[Closed] Any police on here, I'm thinking of applying..

Do they even allow anyone in at 45🤔 I thought there was a cut off age wise

Difficult for me to provide an objective answer to be honest. I absolutely love my job after 23 years and cannot ever imagine doing anything else - but I'm in a specialist role and count myself as very lucky.

My role does come with its own pressures but I'd hate to be back in uniform on response as it's just a hugely thankless task. Always has been but not to the extent it is now.
My wife on the other hand, has just left after serving for 21 years. This time last year she was about to receive a QPM for her service and the last year has just been a total and unmitigated disaster and pushed her to the absolute brink of a complete breakdown. The strains on the service genuinely are unsustainable.
If you want to pm me I'm happy to discuss further.

No upper age limit any more as far as I recall.

Bob, I know a lass that's stationed on the south side that joined at 47.

She reckons more than 50% of her job is dealing with mental health issues, between that and dealing with drunks and neds, I cant think of anything worse tbh.

Kudos to them.

Bear with me, I've just found this reply to an almost identical question asked of me by email by another forum member the day after two gmp colleagues, Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes were murdered. I can't believe it's been six years.

Much of the below still stands today but I doubt think that even then we foresaw just how deep the cuts were going to go...

September 2012

“Forgive me if this reply isn’t overly positive but as you know GMP was hit pretty hard with the loss of two colleagues yesterday.

On the plus side my job gives me an enormous amount of pride, however this government are systematically ruining the Police Service by cutting budgets, reducing police numbers and changing our pay and conditions for the worse. I signed up to 30 years in 1996 with a “guaranteed” pension package at that time. Not to much to ask really as I also agreed to pay 11% of my pay into my pension for the next 30 years.

Frontline policing – which every officer at every rank has done for an absolute minimum of two years is a tiring, stressful, dirty, and downright dangerous job. Not only do you risk your lives every day but you also put yourself at risk of discipline, complaints, prosecution, sacking and imprisonment. In the last 17 years, 5 colleagues of mine have been sacked because their reactions to a violent or intimidating situation were deemed “over the top”. One of them went to prison and another is awaiting sentence next month.
Frontline policing is also potentially the most rewarding job in the world. I have been involved in rescuing people from burning buildings, giving immediate first aid to people stabbed through the chest and throat and have reunited lost children to grateful parents.

I’ve also sat beside a 6 year old boy who had been hit by a car while he died. He couldn’t speak English but I know he just wanted his mum. Ive held peoples stomach contents in whilst my colleagues have driven them to hospital because we couldnt wait for an ambulance. I have been a detective for 10 years and have interviewed people like Cregan countless times. You can’t let it get to you – but it does from time to time.

Now the government has decided that the Police need to work for a little bit harder, with a few less colleagues, for a little less money, for a whole lot longer (in many cases) and to come out at the end with a lot less pension than they agreed to when they signed up all those years ago.

Does it still sound like the job for you?”

I have a colleague trying it out as a special. He really seems to enjoy it but acknowledges that if its not for him he doesn't have to commit. His background is theatre so the unusual hours are actually not much different!

Thanks Bregante, best of luck to you mate.

my bro in law is a sargent on the response team... we've learnt not to ask him what he's been up to today...

20 more years sat in the little room?

Go for it! The worst that happens is you end up back where you started, and even if it doesn’t work out it might lead you somewhere else..

If you like helping people, doing a great thing for society and companionship go for it.

The pay is crap, most people will hate you, you'll do long shifts was the little or no break, your days off or leave might be cancelled with the little and you'll see crap that no one should see that'll probably change you and break you.

Good job though at times wish I'd changed over to them in part as I'd be retired now.

Im a bobby of almost 25 yrs. Done a lot of different roles. PM me if you would like to discuss further

Something I’ve thought about doing for ages since leaving the Army.
43 now and Diabetic, so, I’ll just have to stick to what I do now.
Can’t really complain, as I work for myself, and a lot of the time enjoy what I do.
Still doesn’t give me that ‘je ne sais pas’ I’m looking for mind..

Thanks Bregante + breninbeenner.  Bregante's message is difficult to read

Everyone that I know who has attempted to join the police has been the last sort of person that should be in a position of responsibility. If you are better than that, go for it, you’ll be making things better not worse.

My Wife got out. She'd worked in various roles and although she wasn't in for that many years (8 years or so) she saw a massive change in the job within that time.
She just missed the cut-off date for some pension change that meant she was paying in 14% and gets sweet FA back out.
Her job was turning into a thankless task of dealing with drunks, mental health patients & Wife beaters & she was constantly worried that if she forgot to put a certain bit of information on a form, or send something off to so-and-so in time a case would fall through & she'd end up in the shit.

There was also the hard work & toil put in to get a case ready, only to have the CPS say they weren't going to proceed.

She is a very diligent worker, was moved through the Police into more specialised positions & received several awards & commendations for particularly hard cases that she worked on, but the job was slowly doing her in.

I was very pleased when she got out of the job. My newphew (11 years old) loves the Police, watches all the TV programs and is determined he wants to be a Police Officer. I think he only sees the 'chasing baddies' side of it, so my Wife has tried to explain the reality of it to him.

I left the police three weeks ago after a ten year career. I don't regret joining and I really miss being part of the family. But I dont regret leaving. The way the job is now I can't recommend it. Do you have a family or mortgage? Which force were you looking at joining?

I also meant to say - my Wife initially started as a Special. So, voluntary, but well trained up & with powers of arrest rather than PCSO status.

You could always do that for a couple of years and see what you think. I think she had to do 4hrs a week.

Being a special will give you a delicate flavour, but it is only a small part of the story. Specials don't carry massive caseload and spend every working day stressing about how they are possibly going to investigate any of their jobs. Thats the bit of policing that has really got worse in the last 5 years.
They also don't really have much responsibility and will generally get replaced by a PC if anything hard/important happens.

Sorry Stumpy, I wrote that before I saw your post, it wasn't a response to yours.

Being a special will give you a delicate, flavour but it is only a small part of the story. Specials don’t carry massive caseload and spend every working day stressing about how they are possibly going to investigate any of their jobs. They also don’t really have much responsibility and will generally get replaced by a PC if anything hard/important happens.

True, but much better than no insight at all.

No direct experience, one of my closest mates has just left the police, he was quite senior, but utterly disillusioned by the end, he came close to a breakdown & getting out has obviously been good for him.

His advice would be avoid Merseyside police at all costs !

Thanks for all the replies, lots of stuff to consider there.

Got a wife and 2 young kids so the shifts would have an impact on that, but would be good in school hols as would have some week days off some weeks (well assuming I've read it correctly that it's usually working 6 days with varying shifts, then 3 days off) I'm used to lots of paperwork and having to write stuff that has to stand up to legal scrutiny so not too worried about that bit

Based in the lakes so would be Cumbria force.

I was also looking at traffic officer jobs with highways agency but they seem pretty hard to find.

I'd also be keen on fire service but missed the application dates for this year.

es but I’d hate to be back in uniform on response as it’s just a hugely thankless task.

Not to put a damper on things but until recently I had six colleagues who were ex borough CID and they said that was the worst it had ever been, massive case loads and pressure - real crap storm. So spec ops it is then.

 

Or maybe a job making the functionality of this forum work, that would seem to be a career with a long future and steady work!

I joined when I was 33 and was the 2nd youngest on my intake. I've been in for 14 years now, all of it on response, apart from the last 2 months where I have been posted to custody on promotion.

The positives:
Great teams - your colleagues become really close friends. This can also be a negative, as most of the people you will socialise with will also be cops - who else wants to go out on a Wednesday night?
The shifts - the 2 forces I have worked for do 2 earlies (0700 x 1600), 2 lates (1500 x 0100) and 2 nights (2200 x 0700), then 4 days off (obviously sleeping for a lot of the first rest day).
The job itself - You can (and will) make a genuine difference to people in need, often at the worst point of their lives. Some of the people you arrest will be genuinely bad people, and you will get a lot of satisfaction from putting them in a van.

Negatives:
You will see some REALLY horrible things. MH support for the Police is woeful - this is where talking to colleagues will help a lot, as well as "black humour".
Rest days - yes, you get 4 off, but often will have one or more cancelled at short notice for operations, special events, or even staff shortages. Appearances at court always seem to be rest days, making you even happier when getting there to be told you weren't required!
Workloads - constantly increasing, not enough people to deal - this will not get better any time soon I'm afraid.
Finishing late - never plan anything for after a shift - the more you have planned, the later off you will be! You will miss birthdays, anniversaries and othr events because you are working and can't get the time off.
You WILL get assaulted, luck will depend on how badly!
Pay and conditions aren't great, but I expect them to improve in the next few years as the government are starting to realise the cuts went too deep.

All that said, if I had my time again, I'd still join, and I genuinely still enjoy going into work.
As others have said, feel free to message me fo any more details

I actually dreamt I joined the police last night. I remember being amazed that I was actually driving a police car. I went into a police station which, whilst it looked like a police station from the outside, was a massive call centre once inside. I walked in in my police uniform and everyone turned to look at me and were talking amongst themselves asking 'what the **** is he wearing that uniform for '...?

I'm sure Freud could have told me what it meant.

Not the first time I've had that dream too...

I always thought it looked like a fantastic job so it's a little sobering to read some of the above replies.

Apply see what happens, nothing life wrecking. One relative in uniform now works full time with mental health nurse to try and keep cells clear I think and as far as I can see pick up other services collapsing. Her partner in traffic/arv's. Crap he sees and deals with is unbelievable. Thankless task for highly stressful jobs. I'm very glad they and others do it. Cheers all and thanks.

Russ, I remember reading that post 6 years ago and it stuck with me.

All you guys have my genuine thanks for the jobs you do.

Bregante 6/7 more years?
My missus loves her job, and has just sixteen months to her thirty years. Though when she joined she was told she'd never make a copper. That was then, now she's the ideal modern copper.
Couldn't do the job myself, forces yes police don't know how you do it and I mean that in a good way.

Can you afford to. The starting pay is dismally low.

I will just chip in here to say a heartfelt thank you to all who have served in the police.
I know I don’t have the mental strength to do it.

My sister is an Assistant Chief Constable. she did a video about how she got there and what motivates her. Might be worth a watch.

I was expecting just a link, sorry!

I did thirty years on the street in London. I left twelve years ago almost to the day. When I left I thought it was pretty bad, but it’s abundantly clear it’s become even worse. I was ashamed of the way we were letting the public down back then - I simply don’t think I could hack it now.

I’m still angry.

Don’t do it.

"Bregante 6/7 more years?"

Closer to 9/10 due to the change in our pensions. Better than many but not what we agreed to.

To those who have expressed gratitude, is not why we do it but it is appreciated.

To those who have expressed gratitude, is not why we do it but it is appreciated.

True, it may not be why you do it, but you're going to get the gratitude anyway 🙂 Especially the front line police who have to do a zillion rotten jobs that never make the news. It is hugely appreciated by the rest of us.

Oh, and if that policeman who knocked the moped thug off his bike gets prosecuted it'll be a total disgrace.

I'll have done 18 years by the time I resign in Jan 2019. I simply can't face anymore, it's all well and good dealing with the public and catching bad 'uns, it's the constant rearguard battles with incompetent bosses and their ideas of what works that has done me in. Don't consider joining South Yorkshire Police, it's truly on its arse, especially after Hillsborough and Rotherham scandals, still got Orgreave in the wings. We are all praying for SYP to be disbanded and merged with West Yorkshire Police, its that bad. But I haven't done all my time at SYP, I started in the Met and did a stint in West Mids. I have some amazing memories, seen stuff that would turn your hair white and made some close friends. I have cried for some of those close friends lost on duty and for truly innocent people subjected to the absolute worst examples of the human race. My wife summed it up when I told her of my decision to leave "It will be nice to get my husband back after being on loan for 18 years" I would say try it but don't be financially tied to it so you can leave when it gets bad, because when it's bad its really bad, but when it's good...

Best wishes soulwood. You're leaving for very similar reasons to my wife by the sounds of it and it's an all too familiar story. I don't know about South Yorks but in GMP we no longer publish our retirements/resignations which we used to in our CC's orders but it used to be almost unheard of for cops with over 10 years in to leave. I'm sure you heard "what about your pension?" as often as she did.

Good luck with whatever you do next.