Jaydee

The Met sounds like it does things slightly differently to what I have experienced. I am coming to the end of my two years probation now. Following basic training I was assigned a tutor constable on a patrol block, I remained with my tutor for 10 weeks to pick up the basics. Once I was signed off I was deemed "fit for independent patrol", don't get me wrong though I still felt like I knew very little! As I was a non-driver I was double crewed every shift anyway and every cop I worked with was brilliant. Everybody knew that I was a probie and they always gave me advice and guidance whenever I needed it. Following another 15 weeks on response I moved to other departments as part of my probation, those being a tactical team and an investigation team. I just recently passed my standard response course so I am a driver and now I am fully on my own. It's something I am still getting used to but I am surprised how much I have managed to pick up over the past 18 months or so! You will feel overwhelmed at times and that is absolutely normal, you will never be judged for it! Your colleagues will know that you are new and they will remember when they stood in your shoes. Try not to get too worked up about it, the best thing you can do is listen and learn at every opportunity you get. If you are not sure or something doesn't feel right then ask somebody, you won't be criticised for seeking guidance unless of course it's something you should have picked up before. It will take time before your confidence will start to build and there will be jobs that will shatter that confidence sometimes, it's all about how you bounce back and how you reflect on your mistakes. Have a good time and remember that your colleagues have all been there once, they will support you as long as you show willing to work! Good luck!

I am coming towards the end of my probation now and it really is subjective. I wanted this job since I was very young and personally I love it. That being said it can be really frustrating, stressful and sometimes very boring! The shifts take some getting used to but if you already have an active social life you should be able to continue this. Sure you will work some weekends but it all balances out and you will make new friends in the job as well who are in the same boat. Paperwork? Now that is something you have to be prepared to do and do it often! A colleague told me that three things in the job will land you in trouble if not done properly and that is property, prisoners and paperwork. For all the fun you may end up having you will need to write it up well, it might be the one thing that saves you if a complaint is made against you. The level of stress depends on the department you work on. If you work on response you are under constant pressure to get to grade 1 calls and deal with them quickly, that being said in my force you won't have a workload so once you go off duty that is it for the day (or night). However, some departments are slower paced but carry the stress of very high workloads, which is the case for the department I am currently working in. Day to day I am not rushed around to get to calls, but I have a workload that will increase and I have to stay on top of it and that can be stressful. It is normal to feel some level of apprehension as this job is a step in to the unknown for most people. A lot of ex cops or soon to retire cops wouldn't join again because this job isn't the same as the one they signed up to. Ultimately you have to decide if a career with the Police is something you really want. If you want it then dive in with both feet and work hard, you will learn quickly and experience things you can't anywhere else. Make no mistakes it's a tough job and the current economic climate makes it tougher still but it's down to how bad you want it. All the best!

It sounds like you have reported a domestic incident. In these circumstances most forces would require the officer dealing with the report to complete a risk assessment form. The name varies from force to force so I won't bore you with the details, however the questions are largely similar wherever you go. The initial questions are around the individuals involved, this will include questions around who is your GP and this is the same for any children who live at the address. Then some information will be inputted to give a proper risk assessment score and will include details of the incident and any past behaviour. As for children is it usually a requirement to ascertain their details including doctors surgery and school. It doesn't necessarily mean any referrals will be sent out, it however gives the Police the opportunity to identify areas of concern and warn relevant partner agencies, which include social services and the school. Rest assured the questions are completely uniform across all manner of domestic incidents and don't mean an automatic referral is coming. It is all about protecting you and your children and identifying potential risk.

Yes it does change the way you view a lot of things. You will be exposed to things you never knew even happened or only ever saw on television or read in books. You will see and deal with some absolutely abhorrent and horrendous things/people/situations, but you will also see some things that will give you laughs for many years to come. Sometimes it can be hard to maintain a positive outlook on society in general, I am past a year in now and even with my previous CSO experience I find myself thinking the worst of people because of my experiences as a PC. Your colleagues will always carry you through and when you do get a good result for a genuine member of the public it feels brilliant, you won't forget it! Your world view WILL change and you will become less trusting of people. You will also have some bloody good laughs and have a chance to do things that most others will never be able to do. The main thing I can suggest is remember that your family, friends and colleagues will make a huge difference and that can make or break you. I wish you the very best of luck and I am sure you will have a great time (most of the time!)

GOWISELY is hammered in to us all when it comes to searching, particularly it seems to be mentioned when discussing S.1 PACE (which of course must be in a public place. S.23 MDA is fair game to us anytime and anywhere if the grounds exist, there is no specific mention of public or private places mentioned in the legislation. Of course S.19 PACE is one to be aware of as you must be lawfully on the premises in order to physically seize anything, I presume if you are in a position to search somebody then you are lawfully on the premises.

You can only handcuff to prevent injury or escape. If you are going to throw the bracelets on anybody you should be prepared to justify it. Personally I don't always handcuff, on some occasions it has actually kept the situation calm. If I feel uncomfortable then it is for a reason, that reason is my justification for handcuffing.

That sounds like a really unusual way of doing things. Which force are you with if you don't mind answering? My tutor period was 10 weeks (final week was actually back at the assessor unit and not operational and the first week I wasn't in because of bank holidays etc.) We where all allocated a dedicated tutor for this period, if for whatever reason your tutor is not available for a shift of a period of time you would work with another colleague. It is good to work with different officers to see how they work as every officer is different. I don't like the idea of constantly changing during the tutor phase though! I am sure you will do just fine in the end though, the first few weeks are pretty tough on anybody!

I presume you mean you can't search the premises following arrest under S.32 for summary offences. A search of the offender following arrest is fine for any offence, only searching a premises under S.32 requires it to be indictable. But yeah if an offence is triable either way it is indictable.

You will start on patrol. The shift pattern will almost certainly have changed by the time you go out after training. Recently we changed to the new functional model. Instead of running 5 blocks A to E, we now have 5 blocks which are split further in to sub-blocks. We now work a 25 week rolling shift pattern, quite frankly it's almost impossible to really keep track of it. I haven't worked a night shift in over a month, however I am now working a lot more nights for the next few weeks. Early shifts can be anything from a 0600 to 0900 start. Afternoons from 1200 to 1900 start and nights are the usual 2100 or 2200 start. Shifts are usually 10 hours in duration but there are some variations to that now. This is a brand new system and it seems unlikely that it will remain in this format, unfortunately you won't have any idea what pattern you will work until near the end of your training I imagine. Best of luck!

The CSO role is so varied from area to area though, it also depends on how you like to work. It is a great way to gather experience to become a cop though, it definitely helped me when it comes to having the confidence to deal with people in a Policing context and I would go back and do it all over again if I had to. I don't know much about the prison service on the other hand. I am sure you will see me around on the Wirrral, I am all over the place at the moment so who knows maybe we will bump in to each other.

The CSO role does differ slightly depending on the force you work for. From my experience you will be primarily be involved in crime prevention initiatives, providing reassurance for victims of crime, dealing with ASB and possibly taking crime reports for minor offences. You will more than likely be on foot or bicycle patrol but some CSO's are being issued with basic driving permits now, particularly here in Merseyside as the borders have changed and expanded dramatically. You may be involved in dealing with calls for service that do not need a Police Officer to attend, you may back up to emergency calls but that isn't strictly part of the role and will depend on your supervision and own discretion. You may have the power to detain, although I would urge caution when using it to avoid landing yourself in the brown stuff, that being said it is sometimes necessary! You will also be involved with local community meetings and you will have the chance to work on your own projects. I found one of the more satisfying jobs to be those that involved researching and working on a problem and then working with people to solve them in the longer term. It's a reasonably varied role though but your work depends a lot on where you work, who you work with and who your supervision is. I worked in Prescot as a CSO (just on the border with St Helens) but I now work on the Wirral on patrol. The new system does mean we end up all over the place now though.

I suppose it's like anything else with regards to identity. You can add holograms and all manner of security features, but somebody on the street is not going to be in a position to tell a fake from the real thing! I have never had anybody question the validity of my identification as a PCSO, but then again that was a role that required me to be in uniform at all times when on duty. While I am now a PC, I am on a response block and as such I have not undertaken any plain clothed work yet. I would say the situation with regards to Police ID would be the same with anybody else if you had concerns. I would advise the member of the public to contact the control room with my collar number and they would verify my identity that way. In conclusion I can't see any way that would make a warrant card completely fool proof, however it is risky business for anybody brazen enough to attempt to forge one!

It's a long road for some while some people get in reasonably quickly. I suppose I picked a horrible time to apply and I was determined to join Merseyside as my wife is a Constable here. It does seem from experience that those who apply once and get knocked back will either just sack the idea off, or they will come back fighting. Those that push for it usually seem to get in, even if it takes a while! PCSO is a good role to take as it gets you in to the organisation and gives you some good grounding for when you make the switch. Prison Officer similarly gives a wealth of experience and in general anything that involves dealing with difficult people to be honest. It is normal to feel bitter at first as well, I was furious when I failed and saw people get in after a mere months of effort. I just had to suck it up, feel sorry for myself for a bit and then come back swinging for the next attempt. Not only are you likely to achieve your goal in the end, but it will be so much sweeter when you do!

I worked for West Yorkshire Police as a CSO for five years, good force and I had a good time there. People with your level of determination do well from experience so you will do just fine! It took my 7 years to finally get in so I am still on cloud nine at the moment. It's tough though and I have dealt with some pretty harrowing incidents already to be honest. Been out on response since 03/01/17 and absolutely loving it, especially now I am not tied down to being tutored. St Helens is not too bad generally, I guess it has it's issues like anywhere else but in the grand scheme of things it's not known for being too bad. Where abouts in St Helens have you moved to?

Good on you! Which force have you transferred it to? It's strange how different forces have such different perspectives on things isn't it? All the best though and let us know how you get on!