The following are guidelines issued by the Home Office for use by all police forces.
Unaided Vision
6/36 Binocularly
Corrected VA
6/12 in either eye and 6/6 Binocularly
Near VA (corrected)
N6 at 40cm Binocularly
Refractive Surgery
LASIK, LASEK, PRK, ICRS and Epiflap are all acceptable from 6 weeks post operative provided there are no residual side effects and the visual standards are met.
Radial Keratotomy, Arcuate Keratotomy and Corneal Grafts are not acceptable.
Colour Vision
Monochromats are not acceptable.
Anomalous Trichromats and Dichromats are acceptable but will need to “be aware of the deficiency and make appropriate adjustments”. These groups may be restricted to certain jobs.
The use of colour correcting lenses are not acceptable. All the usual colour vision tests (Ishihara, City etc) are acceptable. It is possible that borderline cases will need to be assessed with the Farnsworth D15 test at a later date.
Other
History of Detached Retina or Glaucoma is not acceptable.
NOTE: Many police forces appear to be using variants of this national standard and it is advisable to check the exact local standards with the police force(s) in your area.
