Police officer job applications

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.035575

I note you seek access to the following information:

I am writing to request information on the number of job applications the Met Police has received from individuals looking to join the force as a Police Officer over the past two years.

Please break down the data into each respective month from January 2022 to December 2023 (24 separate months in total). If possible, please breakdown how many of the applicants were successful.

1) Over the given timeline, how many applications did the Met Police receive for Police Constable roles?
2) Over the given timeline, how many applications did the Met Police receive for Detective Constable pathway roles?
3) Over the given timeline, how many applications did the Met Police receive from experienced officers looking to 'Transfer to the Met' from another police force?

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Please ensure that the data provided is read in conjunction with the notes to ensure correct interpretation of the data.

Notes:
Applied refers to applicants that have applied within the given table parameters

Started refers to applicants who applied in the given month that have started in the met. For example:

Month	Applied	Started
January	676	64

The above shows that for January, 676 applied. Out of the 676, 64 have received offers.

Data breakdown:

1. Number of Applicants Applying to the PC Route Broken Down by Year and Success
2. Number of Applicants Applying to the DC Route Broken Down by Year and Success
3. Number of Applicants Applying as a Transferring officer Broken Down by Year and Success

DATA

Number of Applicants Applying to the PC Route Broken Down by Year and Success

2022					2023
Month	Applied	Started	% Started		Month	Applied	Started	% Started
Jan	879	91	10%		Jan	924	86	9%
Feb	1302	163	13%		Feb	945	71	8%
Mar	1504	162	11%		Mar	1185	70	6%
Apr	1279	132	10%		Apr	816	57	7%
May	1320	113	9%		May	788	51	6%
Jun	1179	134	11%		Jun	663	32	5%
Jul	1139	143	13%		Jul	786	24	3%
Aug	1172	141	12%		Aug	934	31	3%
Sep	1314	129	10%		Sep	939	15	2%
Oct	1331	118	9%		Oct	834	4	0%
Nov	924	78	8%		Nov	776	0	0%
Dec	806	73	9%		Dec	731	0	0%
Total	14149	1477	10%		Total	10321	441	4%

Number of Applicants Applying to the DC Route Broken Down by Year and Success

2022					2023
Month	Applied	Started	% Started		Month	Applied	Started	% Started
Jan	676	64	9%		Jan	502	59	12%
Feb	488	48	10%		Feb	434	56	13%
Mar	494	44	9%		Mar	542	41	8%
Apr	47	4	9%		Apr	356	27	8%
May	0	0			May	305	11	4%
Jun	0	0			Jun	266	6	2%
Jul	134	6	4%		Jul	328	2	1%
Aug	679	71	10%		Aug	386	0	0%
Sep	508	53	10%		Sep	402	0	0%
Oct	478	46	10%		Oct	355	0	0%
Nov	419	51	12%		Nov	433	0	0%
Dec	298	35	12%		Dec	304	0	0%
Total	4221	422	10%		Total	4613	202	4%

Number of Applicants Applying as a Transferring officer Broken Down by Year and Success

2022					2023
Month	Applied	Started	%Started		Month	Applied	Started	% Started
Jan	37	8	22%		Jan	28	6	21%
Feb	31	8	26%		Feb	19	5	26%
Mar	42	8	19%		Mar	15	3	20%
Apr	38	8	21%		Apr	19	4	21%
May	39	12	31%		May	22	1	5%
Jun	156	42	27%		Jun	13	0	0%
Jul	101	31	31%		Jul	19	3	16%
Aug	86	21	24%		Aug	24	0	0 0%
Sep	51	11	22%		Sep	17	0	0 0%
Oct	43	9	21%		Oct	17	0	0%
Nov	26	5	19%		Nov	14	0	0%
Dec	13	3	23%		Dec	12	0	0%
Total	663	166	25%		Total	219	22	10%