Police Officer Recruitment

If the money wasn't so crap, I'd go back in, at least it has job security and looking past the complete and utter bullshit red tape that sometimes hits you in the face, I enjoyed my short time in there.

As mentioned previously, a lot of moaners in the Force today, with the acceptable culture of "claiming and moaning", it has seemed to have spread all over.

My inspector hated me, even more so when I was banging his daughter.

Job Security? Not any more. Indiscretions that would have resulted in a bollocking from your Sergeant are now subject to Full Powers hearings and dismissal.
 
West Midlands Police are currently accepting registrations of interest for their upcoming recruitment of 450 new police constables starting in April 2014.

Eligibility
You must have a level 3 qualification.

Pay
Starting salary of £21,999.

https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/join-the-force/PC-recruitment/

Seriously???
I know every new generation of cops won't have to wait around long to hear their peers use the age old expression, "THE JOB IS F**KED" but in reality it seriously is.

After a series of 'breaks' and thefts from vehicles in my area, I responded to one of the Safer Neighbourhood Team's (SNT) emails last week, and asked them why nothing was being done about it.
It was the same MO, same time window, same area, week in and week out for over a year! Surely even Mr Bean could catch them!
I had a visit from the SNT to discuss the problem. What did I get?
Not one, but 2 PCSOs!!!
Nice blokes for sure, but, I asked them why they weren't able to set up an Operation to catch such prolific and predictable thieves? They told me apologetically that;

1. They weren't allowed to work in 'plain clothes', so no Obs or OPs or even use of an unmarked car
2. They weren't allowed to work 'nights'
3. They have no additional Police powers or powers of arrest beyond a normal citizen

Since they now make up the bulk of all police patrol work, where the F*ck does that leave us??

And they weren't that interested in becoming Police Officers, as they are better off as PCSOs, as they explained to me;
The pay isn't that different
They don't work unsociable hours
They get every Christmas and Bank Holiday off

That is todays modern police force.

Truly the 'Job is not F*cked' it is extinct
 
Seriously???
I know every new generation of cops won't have to wait around long to hear their peers use the age old expression, "THE JOB IS F**KED" but in reality it seriously is.

After a series of 'breaks' and thefts from vehicles in my area, I responded to one of the Safer Neighbourhood Team's (SNT) emails last week, and asked them why nothing was being done about it.
It was the same MO, same time window, same area, week in and week out for over a year! Surely even Mr Bean could catch them!
I had a visit from the SNT to discuss the problem. What did I get?
Not one, but 2 PCSOs!!!
Nice blokes for sure, but, I asked them why they weren't able to set up an Operation to catch such prolific and predictable thieves? They told me apologetically that;

1. They weren't allowed to work in 'plain clothes', so no Obs or OPs or even use of an unmarked car
2. They weren't allowed to work 'nights'
3. They have no additional Police powers or powers of arrest beyond a normal citizen

Since they now make up the bulk of all police patrol work, where the F*ck does that leave us??

And they weren't that interested in becoming Police Officers, as they are better off as PCSOs, as they explained to me;
The pay isn't that different
They don't work unsociable hours
They get every Christmas and Bank Holiday off

That is todays modern police force.

Truly the 'Job is not F*cked' it is extinct



PCSO's do have an excellent deal their end, but also they do do quite a bit of work which frees up police officers.

This SNT you refer to (or NPT to others) is for local crime and issues yes, however they only really consist of a couple of police officers, PCSO (usually 2) and an intel officer/staff co-ordinator. They are there for the local issues, however its true that they can't set up ops and such like. Thats for a area constab to deal with. If there are these break ins, report it to the NPT, but ALSO report it to the local station. Pain to say it, report it enough, it will get sorted. Its just got to reach the people whose job it is to sort it
 
PCSO's do have an excellent deal their end, but also they do do quite a bit of work which frees up police officers.

This SNT you refer to (or NPT to others) is for local crime and issues yes, however they only really consist of a couple of police officers, PCSO (usually 2) and an intel officer/staff co-ordinator. They are there for the local issues, however its true that they can't set up ops and such like. Thats for a area constab to deal with. If there are these break ins, report it to the NPT, but ALSO report it to the local station. Pain to say it, report it enough, it will get sorted. Its just got to reach the people whose job it is to sort it

Thanks Pyrene, I agree that half the battle is to reach the 'right people'. Automated call handling, unhelpful phone operators, and PCSOs are all obstacles to reaching the 'right person'. I guess that with so many departments being created to cater for the "light duties brigade" there are very few 'bobbies on the beat' these days.
PCSOs were created by the government to carry a uniform and give the illusion that the public are well protected and that there are still 'bobbies on the beat'. Of course they don't have the powers, training or support to provide the real deal but most of the public are blissfully unaware of the fact that they are only Ersatz policemen and women.

As a matter of interest I did report the crimes and without boring you with the story, a police officer did eventually attend, but not before I had to make an official complaint about the call handler, who tried to tell me that 'no fingerprints would be found on a garage door'. (Obviously a SOCO expert, or NOT as it turns out)
The problem is that the 'Real police' have created barriers and obstacles to prevent people contacting them directly, and the only people who pick up on emails and phone calls to the station are PCSOs and civilian staff.
 
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Thanks Pyrene, I agree that half the battle is to reach the 'right people'. Automated call handling, unhelpful phone operators, and PCSOs are all obstacles to reaching the 'right person'. I guess that with so many departments being created to cater for the "light duties brigade" there are very few 'bobbies on the beat' these days.
PCSOs were created by the government to carry a uniform and give the illusion that the public are well protected and that there are still 'bobbies on the beat'. Of course they don't have the powers, training or support to provide the real deal but most of the public are blissfully unaware of the fact that they are only Ersatz policemen and women.

As a matter of interest I did report the crimes and without boring you with the story, a police officer did eventually attend, but not before I had to make an official complaint about the call handler, who tried to tell me that 'no fingerprints would be found on a garage door'. (Obviously a SOCO expert, or NOT as it turns out)
The problem is that the 'Real police' have created barriers and obstacles to prevent people contacting them directly, and the only people who pick up on emails and phone calls to the station are PCSOs and civilian staff.


PCSO's can issue FPN's and are trained in physical intervention, BTP PCSO's even carry cuffs (I personally think thats a great idea). BTP PCSO's have a different purpose to other constabs PCSO's.
look at Met PCSO, they are as you say, there to look like bobbies on the beat. They are great at getting intel (well…when you have a good PCSO, there are a few too many who are failed retards), they are on the street, they see a lot, they talk more to people, they interact with shops and businesses more. However in my opinion, I still think they are used wrong. Put a bobby on the beat. If someone needs to give a statement or such like, use a PCSO (I know they can't report to court, but change that..) let a copper do the frontline policing, and the PCSO more of the frontline paperwork, after the incident work or such like.
 
PCSO's can issue FPN's and are trained in physical intervention, BTP PCSO's even carry cuffs (I personally think thats a great idea). BTP PCSO's have a different purpose to other constabs PCSO's.
look at Met PCSO, they are as you say, there to look like bobbies on the beat. They are great at getting intel (well…when you have a good PCSO, there are a few too many who are failed retards), they are on the street, they see a lot, they talk more to people, they interact with shops and businesses more. However in my opinion, I still think they are used wrong. Put a bobby on the beat. If someone needs to give a statement or such like, use a PCSO (I know they can't report to court, but change that..) let a copper do the frontline policing, and the PCSO more of the frontline paperwork, after the incident work or such like.

Are you a PCSO or just looking to become one? Ask any serving copper what they think of CSOs and they will tell you; the decent ones become cops, the rest are a waste of space. It is a dead-end role that entails walking around wearing a yellow jacket, end of. They contribute nothing to public safety and in fact have done more damage to public confidence in policing than any other scheme that has been introduced to date.

As for carrying handfuffs, what a clusterf*ck that is. If you want handcuffs be a cop. PCSOs do not do police paperwork and are not 'physical intervention trained', as the role is non-confronational. Only those in the Railway Militia carry cuffs supposedly because they work close to live rails.....

To anyone looking at joining the job now, think long and hard about it. Pay, pension, allowances (here's a hint; there aren't any) and career progression have all been massively reduced by this Government. Free travel is now gone too. The cuts have bitten so deep that in most areas now policing is entirely reactive with no proactive capability. Morale is in the toilet and most people simply want out.

Despite this the Chiefs keep massaging the figures and collecting their bonuses so all is well, until such time as you become a victim of crime and discover how poor the service actually is.

Note this is not a reflection on individual CSOs or Cops, but the job is absolutely f*cked.
 
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Are you a PCSO or just looking to become one? Ask any serving copper what they think of CSOs and they will tell you; the decent ones become cops, the rest are a waste of space. It is a dead-end role that entails walking around wearing a yellow jacket, end of. They contribute nothing to public safety and in fact have done more damage to public confidence in policing than any other scheme that has been introduced to date.

As for carrying handfuffs, what a clusterf*ck that is. If you want handcuffs be a cop. PCSOs do not do police paperwork and are not 'physical intervention trained', as the role is non-confronational. Only those in the Railway Militia carry cuffs supposedly because they work close to live rails.....

To anyone looking at joining the job now, think long and hard about it. Pay, pension, allowances (here's a hint; there aren't any) and career progression have all been massively reduced by this Government. Free travel is now gone too. The cuts have bitten so deep that in most areas now policing is entirely reactive with no proactive capability. Morale is in the toilet and most people simply want out.

Despite this the Chiefs keep massaging the figures and collecting their bonuses so all is well, until such time as you become a victim of crime and discover how poor the service actually is.

Note this is not a reflection on individual CSOs or Cops, but the job is absolutely f*cked.

Im not a PCSO no, and I'm not looking to become one. But…they are pi trained. I am not sure the reasons why BTP PCSO's carry cuffs, but to my understanding its just the BTP's choice, not because there is a risk of live rail. PCSO's do do police paperwork, just certain bit, for example. Recent operation at Brixton. LUL revenue officers and southeasterns revenue officers worked along side BTP and PCSO's. Revenue stopped every single person, which allowed the BTP to step in an obtain details and boost their figures up. Officers dealt with everything, whilst you had peso's running around taking notes, recording data and such like.

I was chatting to a PCSO recently and he was saying the role suits him well, because he is a family man the hours are better for him, and because he is getting on a bit, he wants to work in frontline doing something useful but doesn't want the hassle of an officer.


However I do agree with what you said, it has lowered public support. I personally don't think they are utilised properly
 
I remember when PCSO's first started in the Met. Two of the them had a punch up in Trafalgar Square as one thought he was from a better tribe from the other and that he should use the radio. Another one was caught while in uniform urinating against the side wall at Buckingham Palace as he later said "he needed the toilet".
 
I remember when PCSO's first started in the Met. Two of the them had a punch up in Trafalgar Square as one thought he was from a better tribe from the other and that he should use the radio. Another one was caught while in uniform urinating against the side wall at Buckingham Palace as he later said "he needed the toilet".

And they were just the positive news stories!
 
Things have moved on a lot since then.

PCSO used to be just hired in willy nilly, now its a bit more stringent and in my opinion, the role and duties of a PCSO has evolved at a dramatic rate since their first invention
 
Are you a PCSO or just looking to become one? Ask any serving copper what they think of CSOs and they will tell you; the decent ones become cops, the rest are a waste of space. It is a dead-end role that entails walking around wearing a yellow jacket, end of. They contribute nothing to public safety and in fact have done more damage to public confidence in policing than any other scheme that has been introduced to date.

As for carrying handfuffs, what a clusterf*ck that is. If you want handcuffs be a cop. PCSOs do not do police paperwork and are not 'physical intervention trained', as the role is non-confronational. Only those in the Railway Militia carry cuffs supposedly because they work close to live rails.....

To anyone looking at joining the job now, think long and hard about it. Pay, pension, allowances (here's a hint; there aren't any) and career progression have all been massively reduced by this Government. Free travel is now gone too. The cuts have bitten so deep that in most areas now policing is entirely reactive with no proactive capability. Morale is in the toilet and most people simply want out.

Despite this the Chiefs keep massaging the figures and collecting their bonuses so all is well, until such time as you become a victim of crime and discover how poor the service actually is.

Note this is not a reflection on individual CSOs or Cops, but the job is absolutely f*cked.

Investing in more Police officers and putting some serious backbone into policing is the only solution to todays rapid decline in Policing standards in the UK, trying to replace them with a watered down, cheaper solution will never work, and here's why:

Wikitionary
English Proverb[edit]
buy cheap, buy twice
Buying a cheap but inferior product is a false economy since it will need replacement.
 
Things have moved on a lot since then.

PCSO used to be just hired in willy nilly, now its a bit more stringent and in my opinion, the role and duties of a PCSO has evolved at a dramatic rate since their first invention

Yawn. You are talking out of your rectum. PCSO is a non-confronational role that consists of walking the street in a yellow jacket and putting on intel reports. They do not go hands on with people, they do not do paperwork. They are not Police. They are cheap, poorly trained, civilians in a uniform with no PPE and powers that some security guards now possess thanks to accreditation.

Best of luck with your application for the role of PCSO.
 
Yawn. You are talking out of your rectum. PCSO is a non-confronational role that consists of walking the street in a yellow jacket and putting on intel reports. They do not go hands on with people, they do not do paperwork. They are not Police. They are cheap, poorly trained, civilians in a uniform with no PPE and powers that some security guards now possess thanks to accreditation.

Best of luck with your application for the role of PCSO.

funny, because Im a few steps further on than a pcso..

obviously your interaction with them is very diluted. I'll be honest with you, one or two here know what I do, and my work is on the railway network so really my knowledge is all to do with BTP and their PCSO's, who are trained in PI, who do do certain paperwork, who do have ppe.

Tell you what, you go on a police forum, and ask, "do PCSO's have physical training"

I want to be totally clear with you, that you are not correct, however I do agree with you. PCSO's should not be replacing real officers. however I do believe their is a role for them in the world today. Why pay a full time bobby to go into shops for a chit chat about what happened earlier and their concerns, go to church events and school open days to promote community interaction, when you can pay someone less to go and do the same job, and free up that real bobby to go and do proper policing.

You maybe an old school copper or one no longer in the job, probably never been in the job before, hence your non-understanding

Yes they are a non confrontational role as you say, but however they can issued UFN's (thats any force PCSO not just BTP) BTP ones can even prosecute for railway bye-laws. With the uniform, it attracts confrontation, its gets that attention, now they are non confrontational, but it will come and find them.
 
funny, because Im a few steps further on than a pcso..

obviously your interaction with them is very diluted. I'll be honest with you, one or two here know what I do, and my work is on the railway network so really my knowledge is all to do with BTP and their PCSO's, who are trained in PI, who do do certain paperwork, who do have ppe.

Tell you what, you go on a police forum, and ask, "do PCSO's have physical training"

I want to be totally clear with you, that you are not correct, however I do agree with you. PCSO's should not be replacing real officers. however I do believe their is a role for them in the world today. Why pay a full time bobby to go into shops for a chit chat about what happened earlier and their concerns, go to church events and school open days to promote community interaction, when you can pay someone less to go and do the same job, and free up that real bobby to go and do proper policing.

You maybe an old school copper or one no longer in the job, probably never been in the job before, hence your non-understanding

Yes they are a non confrontational role as you say, but however they can issued UFN's (thats any force PCSO not just BTP) BTP ones can even prosecute for railway bye-laws. With the uniform, it attracts confrontation, its gets that attention, now they are non confrontational, but it will come and find them.

Pyrene, I must admit that I have met some BTP PCSOs and they do seem a cut above the others that I have met, they were pretty hands on, possibly because of dealing with 'football hooligans'. and I have a feeling that under the railways act they probably have some additional powers, however I cannot agree that they are better employed chatting up shop keepers and community interaction.

Any study of policing will show that the best kind of policing starts at street level, the steady erosion of uniform beat coppers through excessive administration, paperwork and diversion of resources to 'other departments' has lost that essential public contact that they used to have. I'm sure some PCSOs are effective listeners and equally good at disseminating intelligence but since they don't work nights and they haven't had the same training and experience as regular coppers there will be major gaps in intelligence and information obtained. Ultimately the introduction of PCSOs was to justify the reduction and diversion of more highly paid Police officers, but it is all about smoke and mirrors.
If or when you become the victim of a crime or an accident, a PCSO won't be able to deal with it, and you will end up waiting a very long time before you eventually get a 'hard pressed' 'over worked' (and therefore disinterested) regular copper attending.
The writing is on the wall for the future of policing and its not a pretty sight, sadly it is subtle and slow acting like the decline in public standards and British culture, therefore to most law abiding members of the public, it is happening beneath the radar and is hitherto unnoticed.
 
The pay for a PCSO is just stupid, I mean even as a PC it sucks.

How can one live on a wage like that? I don't know.

Every job we are certain slaves to she system, whether its an inspector, tax man, or just a wanker boss, we all have to deal with bollocks but why do a job where you aren't respected, making very little difference to the community and get paid peanuts?

The PCSO's I worked with, every single one but 1 guy, were utterly useless. Everyone should work hard in life and try and better themselves, to move up the ladder and bring success to yourself and family but the mental attitude of most PCSOs are very strange/negative.

2 visited work today for their weekly/monthly visit, both fat, lazy, think they are important in the food chain, makes me chuckle.

We shouldn't generalise in life at all, but it's hard not to at times.

Ex-PC.
 
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