Police Constable Entry Routes (PCER)

What is PCER?

PCER stands for Police Constable Entry Routes and is the professional training framework for police officers. The PCER are continually being developed to ensure the training we provide is to the best standard and to reflect the views of our students.

Find out more about the PCER here.

There are four different PCER Programmes; these programmes are our different entry routes into becoming a Police Officer:

• Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA)
• Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP)
• Professional Policing Degree (PPD)
• Police Constable Entry Programme (PCEP). This is a non-academic programme delivered by South Wales Police from 2025 and includes the Detective Constable Entry Programme (DCEP) as part of the PCEP detective pathway

You can find out more about each entry route on our Police officer page.

The University of South Wales (USW) has been awarded the new contract to deliver initial education programmes to police recruits here at South Wales Police.

Why do we need PCER?

As part of the Policing Vision 2025, it was highlighted that:

• There was a need for consistency, accreditation, and defined roles.
• That roles need specific skills and knowledge, backed by qualifications.

In November 2022 the Home Secretary announced that she has requested the College of Policing to consider a non – degree entry route into policing to complement the existing degree entry pathways. South Wales Police has developed the PCEP entry route which will become live in 2025.