Joining the Police

[The Gauge]

Pork Sausage said:

Considering this at the moment up in sunny Scotland as numbers required in local area

Any reason not to?

I don't know if Scotland are still filling the vacancies that Boris created with his 'extra' 20,00 cops, but if so then it's probably the best time to apply whilst they are needing to fill those vacancies.

I've heard the forces have been set targets to fill the vacancies and will lose out on additional funding if they don't. I've also heard that forces are having to lower the bar when accepting applicants so they don't lose out on the funding, as they can obviously only recruit from the pool of people who apply. So if all the above is true then the best time to apply is whilst those vacancies aren't yet filled.

I've also heard that the force where I live have recruited some real dross recruits because of needing to lower the standard to secure that funding, and now they are looking at other ways of recruiting. There's apparently a big move to attracting ex forces applicants, which is what they used to do. Talk about going full circle!

Edited by The Gauge on Sunday 24th March 09:51

[nordboy]

The Gauge said:

I don't know if Scotland are still filling the vacancies that Boris created with his 'extra' 20,00 cops, but if so then it's probably the best time to apply whilst they are needing to fill those vacancies.

I've heard the forces have been set targets to fill the vacancies and will lose out on additional funding if they don't. I've also heard that forces are having to lower the bar when accepting applicants so they don't lose out on the funding, as they can obviously only recruit from the pool of people who apply. So if all the above is true then the best time to apply is whilst those vacancies aren't yet filled.

I've also heard that the force where I live have recruited some real dross recruits because of needing to lower the standard to secure that funding, and now they are looking at other ways of recruiting. There's apparently a big move to attracting ex forces applicants, which is what they used to do. Talk about going full circle!

Edited by The Gauge on Sunday 24th March 09:51

I think most forces are net minus when it comes to the Tory 'uplift'. No one is even managing to replace the officers that are leaving, let alone recruiting what they were promised.
And there's about to be a big increase in the numbers leaving when the pension changes finally kick in and you'll see a load of officers with 25 yrs suddenly go as it's no longer worth them staying (including me).
Recruitment standards are constantly dropping, they're worse now than ever.
Soon going to be a perfect storm. Going to get much much worse before someone realises and thinks about sorting it out.

[Patio]

Pork Sausage said:

Considering this at the moment up in sunny Scotland as numbers required in local area

Any reason not to?

User name seems to fit

And 5 posts in nearly 9 years? I'd be struggling to remember my password

[LosingGrip]

Pork Sausage said:

Considering this at the moment up in sunny Scotland as numbers required in local area

Any reason not to?

Best job in the world but also the worst.

Crap pay the start. But does rise quickly. Long hours. I'm never off on time.

Make some good friends for life. People you'd never normally be friends with.

I'm looking for a new job after five years, but also looking at a different roles within the Police.

[Bigends]

nordboy said:

The Gauge said:

I don't know if Scotland are still filling the vacancies that Boris created with his 'extra' 20,00 cops, but if so then it's probably the best time to apply whilst they are needing to fill those vacancies.

I've heard the forces have been set targets to fill the vacancies and will lose out on additional funding if they don't. I've also heard that forces are having to lower the bar when accepting applicants so they don't lose out on the funding, as they can obviously only recruit from the pool of people who apply. So if all the above is true then the best time to apply is whilst those vacancies aren't yet filled.

I've also heard that the force where I live have recruited some real dross recruits because of needing to lower the standard to secure that funding, and now they are looking at other ways of recruiting. There's apparently a big move to attracting ex forces applicants, which is what they used to do. Talk about going full circle!

Edited by The Gauge on Sunday 24th March 09:51

I think most forces are net minus when it comes to the Tory 'uplift'. No one is even managing to replace the officers that are leaving, let alone recruiting what they were promised.
And there's about to be a big increase in the numbers leaving when the pension changes finally kick in and you'll see a load of officers with 25 yrs suddenly go as it's no longer worth them staying (including me).
Recruitment standards are constantly dropping, they're worse now than ever.
Soon going to be a perfect storm. Going to get much much worse before someone realises and thinks about sorting it out.

My old force is doing away with fitness testing and are actively chasing neurodiverse candidates.

[The Gauge]

Bigends said:

My old force is doing away with fitness testing and are actively chasing neurodiverse candidates.

My local force has quite a few newly recruited neurodiverse cops. I hear one has stated they can't deal with confrontation, so they've been given a non front line role. Another one apparently has to sit in the corner of the office wearing a big thick fleece hoody when they get stressed. There are a few autistic officers been recruited too, to what degree I'm unsure.

[Bigends]

The Gauge said:

Bigends said:

My old force is doing away with fitness testing and are actively chasing neurodiverse candidates.

My local force has quite a few newly recruited neurodiverse cops. I hear one has stated they can't deal with confrontation, so they've been given a non front line role. Another one apparently has to sit in the corner of the office wearing a big thick fleece hoody when they get stressed. There are a few autistic officers been recruited too, to what degree I'm unsure.

Be interesting to see also how various conditions are supported/managed appropriately throughout service. I.e do Supervision have relevant inputs / awareness and does Professional Standards have trained staff as Subject Matter Experts to provide input as to whether neurodivergence has any impact on situations etc. Individual issues will need to be taken into account when allocating resources to various situations.

[Random_Person]

The facts:

Join for sure. Its exciting when you do.

Then;

-You get worked to the bone (2 years)
-You get abused verbally and physically (2 years)
-No-one cares
-You try and justify it and crack on (5 years)
-No-one cares
-You crack on and its all "ok" (10 years)
-No-one cares
-You get to the point where you realize it wasn't worth it and you either leave or get clever. ( 12 -15 years)

Leave - (great)

Or stay (Stuck) (Countdown to exit)

And if you get stuck you find a role or a hidey hole.

It is a monumental fk pit of corruption and nastiness - despite anything, and not something I would wish on anyone. Says me with a long service in a well known constab.

Any poster who is linked to the job on here will agree, avoid, avoid, avoid.

[Random_Person]

Bigends said:

Be interesting to see also how various conditions are supported/managed appropriately throughout service. I.e do Supervision have relevant inputs / awareness and does Professional Standards have trained staff as Subject Matter Experts to provide input as to whether neurodivergence has any impact on situations etc. Individual issues will need to be taken into account when allocating resources to various situations.

Doesn't exist.

Nothing exists until it is relevant - then it is "magiced up" -until not relevant - then vanishes.

Sticky plasters, budgets, buzz words and more plasters.

[The Gauge]

Random_Person said:

The facts:

Join for sure. Its exciting when you do.

Then;

-You get worked to the bone (2 years)
-You get abused verbally and physically (2 years)
-No-one cares
-You try and justify it and crack on (5 years)
-No-one cares
-You crack on and its all "ok" (10 years)
-No-one cares
-You get to the point where you realize it wasn't worth it and you either leave or get clever. ( 12 -15 years)

Leave - (great)

Or stay (Stuck) (Countdown to exit)

And if you get stuck you find a role or a hidey hole.

It is a monumental fk pit of corruption and nastiness - despite anything, and not something I would wish on anyone. Says me with a long service in a well known constab.

Any poster who is linked to the job on here will agree, avoid, avoid, avoid.

From the 10yr point onwards the draw of the pension used to ensure many who wanted to leave, remained instead. However that's not the case these days and there's currently quite an exodus of cops who are within their first few years

Random_Person said:

Doesn't exist.

Nothing exists until it is relevant - then it is "magiced up" -until not relevant - then vanishes.

Sticky plasters, budgets, buzz words and more plasters.

And lessons will be learnt

Edited by The Gauge on Sunday 24th March 23:43

[Pork Sausage]

Appreciate the responses

Looks like eyesight requirements appear to be the stumbling block - didn't notice the uncorrected requirements before so to avoid wasting any time have withdrawn

[Hugo Stiglitz]

Plenty leave nowadays because the relentless pace of response is huge.

Compared to say 1990 when most of the time was tedium, foot patrols etc.

Now it's attending deaths or major jobs first daily. Being the first to land.

That quickly can make someone decide which way they go....


Or of course become the shift 'area search specialist'.

[helix402]

Pork Sausage said:

Appreciate the responses

Looks like eyesight requirements appear to be the stumbling block - didn't notice the uncorrected requirements before so to avoid wasting any time have withdrawn

Uncorrected eyesight standards were dropped in England in 2019.

[Earthdweller]

Random_Person said:

The facts:

Join for sure. Its exciting when you do.

Then;

-You get worked to the bone (2 years)
-You get abused verbally and physically (2 years)
-No-one cares
-You try and justify it and crack on (5 years)
-No-one cares
-You crack on and its all "ok" (10 years)
-No-one cares
-You get to the point where you realize it wasn't worth it and you either leave or get clever. ( 12 -15 years)

Leave - (great)

Or stay (Stuck) (Countdown to exit)

And if you get stuck you find a role or a hidey hole.

It is a monumental fk pit of corruption and nastiness - despite anything, and not something I would wish on anyone. Says me with a long service in a well known constab.

Any poster who is linked to the job on here will agree, avoid, avoid, avoid.

Pretty much sums it up

You are just a number, a replaceable and instantly forgotten one

However if you’re smart enough and have an element of luck there are still some really good and rewarding jobs to do, you just need to get away from the brutality of front line response policing

The pension kept me in, without doubt, but the old system was totally designed to do that, and then make you leave when you hit the magic 30

I was lucky in that even though the last few years I was completely disillusioned by the job I was doing a role I really enjoyed which personally made it both bearable and personally enjoyable

Under the conditions today there’s no way I could see me staying until I was 55 or 60

[The Gauge]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Or of course become the shift 'area search specialist'.

When you think about it, they are probably the smart thinking ones, they've sussed that the force doesn't care of them so why should they care. It's one thing to think you need to be seen to be busy due to peer pressure, but where does that actually get you? If everyone on the shift worked to the same principles then maybe the force would realise how bad things are on response?

Being seen to be super busy to impress your colleagues doesn't really get you anywhere and it can certainly take a toll on your health, and your colleagues who you try to impress wont be working with you for ever, they will move on. So in a way I respect the 'area search specialists' and doff my cap to them.

Edited by The Gauge on Monday 25th March 10:17

[Greendubber]

The Gauge said:

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Or of course become the shift 'area search specialist'.

When you think about it, they are probably the smart thinking ones, they've sussed that the force doesn't care of them so why should they care. It's one thing to think you need to be seen to be busy due to peer pressure, but where does that actually get you? If everyone on the shift worked to the same principles then maybe the force would realise how bad things are on response?

Being seen to be super busy to impress your colleagues doesn't really get you anywhere and it can certainly take a toll on your health, and your colleagues who you try to impress wont be working with you for ever, they will move on. So in a way I respect the 'area search specialists' and doff my cap to them.

Edited by The Gauge on Monday 25th March 10:17

I don't, they're selfish lazy pricks that need to step up and pull their weight. You can't just smash about on blue lights all day doing nothing.

We had a couple on one of my old teams and it caused a load of grief. You'd hear them on the radio spending more time and effort avoiding going to a job than the job would have taken.

It created a horrible atmosphere on what was a really good team that was being let down by them and it turned shouting up for jobs into a bit of a game of chess, which is ultimately crap for the person that's had to dial 999 and ask for help.

We got our controllers on side who monumentally fisted them with terrible jobs at the least appropriate times eventually..... and that was after Sgts and gaffers had mentioned it in briefings and it was being looked at, so fk em. It's not being part of a team, it's giving your oppos the middle finger and generally being a selfish sthouse.

[LosingGrip]

Greendubber said:

I don't, they're selfish lazy pricks that need to step up and pull their weight. You can't just smash about on blue lights all day doing nothing.

We had a couple on one of my old teams and it caused a load of grief. You'd hear them on the radio spending more time and effort avoiding going to a job than the job would have taken.

It created a horrible atmosphere on what was a really good team that was being let down by them and it turned shouting up for jobs into a bit of a game of chess, which is ultimately crap for the person that's had to dial 999 and ask for help.

We got our controllers on side who monumentally fisted them with terrible jobs at the least appropriate times eventually..... and that was after Sgts and gaffers had mentioned it in briefings and it was being looked at, so fk em. It's not being part of a team, it's giving your oppos the middle finger and generally being a selfish sthouse.

It always makes me laugh how much time someone would spend avoiding a job when it could have been dealt with in half the time.

Bloke on my old team was always doing it. We all got dicked when he went on a driving course for a month and his work got passed to us.

Of course we dealt with the threat/risk/harm elements but then left it for him after. He was surprised...

I will go out of my way to help my colleagues. If my skipper asks(tells) me to do something I'll do it as quickly as possible and to the best of my ability.

However, my goodwill for the job has gone. I claim all my overtime or TOIL whichever I want. I take my 11 hours between shifts without fail.

However if I need to start early to target a drink driver on the school run 50 miles away...I will.

[Earthdweller]

Greendubber said:

I don't, they're selfish lazy pricks that need to step up and pull their weight. You can't just smash about on blue lights all day doing nothing.

We had a couple on one of my old teams and it caused a load of grief. You'd hear them on the radio spending more time and effort avoiding going to a job than the job would have taken.

It created a horrible atmosphere on what was a really good team that was being let down by them and it turned shouting up for jobs into a bit of a game of chess, which is ultimately crap for the person that's had to dial 999 and ask for help.

We got our controllers on side who monumentally fisted them with terrible jobs at the least appropriate times eventually..... and that was after Sgts and gaffers had mentioned it in briefings and it was being looked at, so fk em. It's not being part of a team, it's giving your oppos the middle finger and generally being a selfish sthouse.

In the days of divisional control rooms staffed by cops/civvies on the same shift the “workers” never got dicked

It was always the workshy that got the sudden death an hour before the end of the shift

One of my first reporting Sgt’s taught me a great lesson when he said “shout up for every job that comes out no matter what it is, then they’ll decide you’re a worker and you won’t get dicked with st jobs and they’ll leave you alone”

[Bigends]

Earthdweller said:

Greendubber said:

I don't, they're selfish lazy pricks that need to step up and pull their weight. You can't just smash about on blue lights all day doing nothing.

We had a couple on one of my old teams and it caused a load of grief. You'd hear them on the radio spending more time and effort avoiding going to a job than the job would have taken.

It created a horrible atmosphere on what was a really good team that was being let down by them and it turned shouting up for jobs into a bit of a game of chess, which is ultimately crap for the person that's had to dial 999 and ask for help.

We got our controllers on side who monumentally fisted them with terrible jobs at the least appropriate times eventually..... and that was after Sgts and gaffers had mentioned it in briefings and it was being looked at, so fk em. It's not being part of a team, it's giving your oppos the middle finger and generally being a selfish sthouse.

In the days of divisional control rooms staffed by cops/civvies on the same shift the “workers” never got dicked

It was always the workshy that got the sudden death an hour before the end of the shift

One of my first reporting Sgt’s taught me a great lesson when he said “shout up for every job that comes out no matter what it is, then they’ll decide you’re a worker and you won’t get dicked with st jobs and they’ll leave you alone”

Spot on. We had exactly the same. As a neighbourhood cop I took a controllers course back in the days of divisional control rooms in order to provide cover for sickness and leave (and got me my PNC ticket). The old system worked really well. Force control room looked after 999's we looked after everything else. We got to know who the workshy were and ensured they took on their fair share of jobs.

[Random_Person]

All well and good in smaller forces but not when you get a "really big force". I an area I know, control room staff and officers wouldn't personally know each other due to the numbers involved (hundreds and hundreds) and the constant changing of roles, non overlapping of shift patterns etc. There are departments all doing the same job / same thing without even knowing about it, as the organisation is so big.