Police harder than Army! What do you think?

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I have tried to be nice about it gentlemen but enough already, god your like 4 year olds arguing about who has the best actionman and who's mum has been married the most! God my dad probably has a bigger train set than anyones but i'm not bragging about it. Be civil and stop making both areas of the argument look petty and silly.

You ALL have a right to be proud be you Police or military, live with the fact there are others in the world that don't always agree with you
 
bullitt,

I have been speaking to a family friend about this post and he is a Divisional Commander.

I think the main issue here (and what you are mainly confused about) is the difference between having nice qualifications and actually being suitable to be a Police Officer.

The force in question obviously thought that you were not suitable. Thats not to say you are not suitable, it just means that in the interview you answered questions in a way that doesnt suit the profile of being a Police Officer.

IF you decide to go for another force it may be an idea to think about the question and give the answer that they are looking for as opposed to the "well I spent xx years in the army" answer which trips so many people up.

And to finish this reply off, if you want a successful career in the Police then the first thing you will need to do it stop thinking you are better than everyone else purely because you have some qualifications. Its more about who you are as a person.

Mike
 
As said days ago, I've done both and done pretty well in both. I have to agree with Rapier, if you think you are so much better, it seems at everything, I could understand how the interview went badly.

I know soldiers and officers who have tried to get into the police and failed. Some "well educated" Officers even failed the entrance test! The thing is, it is a tough process to get through and not everyone gets it first time. Those that want it go away, reflect and try again, hopefully not making the same mistakes.

If you really want to join the Police think about the feedback you got, take it on board and try again. If it means you mention the shifts, hours & pay, etc as being causes of concern then that's what you have to do next time. Anyone with such a distinguished military career should be more than capable of "playing the game". If you can't do it at the interview then perhaps the police isn't for you as you will have to carry on playin that game for the rest of your police career.

The only person saying one job is harder than the other is you. Those who have done both seem to suggest both have their challenges. There are very few police officers I would want to take with me on a Platoon Attack, but at the same time there are very few soldiers who I would want to do the prosecution file for the thug that murdered my Granny etc. Most soldiers I know, especially experienced SNCO's, would make good cops but very few cops would make good soldiers. This doesn't make one harder than the other, they are just different.

I know of plenty of junior NCO's/soldiers in their early 20's who could barely manage their money until the end of the month, let alone deal with several investigations at once, interview the witnesses and submit files on time.

A good soldier won't always make a good cop, and very few cops would make good soldiers.

As for pursuit driving, train hard, fight easy doesn't really apply. I've never been involved in a training exercise that is anywhere near as risky as a real life pursuit. That's why in my force, although Civvies (all experienced instructors, some DDI) can instruct on standard and advanced courses, they are not involved in pursuit courses as they simply don't have the experience. I know some military units are "advanced" trained but doubt any of these courses involve 8 weeks of solid driving.

I've done a 4 week standard response driving course that would probably be seen as advanced driving in the army and similar to that on EOD courses. I've then done a further 4 weeks police advanced course, another 7 days on initial pursuit and then Tactical Pursuit and an ARV course covering vehicle drills and anti ambush training, and get to practise these skills most days. If you have served in one of the 3 units that would have similar levels of training, fair play, but you aren't now so get your head around being a Police officer.
 
There are different aspects to both jobs, agreed.

mmorg3053 said:
......Lets not forget that our Police Officers put their lives on the line every time they don their uniform and step out the station (or even off duty). There are lots of bad people out there who will have no problem in being at war with the police.....
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But how many Police officers encounter IEDs, snipers, suicide bombers, RPG attacks on a daily basis?

You cannot, and should not, compare civpol with the military. World's apart mate.
 
Probably not that many which is why i will say again YOU CANNOT COMPARE the two roles as they are totally different
 
Mr50

I was going to post on this topic but no point now as you have said exactly what was going on in my head....Thanks!!

On such a sensible note the MODS should close this down.
 
mpctc said:
There are different aspects to both jobs, agreed.



But how many Police officers encounter IEDs, snipers, suicide bombers, RPG attacks on a daily basis?

You cannot, and should not, compare civpol with the military. World's apart mate.
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Thats what I am trying to say. I know what the military goes through as I have only left in summer. I also know what the police go through. Like I have said, 2 different jobs but it cannot be ignored what the police have to put up with on a daily 365 days a year basis.

Mike
 
Guys being ex mil and ex copper I am qualified to join this serious debate. After my police career was cut short I became unemployed for nearly 12 months because I was over qualified for some jobs and under qualified for others. I found this frustrating because like previous threads the qualities and skills obtained in the mil allowed me to turn my hand to almost any task.

About 25/30 years ago many leaders of industry and senior managers etc were all ex mil and seasoned veterans who understood the attributes aquired from the forces. During this period one would find it easy to aquire employment being ex mil, but in total contrast not many, if any leaders of industry excluding PMC's are around today. They have gone the way of the "dodo".

I have attended many job interviews for Civvy jobs during the last 12 months and tried to convince the interviewer that the investment and training given to me from the Mil would be to their advantage and to re inforce that there was also my police training. Looking into the eyes of the interviewer I could see a thousand yard stare and realised my pleas had fallen on deaf hears. These HR departments have no comprehension or understanding what service personnel can offer. I feel the forces resettlement staff should be more proactive taking the fight to these companies nationwide.

I went to a job interview yesterday for a job in maritime security, it was so reasuring to hear the Ops manager who was very soft spoken, probably ex officer state they only employed ex service personnel because of their training and experience working for a disciplined organisation. I thought "how cool is this" he wasn't interested what I had done in the police as he had no experience of police life.

I got the job "Hooray" It's a shame that so many civvy companies are missing out employing quality staff by being narrow minded.
 
mpctc said:
There are different aspects to both jobs, agreed.



But how many Police officers encounter IEDs, snipers, suicide bombers, RPG attacks on a daily basis?

You cannot, and should not, compare civpol with the military. World's apart mate.
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Explosive Device found, Forkhill, Newry | Police Service of Northern Ireland

Yes, not every officer deals with it every day, but then not every one in the Army is at the front line. No suicide bombers yet but tried a proxy a few weeks back. Plus the shoots, and the 3 guys jailed today for the MK12 (RPG) attack in Lurgan. And the suspect device in the Rosslea area that police are currently trying to find.

I'm sure officers in mainland GB have their fair share of scares. Doing ARV in a Trident Borough must be interesting. Met have an EOD team, didn't that guy go into a cafe in plymouth and try and blow himself up a couple of years back? I'm sure the guys who went in to arrest the liquid bomb plot suspects felt perfectly safe as well. Plus I'm not sure how happy you would feel about containing a nutter with a sword armed with CS spray and a stick?

Both have their challenges.
 
Bullit i would say it is a blessing in disguise my friend. After 14 years in the Army i too applied and initially failed (by the subcontracted Civilian HR Company) to get in however after passing my files to a neighbouring force and a six month wait i was finally accepted.......... I lasted 11 months in most thankless boring beurocratically driven job known to man, not to mention the paperwork and poor pay. I like many others am now happy in the pit (4 years now, a glutten for punishment)

ps i completed my resettlement course with Durham Police too...........say no more
 
I'm new to this site, but find it interesting.
In respect of this debate I did seven years Army before joining the Police,23 years later I'm still here.
Two things, except it's different from the Army, and maybe some of us just aren't suited to a job in the JOB,it doesn't mean your skills aren't valued?
Don't be bitter cos you knocked back, thousands apply, few are successful.
 
Bless. Personal insults and toy throwing. Police guys you can slag me off as much as you like. You may note I have not slagged you off personaly or tried to pick your profile apart.
However, on two points you are incorrect.

1. In the Police Force I worked for civillian driving instructors did teach pursuit that is a checkable FACT so get your facts right before slagging me off.

2. You were not at the interview I was. The officers were very nice but I felt did not understand the hardships faced by the military at this time.

Now you can attack me as much as you like but surely your tantrums and toy throwing are not doing your case any good against FACT and reasonable arguement.
 
“are the police harder than the army?”

Strange question. As someone who has done BOTH roles, I can say with hand on heart that they are un-comparable. There were days in the army where I though I couldn’t go on. The stress, the fear, the loneliness etc. There are days in the police where my communication skills are stretched to the limits, the death, the suicides and sad stories are enough to make you end up rocking in a corner saying “wibble”. The two roles are so far apart, its madness to try and compare. Both are unexplainable to an outsider, too.

Would I rather be a soldier or a copper?…. Well I like doing soldier type activities, as a copper.

Group hug guys :)
 
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lol Jimmybobby
As you can see sometimes things get a little heated especially when you have people from both backgrounds rightly proud of their respective careers.
As posted earlier i dont think you can compare the two either,
About this group hug thing though, im not so sure im into it lol ;)
 
jimmybobby said:
There were days in the army where I though I couldn’t go on. The stress, the fear, the loneliness etc.
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WTF? I hope that was meant as a piss take. If not, couldn't go on? Better just tell teacher you are not well and can't fight today. Stress I get it - although I, like many others who chose the military as a career, thrive on it. Fear, fear is healthy and keeps you alive. Loneliness though, this I don't get. I don't which army you were in mate, but I never got a minute to myself.......:eek:
 
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mpctc said:
WTF? I hope that was meant as a piss take. If not, couldn't go on? Better just tell teacher you are not well and can't fight today. Stress I get it - although I, like many others who chose the military as a career, thrive on it. Fear, fear is healthy and keeps you alive. Loneliness though, this I don't get. I don't which army you were in mate, but I never got a minute to myself.......:eek:
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Each to their own. We're not all as macho as you, clearly.
 
I think they are having a laugh, ex forces also even female i have had to put up with far worse in the Army then what these coppers put up with i am not police but work closely with them, they have a great time good pay good pension and yeh sometimes long hours but i dont ever see them doing 24 on 24 off living in fields getting filthy sweaty stinking, living of rat packs etc, they get aloowances for this and alowances for that, they get paid a shed load for their overtime and deal with right little scrotes cause we deal with the same type people whinge where i am now give them all a few years in the Army i think they will change their mind BECAUSE they have never done it they dont know and are ignorant.
 
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