The Police and Emergency Services

Every year a number of people leaving the Armed Forces join the Police looking for a new career in an area that is something like the one they are leaving. They enjoy working in teams, operating in a structured organisation and serving the community.

There are of course many differences because the Police have a trades union, people have a greater say in their employment and the more senior managers all start on the shop floor. Police are always on duty, and it is perfectly possible and accepted that a Constable may spend a whole career in that rank. Recruiting is regional with each force responsible for its own manning.

There are 43 independent Police forces in England and Wales employing 126,000 officers, of which 20,000 are women and 2,500 from the ethnic minorities. There are eight forces in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland. The ratio of uniformed to civilian staff in the Police is about 2½:1.

After two years' probation, a Constable is considered ready to take on the full range of duties. Then they can also specialise in or gain experience of a wide variety of roles carried out by a modern Police force. Great emphasis has recently been placed on community policing and projects in inner-city areas.

There are also specialist Police in such areas as the MoD, nuclear establishments and the transport industry, while at the heart of every major Police station is the control room. In it, Police and support staff monitor and control Police activity using advanced IT to direct officers in their tasks to keep the peace and prevent crime.

35,000 people in England and Wales apply to join the Police each year, and 5,000 are successful. Physical and mental fitness, powers of observation, the ability to write and handle numbers, logical thought, stamina, common-sense and good judgement are key qualities.

Police in the Services
Each of the Services has its own Police, and people in these units will probably be able to join a civilian force with little difficulty. Their progress thereafter depends entirely on themselves - there is no automatic right to promotion.

Most Service people will possess many of the skills that the Police look for and understand that to be able to work in a team is critical. They should be able to reach fair decisions based on the available information, as well as being self-reliant and self-confident.

Resettlement
Anyone thinking of a second career in the Police should attend the Potential Police Officers Course at the Resettlement Training Centre, Aldershot or the Regional Resettlement Centre, Catterick.

The two-week course helps people prepare for the written test that potential Police officers have to pass. There is a visit to a Police District Training Centre to see how officers are trained and meet Police probationers, and visiting speakers talk about their experiences.

Joining the Police is not as easy as many people imagine. Sadly, the failure list includes a number of Service leavers, some of whom have fallen foul of Police standards on social issues.

Selection
Because each force is independent, they all select and train their officers slightly differently. However, everybody joins the Police as a probationer (learner) under training for two years.

Selection consists of an application form that is then sifted so that people with obvious medical conditions are weeded out. No formal educational qualifications are required but a number of these forms are so badly completed that they are discarded.

The next step is a one-day selection. This includes the Police Initial Recruitment Test (PIRT), a fitness assessment including endurance and agility, and a short interview.

After this comes a formal two-day selection with an extended interview before a panel including senior officers and constables, individual exercises testing prioritisation and planning, and group exercises assessing team abilities and problem solving.

Selection can take anything between a few weeks and several months; depending on the force in question and the individual's availability.

Training and development in the Police
It can take a probationer seven months from selection to being out on the job. The first two weeks are spent on an introduction at a Force Training School. Much of the initial processing will be familiar to a Service person, but some will be new, including guest lectures and two days at a local station seeing how it operates and going out on patrol.

The next phase is fifteen weeks at a District Training Centre on the National Police Training Course, covering law, procedures and powers, first aid and life-saving, public order training, and unarmed defence including the use of handcuffs and baton. Much use is made of scenarios and role-playing as well as learning the theory.

Then it's two weeks back at the Force Training School on a local procedures course, learning about the IT equipment and paperwork of the probationer's force as well as the use of approved items such as CS Gas and the extendable baton.

This is followed by ten weeks on the job, working alongside a tutor Constable. During this period, probationers can expect to be on the beat and to work shifts alongside their tutor. They should develop enough confidence and ability by the end of this time to go on independent patrol.

Three weeks of leave and other breaks takes the total to 32 weeks, by the end of which the probationers are expected to possess the five core skills of communicating with others, professional and ethical standards, self-motivation, decision-making, and creativity and innovation. The next 16 months are spent consolidating this training and reaching further development locally so that the individual is fully ready for appointment as a Constable.

Once a Police officer has completed the two years' probation, they can work for promotion to Sergeant and then Inspector by passing the necessary exams. A combination of time doing the job, success in formal exams, recommendations and courses at the Police Staff College at Bramshill qualifies any officer for further promotion.

High Potential Development scheme
The HPD scheme takes people with the potential to be future leaders through an individually tailored, modular career development programme - they will only attend the modules they require to develop their workplace performance. It uses the new police National Competency Framework as its platform but there is also an academic element, with students given the chance to achieve at least a Masters level qualification.

Officers from Constable to Chief Inspector can apply to join the scheme, which provides them with continuing development as long as they are meeting the required standards. Those who become Chief Inspectors can expect to be strong contenders for Superintendent rank. The scheme is open to new recruits and has central selection and assessment regimes. Applicants are tested against their potential to achieve Superintendent competencies and there is a continual selection process, with three cycles each year.

Conditions
The minimum age for joining is 18, and a full pension is payable after thirty years' service, with a latest retirement age of 55 (60 for inspectors and above). There is no upper joining limit except for Scotland which is 40 although recent Service leavers can be considered if they are only a little older.

A constable's salary starts at £17,700 a year, rises to £19,800 after the initial seven months' training and to £21,000 on finishing the probationary period, peaking at over £28,000. Sergeant's pay ranges from £27,000 to £31,500, Inspectors start at £35,000 and a Chief Superintendent can earn up to £60,000.

Civilian support staff
Police services employ large numbers of non-uniformed people in support jobs ranging from SOCOs (Scene of Crime Officers) (£17,000 to £20,000 pa), neighbourhood watch controller (£16,300 to £18,800), scientists and instructors to administrators, communicators and clerks. These people are local government employees and are recruited locally. Indeed a career that starts as a member of the Police support staff could well develop in other directions.

Further information
Police applicants should contact their local force, or phone 0845 6083000 for an application pack: Website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk

For the Accelerated Promotion Scheme in Scotland, contact Accelerated Promotion Coordinator, Scottish Police College, Tulliallan Castle, Kincardine, Alloa, Clackmannanshire, FK10 4BE Tel: 01259 732000 Fax: 01259 732100 Website: www.tulliallan.police.uk

Applications for the Potential Police Officers Course at RTC Aldershot and RRC Catterick should be made through resettlement channels.

Police support staff vacancies can be found from local police stations and at force headquarters.

Other Emergency Services
Together with the Police, the Fire Service and the Ambulance Service make up the Emergency Services. They work closely together and also train together (and sometimes with the Armed Forces) for certain situations.

The Fire Service
There are some 57,000 firefighters in 58 independent fire brigades in Great Britain, and each is responsible for its own recruitment and career progression. Promotion is based on merit, experience and training at the Fire Service College in Gloucestershire.

Recruits attend initial training at a Training Centre and then join a station for operational duties. Further training follows, as well as in-service development leading to specialist training. After satisfactory completion of the two-year probationary period, recruits become fully qualified firefighters.

Retained firefighters are part-timers who need to live or work reasonably close to a fire station and be able to be called out for a couple of hours two or three times a week. They are paid for being on call and for training; they receive a fee if they are called out - and another if they go into action. They train and work alongside their full-time counterparts.

Entrants to the Fire Service have to be aged over 18, possess good communication skills, have good all-round fitness and pass written and practical tests. Salaries range from nearly £17,000 to £21,500 per annum for a firefighter to £42,000 for a senior divisional officer.

Ambulance Service
The 39 NHS ambulance services in the UK employ about 34,000 people, with other staff working in private ambulance operations such as those used by private hospitals and some large companies. Each service has its own rules and entry requirements. The minimum age is generally 18 and, while there is no maximum age for recruits, 35 to 40 is generally regarded as the upper limit due to the time it takes to train someone to the necessary standards.

Work includes managing control rooms, and acting as care assistants, ambulance technicians and paramedics. Training could be three weeks for a care assistant, 12 weeks for a technician and a further two months for a paramedic. Promotion also involves qualifying periods of experience while paramedics can also qualify through a University of Hertfordshire specialist degree. More senior positions include operational management, control and training, and specialisation in some services into helicopter, car or motorcycle rapid response units.

Most managers rise through the ranks. Salaries range from £9,000 to £12,500 for care assistants, £17,500 for technicians and £18,500 for paramedics and higher for managers, with London allowances as appropriate.

Further information
For more information on a career in the fire or ambulance service, phone your local service on the number in the telephone directory.