Police Jobs
Avon and Somerset Police
Join Avon and Somerset Police via Police Now’s National Graduate Programme
Kickstart your career
Applications open for our 2026 National Graduate Programme
Applications close on 18 September 2025
Applications are now closed for our National Graduate Programme
Be the first to hear when we open for applications!
Applications for our National Graduate Programme close in
Submit your application by Friday 5 September
Deadline extended for our National Graduate Programme!
Submit your application by 5th September.
Applications for our 2026 National Graduate Programme are now open!
Avon and Somerset Police jobs
AVON AND SOMERSET
Through our partnership with Avon and Somerset Police, we have recruited, trained and developed 80 graduates to become police officers and detectives on our national graduate programme since 2017.
- Chief Constable: Sarah Crew
- Headquarters: Valley Road, Portishead, Bristol
- Areas include: Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Somerset
Avon and Somerset Police
Avon and Somerset Police as we know it today formed in 1974 from the merger of the former Somerset and Bath Constabulary with the Bristol police force and the Staple Hill division of Gloucestershire Constabulary.
Avon and Somerset Police has a growing and diversifying population, and serves 1,855 square miles – a mix of urban and rural landscapes including moorland, farmland, coastline, holiday resorts, market towns and cities including Bristol, one of England’s eight core cities.
Glastonbury Festival, Europe’s largest music festival and Badminton Horse Trials are two of the Constabulary’s most notable policing events.
A diverse, multi-cultural population swelled by a large student population and tourists, brings challenges in policing, with pockets of substantial wealth contrasting deprived localities and communities.
You could be posted anywhere within Avon and Somerset, depending on force needs. By the time you start the programme, you’ll be expected to reside within 30 miles, or with a travelling time of up to 45 minutes, from your posting.
Avon and Somerset Police recruitment
Our focus on diversity and inclusion
Avon and Somerset Police are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Our mission is to serve our communities. The most effective way we can do this is if the people who work for us are representative of our communities.
We are working hard to increase diversity and inclusion where communities are currently under-represented.
We want to encourage people of diverse backgrounds, experience and beliefs, who share our value of caring and want to make a difference in the community, to work for us.
Why join?
By joining Avon and Somerset Police through Police Now’s National Graduate Programme, you’ll benefit from our unique range of support and development features specially designed to develop your career and your impact in policing.
Country feels with city crimes
Detective Constable Elisabeth Dane
Having completed an English degree at the University of Birmingham and fresh from travelling around the world, Detective Constable Elisabeth Dane wanted a career that would challenge her and decided to join Avon and Somerset Police through Police Now.
‘It might be a cliché but I enjoy the countryside and the lifestyle, plus being near the coast works for me for the things I like doing in my spare time’
Find out why Elisabeth decided to join the police, her advice for Police Now applicants, and what it’s like being a detective in Bristol’s Bridgwater ward.
Thinking of a career change?
Make a real impact in a career you never expected
Do you love your job but wish you were having more of an impact? It’s never too late to change careers.
Neighbourhood police officers come from a range of industries and sectors. You don’t need any previous policing knowledge or experience to apply, and you can bring key skills from your current or previous roles, such as emotional intelligence and collaboration.
had not considered neighbourhood policing before discovering Police Now.
“I did not let the fact that I am a career-changer and a member of the LGBTQ+ community stop me from joining policing. I thought I might be the oldest at Police Now’s academy but there was a really diverse mix of people there, working towards the same goal.”
Core requirements
To be eligible to join Avon and Somerset Police, you must:
- Have achieved, or be working towards, a 2.2 undergraduate degree programme start date.
- Hold a Level 2 qualification in English and Maths, with a minimum grade of C or above (or equivalent).
- Be a British Citizen or have indefinite leave to remain and right to work in the UK.
- Have lived in the UK for the last three years.
- Have a full UK manual driving licence.
Before you apply, make sure you read our full eligibility criteria.
