Whether you make an application to the regular force, join as a recruit to the High Potential Development scheme (HPD) or as a volunteer with the Specials, becoming a police officer is a real challenge. It is tougher on your body, more taxing on your brain, more draining on your emotions and more demanding on your whole life than most other careers. So do you think you could do it?

Out of the 35,000 people who apply every year, 5,000 are successful. That's 1 in 7. If you read this and feel that being a police officer is what you want to do and could do, that's great. However, if you decide you couldn't do it, that's fine too. We'll have saved you a lot of time and effort. Either way, we're sure you will think rather differently about what it means to be a police officer.

Not everyone can be a police officer. Could you?

How fit are you?

Could you chase a shoplifter up the stairs of a tower block? Try running up and down a flight of stairs a few times to see how fit you are. Lack of physical fitness is probably the main reason why we turn people down and they are often amazed when we do. We will put you through a medical that really tells us what shape you are in.

How observant are you?

Could you tell the height of a suspect in 10 seconds? Or their weight? What they were wearing? Was that just a piece of wood or a sawn-off shotgun? A conviction and possibly someone's life depend on a police officer getting it right.

So one of the things we'll look for in your Initial Recruitment Test is how carefully you can observe scenes and how accurately you can record details. While you don't actually need any formal academic qualifications, we will test your command of English, your ability to handle numbers and how logical you are.

How sensitive are you?

We're here to serve the community. This means behaving sensitively and with compassion to every man, woman and child we meet. You need a lot of physical and mental stamina to be a police officer. When the pressure's on, you can count on 100% support from your colleagues. But sometimes you will face tricky and dangerous situations, possibly on your own.

Could you tell a mother that her six-year-old daughter has been killed by a drunken driver? Could you help your colleagues break down a door on a drugs raid? How cool could you be if people start shouting racial abuse at you? Could you arrest an old woman caught stealing in a supermarket because she could not afford to buy food?

Rules are rules and the law is the law, but every police officer has to use his or her own judgement. Could you?

Age
You can become a police constable at 18, although it's slightly older for some forces. As long as you are still healthy and physically fit, you can start a police career at any time up until the age of 50. Police officers normally retire after 30 years' service or at the age of 55.

Formal qualifications
You need no formal qualifications to join the force but you must have the intellectual capacity to cope with training requirements and the ability to manage the full range of tasks expected of a constable. Regardless of previous educational attainment there is a Police Initial Recruitment Test that is taken by all candidates.

Nationality
You must be a British citizen, a Commonwealth citizen with unrestricted right of residence in the UK, or a citizen of the Irish Republic.

Fitness
You must be physically fit. If you have a medical condition, it may make you unsuitable to carry out the duties of a police officer. Before applying please call the recruiting officer of your chosen force for further information.

Height
There are no maximum or minimum restrictions.

Criminal record
Some criminal records won't stop you joining the police. If you do apply, you must declare any caution or conviction, even for a juvenile offence. It is essential that you tell us honestly about your past - the truth will not necessarily disqualify you from becoming a police officer. The Chief Constable of your chosen force will consider the particular circumstances of your case.

Armed Forces personnel
There's a special resettlement course, run by the army, for people leaving all three armed services and who are interested in a police career. You should apply through the normal resettlement channels.

Equal opportunities
We don't pretend we get it 100% right, but no one should be in any doubt about our total commitment to creating a police service that really reflects the diversity of Britain's population. After all, we are here to serve a richly diverse community so it makes sense to have a police service that draws on and benefits from this diversity.

Click here to find out more.