The Police Application Thread

Congrats ned! Its a great feeling!

Von - somehow I missed your post about the Reece Jones murder.

I watched the documentary too and I completely agree. Its also good to see the Police cast in a good light for a change.
 
I've been thinking about joing the Police for about a year now and recently have thinking about applying, my office job is starting to grind away at my mind and I realy want a career that I can be proud of having.

Just have a few quick questions if anyone would mind throwing some info my way.

I'm 19, are they less likely to chose people my age?
I wear glasses and need them to drive, is this an issue?
Also I don't yet have a Driving License, have been "learning" for 2 years.
What are the view on Tattoos? I have one half way up the inside of my left wrist, it's just a styalised sun.

So yeah, would it be worth me applying now? or waiting till I have passed my driving test and maybe waiting a year or two?

Thanks in advance.
 
Fenris said:
I've been thinking about joing the Police for about a year now and recently have thinking about applying, my office job is starting to grind away at my mind and I realy want a career that I can be proud of having.

Just have a few quick questions if anyone would mind throwing some info my way.

I'm 19, are they less likely to chose people my age?
I wear glasses and need them to drive, is this an issue?
Also I don't yet have a Driving License, have been "learning" for 2 years.
What are the view on Tattoos? I have one half way up the inside of my left wrist, it's just a styalised sun.

So yeah, would it be worth me applying now? or waiting till I have passed my driving test and maybe waiting a year or two?

Thanks in advance.
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I have a couple of friends who joined at 19 - and they thought themselves too young, but are now well respected. I think that the difference comes with maturity. Yes - being older means you can draw on more life experiences, which is a benefit when writing your competency answers to the application, but its not a pre-requisite. If you can show that you're mature enough to do the job, you'll not have any problems at any age.

As long as your eyesight meets the minimum standard (check out policecouldyou.co.uk) then you'll be fine. Although I think if your eyesight is bad, you are ultimately precluded from certain career streams.

As far as I know there is no requirement for you to have a driving license - but its most definitely preferable to you and your chosen force. I'd say get your driving license asap! Although I could be completely wrong here!

I think most forces are realising that many recruits will have tatoos. As long as yours doesn't contain rude words, content likely to incite or offend then there's nothing to worry about! In any case, you'll probably just have to wear a long sleeved shirt!

On a more personal note, I was in the same situation as you. I've been lucky enough to have had really good jobs since leaving school post A-Levels where most of the costs of studying has been met by my employer. However, even though my job is interesting, it still doesn't excite me, so I made a conscious decision to change careers.

I'd always thought about joining the Police, but as I got more settled in my job, I pushed it to the back of my mind. Just over two years ago, I made the decision to do a bit of research and enquire about joining. I joined as a Special in the first instance to gain some insight and hopefully confirm that I'd made the right choice. Needless to say, I had!

Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means an expert(!) but what little experience I've had of the job has shown me that its what I want to do. I'm expecting to learn something new every day and come across situations that you couldn't expect in a million years.

If you want to apply, my advice would be do it!

It can sometimes take years to get in, and not everybody makes it in the first time around.

I applied in September to Merseyside and start training on June 29th. Can't wait!

All the best with your decision

/war and peace
 
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I believe there is actually a need to have a full drivers license before being accepted / applying.

Shotgun ned, good job with the interview mate. Don't worry about the medical as that will be a breeze, you're basically in already mate. Well done :)
 
Cheers fellas, still feeling pretty chuffed about it :).

hilly said:
I believe there is actually a need to have a full drivers license before being accepted / applying.

Shotgun ned, good job with the interview mate. Don't worry about the medical as that will be a breeze, you're basically in already mate. Well done :)
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Yeah I figured the tricky part was over now thankfully :). Apparently I've got to redo my fitness as well since it's been over 3 months since I last took it, but again that won't be any problem at all.
 
Shotgun_ned said:
Cheers fellas, still feeling pretty chuffed about it :).



Yeah I figured the tricky part was over now thankfully :). Apparently I've got to redo my fitness as well since it's been over 3 months since I last took it, but again that won't be any problem at all.
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Do try and keep fit because running after someone with duty belt and 20lb vest on takes it out of you.

No police applicant should fail 5.4 on a bleep test at 15 metre shuttles.

It was level 9 at 20 metres when I joined and as a PSU medic I have to attain 10.2 at 15 metre shuttles which at 34 is getting harder I have to say.
 
Von Smallhausen said:
Do try and keep fit because running after someone with duty belt and 20lb vest on takes it out of you.

No police applicant should fail 5.4 on a bleep test at 15 metre shuttles.

It was level 9 at 20 metres when I joined and as a PSU medic I have to attain 10.2 at 15 metre shuttles which at 34 is getting harder I have to say.
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I go down the gym 5 days a week and go on regular cycle rides so I'm not concerned about my fitness level :). I didn't break into a sweat doing the beep test and did 90kg on the push/pull test :).
 
I passed the application stage, but they had too many successful applicants, so the names went in to a lottery.

Mine wasn't picked (annoyingly).. but then they only ever take on every few years so what do they expect? :confused:

They did say that they would keep my details but I'm not holding out hope tbh
 
Shotgun_ned said:
I go down the gym 5 days a week and go on regular cycle rides so I'm not concerned about my fitness level :). I didn't break into a sweat doing the beep test and did 90kg on the push/pull test :).
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Should tell them that your ACU loudout is heavier than what they're going to be giving you.

Well done Mark, now if only I could pull my finger out and finish my application form :(.
 
Skully said:
Should tell them that your ACU loudout is heavier than what they're going to be giving you.

Well done Mark, now if only I could pull my finger out and finish my application form :(.
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Could do :D.

I did use a situation from an airsoft game as one of my competency examples (dealing with an unexpected situation), so I guess I could have mentioned then that I run around with more gear on than I'd ever be carrying on duty. However, one of the women on the panel was clearly trying hard not to laugh at the thought of a bunch of blokes running around playing soldier so I guess that may have well pushed her over the edge...
 
I applied for strathclyde police last year. Passed the fitness test and the apptitude test and got to the first interview. Had an arguement with the gentleman interviewing me. Basically he was trying to say that him personally told me and others at the end of the fitness test some things we should study up on and a paper asking me to find out some questions about the police force etc. However this was not the case, as no-one spoke to any of us after the fitness test, we were told congrats then sent home. So basically knew right from the start after arguing with him that i wasn't to get the job.
 
Paton said:
I applied for strathclyde police last year. Passed the fitness test and the apptitude test and got to the first interview. Had an arguement with the gentleman interviewing me. Basically he was trying to say that him personally told me and others at the end of the fitness test some things we should study up on and a paper asking me to find out some questions about the police force etc. However this was not the case, as no-one spoke to any of us after the fitness test, we were told congrats then sent home. So basically knew right from the start after arguing with him that i wasn't to get the job.
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Will you try again ?
 
ScarySquirrel said:
I got the letter today (random that after 8 weeks waiting I decide to call the day before I get the letter :p).

My Assessment Day is on 28th July :)
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Well done mate, if you have any questions about the assessment centre, then feel free to ask away! :)

I've been through two now (and found out last week I have fully passed my application, just awaiting a start date!) so I do have some experience on what to expect, though this is Mercia, rather than the Met.
 
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