Are you looking to transfer as a Special Constable? Continue Your Policing Journey With Us!
If you’re currently serving as a Special Constable with another UK Home Office force, you may be eligible to transfer to Avon and Somerset Special Constabulary now.
Bring your valuable policing experience back into the community and help make a real difference. Your skills, professionalism, and commitment are exactly what we’re looking for.
Eligibility
Special Constable Transferees are officers who wish to move from one police force to another without a break in service.
To apply as a transferee, you must:
- Currently serve with a UK Home Office police force as a Special Constable
- Hold Independent Patrol Status (IPS)
Recruitment Process
Once we receive your application, we will ask you to complete a Training Needs Assessment and provide evidence of your previous training records. These documents will then be reviewed by our Training Department.
Please note that transferee applications are currently being assessed on a case‑by‑case basis. This helps us identify any additional training you may require upon transferring. If no further immediate training is needed, we will progress your application. If additional training is required, your start date may be delayed, as you will need to attend a Special Constable transferee course.
At present, we do not have any transferee courses scheduled for 2026.
To successfully transfer, applicants must complete all of the following stages:
- College of Policing National Sift
- Interview
- Pre-Appointment Checks
- Fitness Test
- Medical
- Substance Misuse Test
- Biometrics Checks
- Vetting
- Reference Checks (Covering the last 5 years)
To begin your application, please complete the full online form via our applicant portal.
Posting Arrangements
Officers are normally posted within a 15‑mile journey of their home address.
When assigning postings, we consider:
- Your previous skills and experience
- Operational requirements
- Any reasonable preferences you request
Where possible, we will allocate your preferred patrol base, provided it is within a practical travelling distance. Our aim is to ensure your volunteering experience is convenient, supportive, and reflective of the value we place on your contribution.
Why Avon & Somerset Police?
Our organisation area is vast, covering over 1,855 Square miles and serving nearly 1.7 million residents.
We service an international airport flying to over 130 destinations, miles of picturesque coastline, a huge network of roads, a vast number of towns and rural villages and not forgetting the vibrant and cosmopolitan city of Bristol and the world renowned, cultural spa city of Bath.
These all produce a challenging, lively and diverse policing environment. In addition the night time economy in many of these areas makes us a truly 24/7 service. Across all of this expanse our focus always is to provide outstanding policing for everyone.
There really is something for everyone in Avon and Somerset making it a fantastic place to live and volunteer.
We have so many amazing days out and events across our patch, the international Balloon fiesta attracts over 500,000 visitors each year and is simply breath taking to watch. We have great seaside days out in places like Weston Super Mare, Burnham and Brean and let’s not forget all of the historical and cultural attractions on our door step.
If you are more enticed by the hustle and bustle there is a huge array of events and opportunities such as Glastonbury Festival, Championship football matches, carnivals and a continuously growing music and show scene. There are also numerous opportunities to get involved celebrating the diversity across Avon and Somerset with events such as the famous St Paul’s Carnival and numerous pride events throughout the region with the Bristol event being ranked in the top 30 of Global world pride events.
We have a host of award-winning schools, colleges and universities including UWE and the University of Bath, these offer excellent opportunities for those students looking to take that next step.
You can be the difference to so many….could you be the difference we are looking for?
If you have any queries, please don't hesitate to contact TalentSpecialConstabulary@avonandsomerset.police.uk
