special police

[buckaroo23]

any special police on here, just aplied for an aplication pack, just wanted know what its like, what the tests like and do you have to go court any help woukd be great

 

 

many thanks

 

danny

[12borejimbo]

My ex was a special, nice girl, but very jumped up. I wish you all the best, and dont let it go to your head, cos she certainly did, hence the EX! all the best with the application!

[WelshLamb]

What have you got to do to be special?

 

My Mam says Im special no matter what the other kids say

[buckaroo23]

just aplied then i think you have to do the same test as normal police, fitness n all that, ive wanted to join the police for ages tryed a few times but got no where with it so i thought id try this aprouch, realy hoping to get in as if i stay where i am i will lose the plot, not happy at work n its making me feel **** all the time,

[TaxiDriver]

Did 9yrs, left with 2 Commendations from Chief Constable.

Many a time I've wished I hadn't given it up.

 

Good Luck.

[Paddy Galore!]

[Spiderdude]

Specials are non paid & part time so don't go leaving your day job!

 

Apply to be a PCSO or as they are known round here (dog **** wardens). They do get paid and they are generally been actively sought.

 

I always found female specials very useful and accommodating, my wife always told me too accommodating!!! (long time ago before wife I should add)

 

Good luck with whatever you do.

[12borejimbo]

just aplied then i think you have to do the same test as normal police, fitness n all that, ive wanted to join the police for ages tryed a few times but got no where with it so i thought id try this aprouch, realy hoping to get in as if i stay where i am i will lose the plot, not happy at work n its making me feel **** all the time,

What do you do mate?

[buckaroo23]

i get the **** taken out of me, wanted to move up the ladder and become a shift manager so for the last 4 years ive done every thing i could long days here there n every where, done every thing i could. now ive ask for courses and a bit more money, since then they have tried to move to a different depot to sort pick out, a monkeys job, stood my ground and told them no so im doin admin dont mind that but there have given another admin clerk a trainnie hes only been doing admin for six months n aint very good , also there have decided to give an agency whos been

there for four weeks super user status can do more things

me yet im one of the most qualified person there, ive

requested a meeting this week with my GM if nothing comes ffrom im going to tbe union and putting a greivence

in about the whole palce as im getting depressed snd

stressed out,

Edited October 24, 2011 by buckaroo23

[Gareth0689]

I'm a special at the moment, although only until 9th of next month when I start as a PCSO. The only real reason people join as a Special now is to get into the regular force. You will do everything a police officer does including going to court, although this very rare.

 

I will say, you will only get out of it what you put in. Don't let it go to your head, there's a few I work with that have and they are not like at all.

 

Recruitment is the same as the regulars

[Gareth0689]

Also, have a look here: http://www.policespecials.com/forum/

 

You will find everything you will ever want to know on there.

[Fuddster]

Good on you for at least having the kahuna's to try.

 

Best of luck.

 

Fuddster

[shaun4860]

my soon to be nephew in law is a PCSO

 

he is using it as a stepping stone to the full time police, he loves it

 

[unapalomablanca]

Call me old fashioned but why the hell would you want to do a job and not be paid? I know all the stuff about doing your bit etc but you still want dough. People must be daft unless they are angling to get a full time post.

[ozzy518]

Many forces will be only recruiting regular police officers from people who hav been firstly Specials or PCSO's. My force currently will not be recruiting Regulars for 4 years. A special has exactly the same powers as a regular officer ( with the exception of a few) and will carry out the full range of policing duties as that of a regular. In these days of cuts etc it is not unknown for Specials to be deployed out on thier own.

As a special you will get abused, spat at, asaulted, deal with people that everyone else will cross the road to avoid, see sights that will churn your stomach but also experience other stuff that you would never have expected.

Bestpiece of advice to a new Special? When off duty , leave the Warrant Card at home. Seen it go horribly wrong too many times. Off duty Special (Regulars do it too) sees something gets involved waves card about, gets a kicking. No Pava spray, radio to call for assistance, handcuffs or baton. All you can hope for is that the bloke giving you a kicking gets tired and stops.

Good luck to you for volunteering, the Job despite everything is still a good one. Keep safe.

[J@mes]

To get a foot in the door. I considered it at one point, but decided that I didn't have the time to give to it unfortunately.

 

Plenty of people moan that there is too much antisocial behavior, feral children, petty crime - so surely an unpaid copper who has the same powers is better than no copper at all?

 

Good luck to you OP, I hope it turns out well for you

[deershooter]

I spent 16 years as a special with the Lincolnshire police, the entrance exam was the same as a regular with a slightly lower pass mark and a longer time for the dictation exercise.

 

The only difference between a regular and a special was that specials only had police powers in their own and bordering counties (not sure this is still the case).

Every opportunity was available to us excluding firearms training and direct pursuit driving .I worked in plain clothes with CID, riot training, house entry enforcement team,traffic,drugs searches, speed enforcement along with the normal duties covering everything from garden fates to manning police vans on a Fri & Sat night. Driving was never a problem with Lincolnshire as long as you took a test .Specials in lincolnshire go to court just the same as regulars we even have an ex regular who when retired from the traffic department rejoined as a special and still drives his police motorcycle.

I never joined the police to become a regular just to serve the community and do something with my spare time.

 

Go ahead you should enjoy it

 

 

Deershooter

[Zapp]

but there have given another admin clerk a trainnie hes only been doing admin for six months

 

I had to read that twice before I realised you were saying trainee and not trannie.

[huffhuff]

Call me old fashioned but why the hell would you want to do a job and not be paid? I know all the stuff about doing your bit etc but you still want dough. People must be daft unless they are angling to get a full time post.

 

I wouldn't say old fashioned. I'd say ignorant.

[UKPoacher]

I wouldn't say old fashioned. I'd say ignorant.

 

There is a view that for every person doing voluntary work there is someone out of a paid job. The government counts Specials as part of the Police strength even though they are not tied to shift patterns in many forces and can refuse to carry duties.

 

I have worked with Special Constables for around 25 years. In that time I've probably met three or four who actually contributed something worthwhile to the job. Many of the others were in it for what they could get out of it for themselves. I reckon that if you add up the cost of recruitment, training and equipment for Specials and divide that by the hours that they work it costs more than a reglar PC. Some barely do their statutory four hours a month, and only then at their own conveniance and leaving the job within two years.

 

When you think that a regular Constable spends around thirty weeks training in their first two years, is mentored during that time and then learns on the job for the next twenty years doing the equivalent of forty hours a week as part of a team, how can you expect someone to do the same job with a fraction of the training and experience when they can just pop in and out when it suits them?

 

What other trade allows barely trained volunteers? Imagine a time served electrician qualified to work with 30,000 volts and three-phase equipment being given a mate who works for nothing and barely knows how to change a fuse. How would you like your surgeon to be assisted by some do-gooder who has no clinical experience and just pops in to help out when they are short?

[buckaroo23]

im doing so i can join the police full time, as its very hard to get into, and dont we all work to get some thing out of it? i work to get paid so i can go on holidays go shooting etc, if the police were still taking on i would be going for a full time postion to me its an end to means, get to know the job etc at the end of if i dont like it i havnt lost a job, but gained an insight into some thing worthwhile,

[huffhuff]

There is a view that for every person doing voluntary work there is someone out of a paid job. The government counts Specials as part of the Police strength even though they are not tied to shift patterns in many forces and can refuse to carry duties.

 

I have worked with Special Constables for around 25 years. In that time I've probably met three or four who actually contributed something worthwhile to the job. Many of the others were in it for what they could get out of it for themselves. I reckon that if you add up the cost of recruitment, training and equipment for Specials and divide that by the hours that they work it costs more than a reglar PC. Some barely do their statutory four hours a month, and only then at their own conveniance and leaving the job within two years.

 

When you think that a regular Constable spends around thirty weeks training in their first two years, is mentored during that time and then learns on the job for the next twenty years doing the equivalent of forty hours a week as part of a team, how can you expect someone to do the same job with a fraction of the training and experience when they can just pop in and out when it suits them?

 

What other trade allows barely trained volunteers? Imagine a time served electrician qualified to work with 30,000 volts and three-phase equipment being given a mate who works for nothing and barely knows how to change a fuse. How would you like your surgeon to be assisted by some do-gooder who has no clinical experience and just pops in to help out when they are short?

 

...and there is the view of an officer of the law i'm sure (and if you are, what an odd choice in forum name...)

 

I was aiming the remark more at the "...Call me old fashioned but why the hell would you want to do a job and not be paid?..." statement. I find it quite narrow minded. I do lots of charity/volunteer work that takes up many hours a week. I don't really have money to give local charities and community projects, so what I do give is my time. It's not always cash that's needed. Sometimes a few hours work goes a lot further than some money!

 

Also, I know a lot of 'specials' and 'regulars'. In general, they all seem to get on fine and have only good things to say about each other (in fact, some of the regulars cannot believe people give up their time to be abused, spat at etc.. from the general public...and not get paid!). I appreciate what you are saying with regards to costs...but I can only imagine you are not quite right with your figures. Regardless, surely 'every little helps' when it comes to taking some of the burden off the shoulders of the real police? I just read a post by yourself, it went like this... "...If it's anything like our area the police are run off their feet dealing with Facebook threats and petty domestics to have time to deal with real crime..." - a casing point. Now I fully understand times have moved on, Policing isn't 'walking the beat' like when I were a lad (i was scared of a clip round the earole from PC Sam...and i'm only just 30). Times are a changing, your times a wasting. But think how much more time would be wasted if the 'specials' weren't offloading some of that..

 

huffhuff-a-roo

Edited October 25, 2011 by huffhuff

[Miroku_Dave]

My Wife is going through the application for the specials at the minute, I was pretty much of the same opinion as huffhuff but she pointed out that its the same as the TA really and it is a stepping stone for her to get in to the regular police. She is a self employed Driving instructor at the minute which although the money isn’t bad it doesn’t have a pension or any career progression.

 

I’m not too keen on her being a rozzer and getting in to scraps etc and I can’t help feeling that the first time a smacked up druggie is in her face she might change her mind but interestingly enough she applied for the regular police about ten years ago but failed the assessments for being too aggressive!

 

Good luck with whatever you choose to do mate and remember if you don’t do now what you want to do you will only regret it in the years to come!

“Onwards and upwards!”

[Dr W]

Respect to anyone who does some volunteering, there are too many people in this world who won't because why should they do something for nothing, it's called giving something back and makes communities better places to live.

[huffhuff]

I forgot to say good luck to the OP. A worthy thing to do, regardless of whether it's to give back to the community or to get a 'foot in the door'.

 

Well done mate, hope it all goes well. From experience, make sure you get somebody to check through your application as they can be quite picky about spelling, punctuation and grammar

 

All the best!