Recruiting the Force

Police visit South Essex College for recruitment training!

Essex Police Recruitment officer Sergeant Simon Miah, attended South Essex College to speak with Policing students about the police recruitment process. Sergeant Miah, has worked for Essex Police for 15 years, and has worked on the Local Policing Teams, Community Policing, Firearms and now the Positive Action Team.


Policing students are currently studying the processes and format needed to enter Essex Police as part of their Level 3 Extended Diploma. Sargent Miah, spoke about how to prepare for the recruitment process which included discussing the importance of the police application form and what’s involved, participating in an interview and participating in a selection process.

Sergeant Miah currently concentrates on Attraction, Recruitment, Retention and Progression. His main areas of focus are to achieve a diverse workforce and to work closely with Essex communities. Positive Action is about levelling the playing field to ensure equity and opportunity for all. Simon has also been elected as Vice Chair of the Multi-Ethnic Support Association and recently elected to be on the National Executive Committee for the National Black Police Association as Deputy Treasurer. 

Simon said: “On behalf of Essex Police, I am able to help guide and shape areas of work such as the Police Race Action Plan, Mentoring Schemes, Hate Crime, Violence Against Women & Girls whereby cabinet member feedback is taken into consideration at all times.”
He added: “I see myself as one tiny piece of the jigsaw and the wider workforce is doing so much critical work within these workstreams. It has always been about progression for me and making incremental improvements as and where I am able.”

“A special thank you to Mr Lee McCarthy for making me feel so welcome and having the trust and confidence in me for delivering this vital information with his students.”

The collaboration between the Essex Police and South Essex College has grown since the course inception in September 2022 with expectations of further joint sessions that will involve more aspects of policing that will give the students a distinct advantage over first time recruits. In September 2023, the curriculum will see students learning and working more with police to get a greater understanding of the community’s expectations of their Police Force. Year two Policing students will be assisting and mentoring the new year one students.

Parents and students who have discussed policing as a career can be confident in knowing that this Policing course has the support of experienced ex-police tutors as well as current serving police. This course is a gateway into the UK Police for students who want to have a distinct advantage over other applicants.