But by the time you attend EISB you will already have met the standards to become a Police Officer and know you can join the service as a standard entrant. The EISB is competitive, but not in the sense that you are trying to do better than other applicants. About 30 candidates attend each Board and are split into groups of five or six people. The three days are a mixture of interviews, individual aptitude tests and group work. Although the exercises are not over-strenuous in themselves, it is the way in which you are constantly being asked to draw on a different aspect of your intelligence that is so testing.
Most candidates agree that it is a fair but very tough selection process.
Successful candidates are not clones of each other, but people of quality do stand out. If you join as a standard entrant you are eligible to apply to the APSG if you are a graduate with a recognised degree, have not previously applied for the scheme, and submit an application within 12 months of joining . But all police officers, graduates or not, can apply for a place on an accelerated career path once they have completed their probationary period and passed the Sgt. A number of forces run their own internal promotion schemes for identifying officers with potential and providing them with the opportunity to rise quickly to the middle ranks of the service. However able officers are always likely to find self-fulfilment in the police service, whether it be through promotion or through lateral development and specialisation.