Police Inspectors - what do they do?

Police Inspectors - what do they do?

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anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Thursday 21st July 2016
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[redacted]

Elroy Blue

8,686 posts

191 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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I assume you're looking at direct entry Inspector. Another joke policy courtesy of Theresa May. (The direct entry Superintendent has been soooo successful after all).

You will be stuck in a cupboard somewhere, because after a few months 'training' you won't be any good to anybody.

Good Inspectors get stuck in and lead from the front. Bad Inspectors 'manage' (usually by e-mail)

FurryExocet

3,011 posts

180 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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It depends on the department they are in, but they are a managerial role.

A DI for instance will run the CID department, they won't do any investigation, but will oversee the big jobs and authorise things for the smaller ones.

A response inspector will be in charge of a team, they will look at and assess the risk of jobs coming in, ours are usually tied up with mispers and custody reviews (probably the most stressful of the inspector positions)

Traffic inspector will oversee the traffic department, sometimes more than 1 if there are multiple bases. They will attend KSI Accidents and be the senior investigator for it. Other than that, it's all meetings and stuff.

Ops 1 is the control room inspector, they are in charge of the control room for the shift and are responsible for jobs that come in, pursuits are managed by them

There are lots of others as well

mel

10,168 posts

274 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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Well there's a bitter and twisted reply that tells you nothing, I mean it's not like a similar policy works well in all three of the armed forces and the other two emergency services already or anything is it? Granted there will always be specific roles better suited to those promoted up through the ranks as is the case in the other services mentioned but equally so in the modern and diverse world we now live there are now plenty of roles better suited to direct entry candidates who have gained their life skills elsewhere. The best advice would be to be prepared to manage the old, the bold, the resentful, the lazy, the jealous, the keen, the intelligent, the motivated and the driven. Bit like any middle management job really then.

Hopefully someone who's not wearing their resentful goggles will be along soon to give you some of the constructive and specific advice you're looking for.

JulianHJ

8,733 posts

261 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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It's a management job - you'll get a bit of input in your first few months so you have an idea of what different teams and departments do, then you'll be shuffling paper for the rest of your career. If you want to be a manager and make the big decisions, set strategies and review investigators' work, give it a go. If you want to be an investigator, you'd be better off going in as a PC, doing your National Investigators Exam and finding your niche or working your way up.

I would imagine most of the direct entry candidates will find a home in HQs doing project management roles or similar.

Greendubber

13,129 posts

202 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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If you want no respect from those you are ordering about then do direct access.

I know I wouldnt want to be in public order situation being told what to do by someone who has never done it themselves, its just dangerous. I also wouldnt want a gaffer with no experience leading a serious investigation either.

No amount of training can match proper, time served through the ranks experience.

surveyor_101

5,069 posts

178 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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policing isn't a qualifications game!

Its an on the job, training and learning experience.

So many degrees these days are all theory based report writing waste of time.

Got an assistant now doing a masters and they have take method of measurement out of it for gods sake!

Baryonyx

17,990 posts

158 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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I don't think any inspector coming from direct entry will be put into an investigative role, or anything which involves interactions with the public or actual use of police powers. I think it far more likely they'll get 'project management' positions, looking at things like budget spending and modernisation. These are the private sector workers the police are trying to employ, they are looking for business skills. They don't struggle to fill frontline inspector jobs because there are always PC's and sargents moving up the ladder with a proper, proven background in police work. Which force would put a direct entry inspector into a job where a probationer with 6 months knows more than the 'boss?'. The cleaner would probably know more too, come to think of it.

marshalla

15,902 posts

200 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
Definitely not Forensic. The market's in a mess at the moment with all sorts of bizarre "strategies" being thrown around and the usual merry go round of staff following contracts, + an oversupply of graduates - unless you fancy going into digital, learning about eDiscovery & incident response and joining a big corporate.

Elroy Blue

8,686 posts

191 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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mel said:
Well there's a bitter and twisted reply that tells you nothing, I mean it's not like a similar policy works well in all three of the armed forces and the other two emergency services already or anything is it? Granted there will always be specific roles better suited to those promoted up through the ranks as is the case in the other services mentioned but equally so in the modern and diverse world we now live there are now plenty of roles better suited to direct entry candidates who have gained their life skills elsewhere. The best advice would be to be prepared to manage the old, the bold, the resentful, the lazy, the jealous, the keen, the intelligent, the motivated and the driven. Bit like any middle management job really then.

Hopefully someone who's not wearing their resentful goggles will be along soon to give you some of the constructive and specific advice you're looking for.
Well. as someone who has held a commission in the Armed Forces and now works in the Police, I think I'm pretty qualified to say the two have no connection. But let's not let actual experience and knowledge get in the way.

The Direct entry route was a politically motivated policy forced on the Police. It's not needed or wanted. There are hundreds of experienced and capable Sergeants stuck on the promotion ladder. all waiting for a chance. The Direct entry Superintendent policy has been an abject failure. But at least Superintendents would have been kept out of the way. The Inspector role is a far more important position and the chances for something to go seriously wrong are higher.

mel

10,168 posts

274 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
Greendubber said:
If you want no respect from those you are ordering about then do direct access.

I know I wouldnt want to be in public order situation being told what to do by someone who has never done it themselves, its just dangerous. I also wouldnt want a gaffer with no experience leading a serious investigation either.

No amount of training can match proper, time served through the ranks experience.
So who would be the best person to wheel out in front of the cameras when the media are demanding a statement from either a uniform with stuff on the shoulder or someone with a D at the front of their rank? Someone who knows the best way to contain a petrol bomb throwing mob or a trained pr professional with 10 years experience dealing with the media on a daily basis? In this day and age of instant social media and viral broadcast of pr disasters I'd suggest that Direct Entry is recognising the needs of the service for diverse skill sets. It'd be no good putting a "media manager" in a suit in front of cameras either that's not what they want or demand, there very often needs to be a clear no nonsense statement made at an early and critical stage and it needs to be delivered by a Uniform (locally) to carry any sort of weight or influence. Lets face it the Police haven't got the best reputation to date for dealing with the media, they tend to either clam up and say nothing or put a pair of size tens squarely in the traps laid for them, normally because they aren't trained or experienced enough in that aspect to see it coming! Horses for Courses and all that, after all most environments Middle Manager Rank Police Officers find themselves in are potential Bear Pits and employing experts for each role makes sense to me.

Elroy Blue

8,686 posts

191 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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It might have escaped your notice, but the Police have had thousands of Officers cut from the ranks. Employing someone on an Inspectors salary to stand in front of a camera makes real economic sense doesn't it. Having a multi-skilled Inspector who has received some media training and actually knows what they're talking about isn't really hard to grasp is it.

Edited by Elroy Blue on Friday 22 July 14:11

mel

10,168 posts

274 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
Elroy Blue said:
Well. as someone who has held a commission in the Armed Forces and now works in the Police, I think I'm pretty qualified to say the two have no connection. But let's not let actual experience and knowledge get in the way.

The Direct entry route was a politically motivated policy forced on the Police. It's not needed or wanted. There are hundreds of experienced and capable Sergeants stuck on the promotion ladder. all waiting for a chance. The Direct entry Superintendent policy has been an abject failure. But at least Superintendents would have been kept out of the way. The Inspector role is a far more important position and the chances for something to go seriously wrong are higher.
Sounds like you missed the boat then and would have been a good candidate for a Direct Entry position with a Commission already under your belt, which I would assume was a Direct Entry Commission and not as a through a ranks retread? I however have had some very good experiences when dealing with Ambulance Trusts at CEO level with NO clinical experience (although he had also held a Queens Commission and a Senior Command Position) and with a FRS at Group Manager level where she has never kept a watch at a station but is an incredibly motivated, professional and effective manager brought in from the Private Sector.

mel

10,168 posts

274 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
Elroy Blue said:
It might have escaped your notice, but the Police have had thousands of Officers cut from the ranks. Employing someone on an Inspectors salary to stand in front of a camera makes real economic sense doesn't it. Having a multi-skilled Inspector who has received some media training and actually knows what they're talking about isn't really hard to grasp is it.
It makes more sense in a smaller more streamlined Police Service to employ the best people with the best skill sets relevant to the position, if that means going out and poaching from the Private Sector rather than promoting bitter and twisted pension trappers then so be it.

Rovinghawk

13,300 posts

157 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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Elroy Blue said:
Having a multi-skilled Inspector who .........actually knows what they're talking about
Do you have many of those?

Baryonyx

17,990 posts

158 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
mel said:
It makes more sense in a smaller more streamlined Police Service to employ the best people with the best skill sets relevant to the position, if that means going out and poaching from the Private Sector rather than promoting bitter and twisted pension trappers then so be it.
It does make sense, if you're looking for police skills, to promote police officers. There is too much risk involved, and too much at stake, for forces to put direct entry inspectors into policing roles. If you're looking for business managers or whatever, you might find some of those.

Who do you want to review your detention in custody? Who do you want to sign off on an authority to search your house? Who do you want to direct the riot police at a local football derby? Someone who knows the job inside out, having lived it and done it for probably at least a decade, probably more, or the former manager of an Aldi store whose accolades include best stock turnaround two years in a row? Would you trust a direct entry doctor?

TheBear

1,940 posts

245 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
I don't think that's the case it's just if someone came into a front line Inspectors role without proper experience then I think it would be a disaster waiting to happen. Not just for the public and officers but also for that person. You could end up in prison and costing people their lives. Public order and Firearms incidents spring to mind.

If it is more of a management role away from the front line then no-one will ever see you apart from your name in emails.

I don't have any problem with direct entry if it is along corporate lines looking at the direction in which the police service is going. Fresh ideas are needed. It can't be any worse than the current situation with over promoted officers, and incompetent accelerated promotion officers who have created a working environment that is scared to make decisions, is scapegoat based and rewards mediocrity.

The role of Police officers urgently needs defining in this day and age but current senior management is not up to it. They are just looking after themselves.

The police needs some balls so to speak at a higher level and a total clear out, so if talented and robust candidates can do that then I'm all for it but it needs to be above Inspector level and why do they need to be police officers at all?


mel

10,168 posts

274 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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Actually I know a fair few Doctors and none of them used to be either Nurses or Paramedics. But certainly the best Trauma Teams are made up of a Doctor & Paramedic combination because they each bring specific skills to the table.

Elroy Blue

8,686 posts

191 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
Baryonyx said:
It does make sense, if you're looking for police skills, to promote police officers. There is too much risk involved, and too much at stake, for forces to put direct entry inspectors into policing roles. If you're looking for business managers or whatever, you might find some of those.

Who do you want to review your detention in custody? Who do you want to sign off on an authority to search your house? Who do you want to direct the riot police at a local football derby? Someone who knows the job inside out, having lived it and done it for probably at least a decade, probably more, or the former manager of an Aldi store whose accolades include best stock turnaround two years in a row? Would you trust a direct entry doctor?
Apparently being experienced makes you a 'bitter and twisted pension trapper'. Unfortunately you'll never convince those with this attitude that we want to provide the best service we can and that doesn't come from parachuting a Supermarket manager into a critical frontline role.

Elroy Blue

8,686 posts

191 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
mel said:
Actually I know a fair few Doctors and none of them used to be either Nurses or Paramedics. But certainly the best Trauma Teams are made up of a Doctor & Paramedic combination because they each bring specific skills to the table.
I think you'll find a Doctor has rather more than six months 'training'. Ridiculous comparison.