Northumbria Police

Application criteria

Convictions and cautions

CSOs must respect and uphold the law. They should be law abiding and have a high standard of personal behaviour and social conduct.

CSOs with criminal associations or convictions may be vulnerable to pressure to disclose information. Convictions and/or cautions for certain offences can also undermine a CSO’s position as a witness in court.  For these reasons, police forces carefully consider an applicants’ criminal record before accepting an application.

Convictions or cautions will not necessarily preclude you from appointment. It depends on the nature and circumstances of the offence. Failure to disclose convictions or cautions will, however, result in your application being terminated.

We will also want to know if any of your close family or associates are involved in criminal activity and we will search for any criminal convictions or cautions recorded against your family.  You must tell them these enquiries are being made. The police service cannot tell you the results of these.

Although you may still be eligible to join the police service if you have minor convictions and/or cautions, there are certain offences and conditions which will make you ineligible.  Read the following and if you are still unsure you should contact the Recruitment Unit at upsrecruitment@northumbria.pnn.police.uk.