Police Firearms Transferee

Are you a current Armed Response Vehicle Officer serving (or have served) in a Home Office force?

Do you wish you had more opportunity to put your firearms training into practice?

Are you motivated and looking for a new challenge?

We are looking for firearms officers to transfer to West Midlands Police.

Whether you are an Armed Vehicle Response Officer, Specialist Firearms Officer or a CT Specialist Firearms Officer- We want to hear from you!

You would be joining a fair and inclusive team, based near Birmingham City Centre, where we serve 2.8 million people in one of Europe’s most diverse and challenging policing environments.

West Midlands Police Firearms Operations Unit is structured with 5x Armed Response Vehicle Team’s working a 24/7 shift pattern, Tactical Firearms Team – consisting of both Specialist Firearms officers and Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms officers and a nationally accredited training department.

West Midlands firearms officers undertake a large volume of both spontaneous and pre-planned armed deployments each year, and as such are one of the busiest firearms units in the country and do not currently undertake a ‘dual-role’ function.

Firearms officers, in between armed deployments, will be tasked to support force tactical priorities including the targeting of Serious Organised Crime and Exploitation offenders.

There are a number of developmental and career progression opportunities within the department that include additional specialist training to include, Firearms Tactical Advisor, Operational Firearms Commander, National Firearms Instructor, Close Protection Officer.

West Midlands police is also one of seven national hubs for Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officers (CTSFO) and we offer an number of pathway opportunities from both Armed Response Vehicle and Specialist Firearms Officer role profile to upskill to CTSFO.

We are looking for enthusiastic, motivated and hard-working individuals to join our team where in return, we can offer you the opportunity to use and develop the skills you have been trained in. We particularly welcome applications from underrepresented groups, including those from minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQI+ people and females.

We support officers with flexible and part-time working.

Recruitment Process:

• Application Form

• Firearms medical health and assessment screening

• Fitness test

• Interview

• Assessment Day

• Vetting and pre-employment checks

• Final offer

• After transfer, a WMP conversion course (role profile dependant

Our SFOs receive £2000 targeted variable payment and CTFSOs receive £4000.

To apply, applicants must be:

• Substantive in the rank of Constable

• Serving (or have served) with a Home Office Force

• Be an Armed Response Vehicle Officer, Specialist Firearms Officer or a CT Specialist Firearms Officer or trained to the National ARV Role Profile Standard in-line with the current National Police Firearms Training Curriculum

• Be able to pass the 15 metre JRFT to bleep level 9.4 to 10.5 dependent on role profile

• Be able to provide a fully auditable training record

• Be able to evidence occupational and operational competence at interview

• Be able to pass the necessary vetting and medical health and assessment screening

• Have no outstanding discipline or integrity issues

Additional Information

From April 2023 CBRN will become part of the ARV role profile, as such all officers not subject to Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) or reasonable adjustment must be clean shaven when on operational ARV duties. Examples of EQIA protected characteristics include:

• Religion or Belief. The complete removal of facial hair may be incompatible with certain religious beliefs and observance of that faith. The wearing of religious headwear may not be possible with CBRN PPE, and therefore a requirement to wear CBRN PPE may be incompatible with observance of certain religions or faith.

• Disability and medical reason.

If you have any questions relating to this role or what it is like to work for WMP, please contact a member of the recruitment team at careers@westmidlands.police.uk

West Midlands Police reserve the right to close applications earlier than the date advertised.

West Midlands Police is a Disability Confident Leader - the highest level an organisation can achieve under the scheme run by the Department of Work and Pensions. As part of our commitment we operate a ‘Disability Confident Interview Scheme’ - all candidates who declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be offered an interview.

It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people who meet the essential criteria for the job. For example: in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. In these circumstances, the employer could select the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job, as they would do for non-disabled applicants.

"Diversity and Inclusion Vision: Maximise the potential of people from all backgrounds through a culture of fairness and inclusion to deliver the best service for our communities".