South Wales Police – Committed to our Armed Forces Personnel and Veterans

Off By Ed Hanna

South Wales Police is the largest police force in Wales and although geographically small, covering around 812 square miles and equating to just 10% of the geographical area of Wales, South Wales Police provides a policing service to 1.3 million people (42% of the country’s population).

South Wales is a diverse region, boasting urban, rural and coastal areas and featuring the two largest cities in Wales – Swansea and the capital city, Cardiff. The force also serves 63 of the 100 most deprived communities in Wales.

The force has over 3,250 police officers and over 2,700 police staff, including police community support officers (PCSOs) and a team of dedicated volunteers that includes over 200 special constables and around 200 police youth volunteers.

The roles of uniformed officers who respond to calls and police community support officers that work out in the community are probably familiar to most people. But policing involves a wide range of different functions, many of which aren’t visible to the public but are nonetheless an essential part of how we police.

We want to police our communities effectively. To do this we need to understand our communities’ concerns, perceptions and experiences, as we know that perception and experience influence public confidence, which in turn impacts on reporting to and engagement with South Wales Police.

The force is committed to our Armed Forces personnel and Veterans and recognises the value that Service-leavers and Veterans can bring to policing.

We are delighted to have recently signed up to the South Wales Police Armed Forces Community Covenant: this is a voluntary statement of mutual support between the civilian community and its Armed Forces community at the local level.

The core values and acquired skills obtained during Military service are transferable into a career within policing, especially in our uniformed roles of police officer or PCSO.

As such, we will guarantee an interview or assessment to anyone who has Served or is currently Serving in the Armed Forces of the Crown and meets the minimum essential criteria for the role – this includes the successful completion of the Behavioural Style Questionnaire (BSQ) and Situational Judgement Test (SJT), where applicable.

South Wales Police is really excited to offer this commitment and looks forward to receiving applications from Serving personnel and Veterans.