Job profile: police officer

The police officer is part of the primary security forces in France. Their main mission is above all to ensure the security of people, property and institutions. They work day and night, in uniform or in civilian clothes depending on the nature of the intervention, directly in the field, where they ensure command missions. 

Summary:

• Missions
• Police officer competition
• Without a high school diploma, it's possible!
• Career advancement prospects
• Salary
• Specializations

Among their many missions: commanding operations, monitoring public roads, fighting delinquency, conducting field investigations, making arrests, conducting interrogations, writing police reports... 

Several conditions are necessary to become a police officer, but you must successfully pass the entrance exam to police academy.  

Admission requirements for the competition:

• 35 years old maximum on January 1st of the competition year

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent

• French nationality

• Clean criminal record 

• Good physical condition, good moral standing

The entrance exam has 3 stages:

To pass the entrance exam, you must pass several tests: the eligibility test, the pre-admission test and the admission test. 

The eligibility test consists of written exams (general knowledge, solving a practical case, law and criminal procedure tests). If this test is passed, you must then take the pre-admission tests (physical exercise tests), and if this stage is completed, the competition will end with the admission test (psychotechnical tests, interview with the jury). 

Once accepted, the paid training for police officers at the police academy lasts 18 months.

It is indeed possible to access the position of police officer without a high school diploma, thanks to the internal competition. For this, you must first pass the peace officer competition, which requires no diploma and can be taken from age 17. 

After passing this competition and after only 4 years of tenure, the peace officer will be able to apply for the internal police officer competition without the diploma requirement.

The police officer is part of the command corps of the national police which includes three ranks (in ascending order): police lieutenant, police captain and police commander.

Career advancement is done by rank: for the police officer to move to the next rank, they must climb the ranks according to their seniority and make the request. It is also possible to access the design and management corps through internal competition provided you have 4 years of seniority.

The police officer's salary depends on status and rank, here is an example (salaries as of January 1, 2020 in the Paris region): 

• officer cadet: €1,303,

• trainee: €1,657,

• police lieutenant: from €2,252 to €3,363,

• police captain: from €2,958 to €3,656,

• police commander: from €3,177 to €3,833

The police officer can specialize in several areas (technical and scientific police, judicial police...) according to their rank and seniority. 

They can join intervention groups (equivalent to GIGN for the gendarmerie) such as GIPN (National Police Intervention Group), RAID (Research, assistance, intervention, deterrence) or BRI (Research and Intervention Brigade). 

But also Republican Security Companies (CRS), the anti-crime brigade, the family protection brigade, the narcotics brigade, the mounted brigade, becoming a motorcyclist, dog handler, or even a trainer in physical and professional activities (APP)...