Can you see yourself as an Inspector, leading a team of officers as part of the second largest force in the country? West Midlands Police are encouraging people to on the force through their Direct Entry scheme and change more than their career path!

The scheme has been running, nationally, since 2014 and sees experienced professionals from the wider public or private sector joining the police service as a senior leader. West Midlands Police signed up to the scheme for the first time in 2017 and this year will be welcoming Direct Entry Inspectors into the force.

The Direct Entry Inspector Programme is for exceptional individuals with proven leadership and management skills who want a new, challenging and rewarding career. The two-year programme has been designed to deliver robust and comprehensive training to ensure that, on completion, you will be a competent, uniformed, operational inspector, able to make a positive impact on policing and your community.

It offers the training and support candidates need to make the transition from their current role as a leader to an operational police leader and forge a new career. Chief superintendent Mike O’Hara leads the WMP Direct Entry programme. He said:

“As a major, metropolitan force we offer a fantastic opportunity for individuals keen to experience the busy, fast paced and hugely diverse challenges that a region of this size presents.

“Joining us as an inspector will be both demanding and rewarding. We are entering a new phase of policing, where technology and the online world gives us a great deal but brings with it increasing challenges around crime and investigation. Now is the time to make that change and join us, to help us to grow as we modernise and evolve to meet the changing landscape.”

People who undertake the programme often have no police experience, having reached a senior level in a career outside of the force, however the scheme also sees applications from people who have enjoyed successful police staff careers or have invested time to try out a policing via the Special Constabulary.

Although exciting, intense and varied, being a police officer is not a nine-to-five job. It involves unpredictable hours, often working in high-risk circumstances. You will be expected to manage critical incidents and to direct and support your team in dealing with situations that are often complex and time-critical. You will have to justify and account for your actions to ensure that you are working ethically, with integrity and to the standards the public expect.

No previous experience of policing is necessary to join the Direct Entry Inspector programme. The two-year programme is a blend of classroom learning delivered at our regional training centres and operational training and development in your local police force. You will spend 80 per cent of your training working on operational rotations, learning first-hand what policing is all about.

To find out more about the programme and apply, visit www.leadbeyond.police.uk or https://jobs.west-midlands.police.uk/direct-entry-scheme/ - or book a place at the Birmingham Direct Entry event, this Friday 19 January (6pm – 9.30pm), by emailing Events@college.pnn.police.uk