Mounted poilce/police officers...

[tinkandlily]

I have just retired from the force after 26 years so have probably seen enough to give you some brief insights.

Shift work and family life are difficult to blend together, the only way I coped was to pay an au pair for 10 years. If you are due to finish your shift at 10pm for example, you may not get off until 2 in the morning if you have somebody in custody.

You will see and hear things that, on reflection, you might have preferred to go through life in blissful ignorance of..you will see the worst that people can do to each other, you will see horrific injuries, you will be endlessly frustrated at your inability to do very much about those who inflict that pain.

You will have to choose your friends carefully, you will have to be careful about your child's friends...children of police officers can be victimised, especially if you live in the community that you police. You will be subject to vetting, as will your partner and family, for many roles that vetting is extended and quite intrusive. The police control where you live and, to an extent, what you do in your spare time, if you ever commit an offence you cn expect to be dealt with far more stringently by a court than any other member of the public.

Specifically to the mounted section, there is football of course, so that is most weekends wiped out, ceremonial occasionally and box patrols relating to public order hotspots..which involves loading the horses up and trundling off to the most far flung town or city in the force, patrolling on the horses, then boxing them up and returning to the stables...nearly always on a weekend again.

Those are most of the negatives. The positives are that it can be an immensely satisfying job, there is a real sense of belonging to a team and it can be great fun too.

On balance, if I had a young child I wouldn't join. I think the impact on family life is just too great.

Thank you for that, the officer to spoke told me he worked 3 days in- off 2 days, but missed out the staying late if you've got a suspect. Now i,ve had some good advise, it sounds like something i'll do later in life, no one really explained how much impact it would have on family life.

 

[Stinkbomb]

I have been a police officer for manchester police for 14 years. If i had the choice i wouldnt do it again.

Long long hours... GMPs hrs ( uniformed beat bobbies... )

mon 12-10pm, tues 12-10pm, wed 2-10pm, thus/fri off....sat 7-5pm ( or 10-6pm ) sun 7-3pm ( or 8-4pm )
mon 7-5pm ( or 10-8pm ) tues 7-5pm wed/thur off...... fri/sat/sun 9pm - 7am
mon/tues/wed off thur 2pm-10pm fri 5pm - 3am ( or 6pm till 4am ) sat 5pm - 3am ( or 6pm till 4am ) sun 3pm - 11pm
mon/tue off wed 7am - 3pm ( 8 - 4pm ) thur 7am-5pm ( or 10 - 6pm ) fri 7am-5pm ( or 10 - 6pm ) sat/sun off

and then shifts start again.

Not only is it long hours, you have to be flexible in that you may have any of your days off cancelled at very short notice and you have no choice in the matter, you will also be required to work xmas, new year etc if your shift falls on those days, and there is very limited time off allowed during these periods. You may also have your shift extended if required and the only notice you get is just before you are due off!!

Like the Watcher said its not all nicey nicey like on tv. you see some horrible horrible sights. Not to mention the risk that you would put yourself under.. I for one can vouch for that.. In 2005 i was very badly assaulted at work, whilst trying to help some ***** head and was basically stabbed in my eye with glass. i had to have my right eye removed and have had 5 further operations to reconsturct my eyelid and eye socket since. Im still undergoing treatment now. It has basically had a massive impact on my whole life as i am now blind on one side of my face. However at least im still alive, many others havent been so lucky.

Am not trying to put you off but please think very seriously about what you are getting into.. especially with a young child.

As regards the mounted, you will need to do at least 2 years as a student officer, you then have to WAIT for a mounted spot to be advertised, THEN apply. You could have over 50 people applying with varying experience for just one spot.

However knowing what changes are taking place in GMP at the moment i think the chance of a mounted spot becomeing available in the near future is going to be highly unlikely.

 

[not_with_it]

I wish my shifts were 3 on 2 off!

I have just worked 7 days of 9 or 10 hour shifts. Today was my first day off and I have spent all day catching up as I havent been able to do anything for the past 7 days. I now feel like I could sleep for the rest of the week. There is talk of the shift pattern changing again which could mean 7 days on 2 off!

It really is a life changing decision. Shift work is not easy but I love my job even though it can be so frustrating at times. It really will open your eyes.

After your 2 year probation period there are jobs which are monday to friday within the police but as others have already said you have to apply and they tend to be office based.

As for mounted I would say your chances are very slim. You have to be in their clique to be in with a slight chance. With all the cuts the mounted section will be hit hard.

If you have any questions feel free to pm me.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I used to be at livery with a couple who were police officers. The man, who was a novice rider, joined the mounted branch but only stayed for 2 years. He said that it spoiled his enjoyment of his own horses to be doing the same things at work and in his leisure time. He went back to motorway patrol.

 

[Groom42]

Every force will have different shift patterns, local operating procedures etc. The first two years is a probationary period, full of regular assessments, attachments and training. Your employment can be terminated at any time within those first two years if you don't make the grade. You will work on shift, doing full shifts and be allowed to patrol independantly. After two years, if your appointment is confirmed, you are relatively safe unless you screw up big time. In the fact that you won't be concerned about redundancy. Passing the two year point is not a magic opening to any specialisation you prefer. As others have said, vacancies may or may not arise in other departments, ie Traffic/CID etc. You will need to apply, and go before an interview board, along with possibly dozens of other candidates. Quite often, specialist posts will not be offered to officers with a bare two years service, as they simply do not have enough experience. I had almost 20 years service, from the time of the miner's strike onwards, and saw a huge amount of changes. In the very early years Gene Hunt was alive and kicking within every office in my nick! I always said I didn't care what path my daughter chose in life as long as she was happy. However, if she EVER suggested the Police Service, I would kick her backside from here to kingdom come..................

 

[tinkandlily]

Thanks again for the replys, i have to say they are making me reconsider, i understand there would be difficult situations and may see horrible sights and i am prepared for that, but it seems like a lot of long hours and not many seem to enjoy the job. If still want to go down this route i'll probaly do it when the boys are more independent, though by the sounds of it i may give it a miss.

 

[bonnie93]

havent read the whole thread, so sorry if i repeat what others say lol

you have to be in the regulars for 2yrs before you can apply for mounted division. if you arent in the police already then your pretty much stuffed as with cutbacks they are unlikely to recruit in the near future, and then it only from the special constables (saves money in training)
very difficult to get into mounted div as they are small compared to the rest of the force, and they do not like you to have experience with horses, they want you to be trained their way lol.
not great career if you have children due to shifts and hours

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Mmmm, think some forces were recruiting for the Police Specials a while back? Some Forces had a thing going where specials could ride their own horses and go as mounted in some of the more rural force areas; however I guess that now this might not be a reality due to budget cuts.

Personally (this is just my personal view so please don't take offence); I would very gently suggest that if you have a baby you're maybe going to need to look for a different "job" as it were. Anything to do with the emergency services is gonna be hard, very hard, and as "Stinkbomb" has said, often you will be dealing with really horrid things, plus a child as well, and your duty commitments -v- child is gonna be really hard. Having said that, some people I know have done it, but it wasn't by any means easy.