webinars. When available, team also attends community-based events and careers fairs, where they are available to answer any questions, you may have about working with us. Positive Action is not about giving more favourable treatment to particular groups in the recruitment process. Selection for recruitment must be based solely on merit.
In addition to our Positive Action programme, we also run the STEP Programme. This was developed to support the employment of people with a protected characteristic, such as those who are female, dyslexic, LGBTQ+ or from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds and encouraging these under-represented groups into student police officer roles, promotion and specialisms.
As part of West Mercia, you are given access to a range of different Staff Networks. Through our staff networks and associations, we engage employees on employment practices and issues affecting police officers and staff. Our aim is to work in partnership to create an inclusive, diverse working culture, seeking views on how better to promote inclusion and to assess the impact of decisions on protected characteristics as outlined in the Equality Act 2010.
We encourage our people to challenge themselves and take on new opportunities. We are proud of our working environment where we believe we have created a culture that uplifts our people’s strengths and skills. We often recruit internally, and it is common for our staff members to move to different departments or for our police staff to become police officers.
Every year, you will sit down with your line manager and discuss where you are and where you are going. They will allow you to reflect on what you achieved and set goals for the year to come. You will also be able to discuss opportunities for specific training courses you would like to undertake to improve your skills.
Interested in applying? Download our candidate pack below to learn more about what we have to offer.