Police Force

Pearls wrote: Don't worry Kandice - trust me when I say you have plenty of time! You really really really can't rush this kind of decision.

I wish someone could just get inside my head and tell me what i want to do haha! If only!

I just have no idea at all.

Thanks again for all the replies, you gals are fab!

Kandice...you have lots of time to decide something like this...I know of one guy who went in last year who was in his 40's...take as much time as you need to get the info you need. Talk to as many people as you can.

Some people will have sailed through the recruitment...one girl I know went through the recruitment and got accepted without breaking a sweat (then turned it down as it happens!) for others it will require more effort. That's ok though.

And it doesn't matter if you don't have a partner...so long as your mum or someone similar is 100% behind you that is important. And that person needs to fully understand what you are committing to.

I believe it is fair to say, the police is a life not a job...so long as those who love you understand that...you have all the support you need.

It is a hard decision, one my husband and I talked over for literally years before I tried for entry this year. As I say...no problems in taking your time.

I know wwhat you mean...I am 32 and still don't know what I want to do when i grow up.
You could always take a non sworn position if you what to help but not sure about five months away.

But how did you decide what was right for you?

I dont know anyone in any profession lol. I dont really know anyone full stop!

Hmmmm.

Do speech and language therapy haha I'm biased

I used to want to be a vet or midwife and then when I decided they were not actually what I wanted to be I spent hours on the computer looking at all of the courses/degrees available and speech therapy just clicked... Sorry, not very helpful I know..

I have been in the Police for almost 9 years and I love it most of the time. Everyone has spoken about what to expect when you are trying to get in but here is a bit about what happens once you are in..

I really enjoyed the 19 weeks at college, I was single when I went down. It was full on so it flew by and we had a week long break mid way through. You can also go home every now and again and if your family ever wanted to come and see you there are chalets that you can book across the road that are really reasonably priced (well they were when I was there).

The best thing that I find about being in the police is that you make brilliant friendships and the camaraderie is unbeatable.

The first year is really hard. You have to get used to shift work, the mountains of paperwork, going to Court, there are uni papers you have to do and maintain a family life, but all of a sudden it all clicks and you start really enjoying what you do.

There is such a variety of things you can do during a shift as someone mentioned earlier. Some of it is pretty grim, but you have some real fun as well. There is nothing better than locking up some one you have just caught who has done a burglary, stolen a car or has been tagging.   

Getting used to shift work is hard, but you do get used to it and the holidays you get are awesome (my DH is a cop as well and he has well over 3 months leave and that is not uncommon). It is also nice having days off during the week and when you finish a night shift you get 6 days off where I work. Different stations/area work different rosters so this can change dependent on where you work.

There is such a scope to different things within the job too, I have done loads of different things and have gotten so much out of each thing that I did. I did street policing (in various forms) for 6 years but have worked more enquiry type work and desk type jobs for the last almost 3 and I get just as much out of them than what I did on the street AND I don't have to do shift work! (I don't get the shift work allowance though :( )

They are really pro family life and have a really good flexible employment scheme, for when you come back from maternity leave. I have friends who work anything from an 8 hour day to 3 10 hour days per week and they basically let you work when you want. You also get a monetary incentive for coming back to work after being on maternity leave. They area also understanding about having to take time off if your children are sick.

They have a brilliant super and health scheme - once you have been a member for 3 years they will partially fund IVF (up to about $5K I think) - I think it is the only health care that does that.

When I joined it was something that interested me, but had never been a passion but now there is nothing else that I would rather do (than maybe win lotto and be a lady of leisure lol).

I have gained so much confidence and assertiveness from being in the Police. I used to be quite a shy person and I am still am in some situations, but my friends all said it was amazing how I came out of my shell and that it was the best thing I ever did. You also get a pretty thick skin, there are lots of people who don't like the police and you learn to not take it personally, in fact for the majority of those people I would be upset if they did like me.

Sorry about the novel. If you want to know anything else feel free to ask.

I have found this thread really helpful as my DP has applied to join the police. He is still in the initial application phase as he had an accident when he worked as a joiner and lost tip of his finger and needs to do a grip stretgh test first - which we already know he will pass. So trying to get everything organised and hoping for him to be off to college as early in the new year as is poss.
We know we will miss him like mad but there is no prefect time to be away from your family and he will be able to fly back up once a month or so.
Glad to hear so many of you enjoy being in the force.
We went to a PAT rehearsal day and even all the people we met there were friendly as - you get the 'family' feel straight away.