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Controversial plans to make police recruits work for free before they can be considered for a job could be rolled out across England and Wales.
Senior Metropolitan Police officers want would-be Pcs to undertake 300 hours of work as a volunteer uniformed special before they can sign up full time.
Officials at the Home Office and National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) have begun examining the impact of the changes and whether other forces could follow suit.
A meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) was told the Met could save more than £12 million a year and increase its proportion of black and ethnic minority officers.
The savings will come as a result of recruits requiring less on-the-job training and because they will pay for their own legal qualification.
Members of the MPA gave the plans a mixed reception with some criticising senior officers for pushing through the change without consulting them first.
Martin Tiplady, the Met's director of human resources, said specials would "hit the ground running" as they would have considerable experience of policing.
He said: "We have been thinking about a new and cheaper way of doing recruitment. But it is not just money saving, it is a better system of recruitment and training."
Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said the force was looking for "creativity" in ways of minimising costs as it faced the most difficult financial times in its history.
Green politician Jenny Jones said she had "huge problems" with the changes and said they could penalise those on low wages and single parents.
