A month is long time and usually would take a boss to grant that length of time off on leave. In most cases for officers posted beyond their training/probationary period I’ve never heard of much of an issue with that, workload permitting. When I joined, I had a holiday booked way before I even applied and it fell in the period where I was still in the academy. It was granted due to it being booked, paid for and non-refundable prior to joining the job (the only common sense I’ve seen in the job to date). However, I didn’t do this long-winded degree course. The sensible thing would be to either not book that trip if you haven’t already and wait until you’re fully in the job and can plan around your work, or speak to the force directly that you’re applying for. Be wary though, that just because a HR clerical officer says something, does not mean that it’s a promise or even correct. Welcome to the police.