People thinking of a career in policing will be able to apply as a new round of recruitment for Wiltshire Police opens later this month.

But the advice is to get your application in early.

As part of the government’s pledge to recruit 20,000 more police officers over the three years up to 2023, Wiltshire Police are looking for 140 new officers.

That will bring the total of extra officers recruited over the normal number needed to counter retirements and resignations to 163, and the total off officers in Wiltshire will be 1,165, up from 992 in 2019.

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills, who is in day-to-day operational control of the force and leads on recruitment said: “It’s not a huge proportion of 20,000 officers, but it’s done on a pro-rata basis, and as one of the smallest forces in the country, this is our share.”

The application process on the Wiltshire Police website opens on April 25, but Mr Mils advises those who are even just thinking of applying to do so quickly: “It’s open for two weeks, but it’s a first come, first served system. We’re looking to take forward about 400 applicants to get to 140 officers in two of three years’ time.

“Last time we did this we had enough in 48 hours, and there will already be people who have registered in what we call the talent bank, and they know when applications open and will be ready for it as soon as it is open.”

Mr Mills said the new recruits would almost all start as community police officers, responding to 999 and 101 calls.

He said: “After that there will be the chance to do something more specialised, in CID, or with dogs, firearms, or roads policing – there are lots of opportunities.”

He added: “The professionalisation of training has really stepped up recently, for graduates it’s a two-year course with an additional diploma in policing, for non-graduates, it’s a three-year course, and they come out with a degree in policing.

“We are keen to attract applications from women and people from ethnic minorities – both are under-represented in Wiltshire Police, although we have increased the number of officers from ethnic minority communities recently.

“It’s important that we reflect the community we are serving and we will make sure to offer recruits the support they need to succeed.”

See more at www.wiltshire.police.uk/police-forces/wiltshire-police/areas/careers/careers/