Policing Studies CAREER INSIGHT
LJMU CAREERS TEAM 0151 231 2048/3719 ❚ careers@ljmu.ac.uk
www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers
Career Insight: Policing Studies
Introduction Police officers work with communities and the public to maintain law and order. They investigate crime, gather evidence and bring offenders to court. They also work on initiatives to raise awareness and prevent crime from happening in the first place. If you want a varied and challenging job and like the idea of helping to make communities safer, this could be the ideal career for you. Police officer recruitment is handled by individual police services, and their requirements can vary. In general you will need to have lived in the UK for three years, be over 18 and pass enhanced background and security checks. There are over 50 police services in the UK, including non-geographic services like the British Transport Police and Civil Nuclear Constabulary, and each one recruits its own staff. For information on vacancies, contact or check the website for the police service you want to join. Once you complete this degree, you will have the knowledge, skills and qualification that makes you an attractive candidate for recruitment by the police service or other employers in this field, such as security and risk management. Alternatively you may consider pursuing a postgraduate degree in Criminal Justice or Law, or a career that is not directly concerned with policing e.g. roles within the armed services, prison service, social work or criminal justice-related roles within the Civil Service. Each police force within England and Wales sets out its own recruitment process and selection policy and entry requirements vary from force to force. You are therefore strongly advised to check the specific requirements of your chosen force prior to undertaking study. Work-related learning is incorporated into every level of this programme so that once you graduate you will be equipped with a range of transferable skills and knowledge in analysis and interpretation, presentation, teamwork, initiative and research You would normally work 40 hours a week on a shift system, which may include nights, weekends and public holidays. Overtime is often available. You can also apply to work part-time. You will spend much of your time outdoors on foot, in a patrol car or on a motorcycle. You will have some duties indoors, for example at the police station, the courts, or at private or business locations. Salaries can vary between police services. And the current starting salary is between £19,000 and £22,000 a year. With several years' experience, earnings can reach around £36,500 a year. A sergeant can earn between £36,500 and £41,000 a year, and inspectors can earn up to around £50,000, although the Inspectors will not be paid overtime as they are expected to work when required.
Candidates will need to show evidence of the following:
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Effective communication skills, including tact and diplomacy
Community focus,
A sense of personal responsibility, integrity and resilience
Problem-solving skills
A confident and calm manner
Good literacy skills in order to accurately record details
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Career Insight: Policing Studies
Respect for diversity
Team working skills and the ability to work independently,
Professionalism, honesty and trustworthiness
Sound judgement and a proper respect for confidentiality
Ability to act with resolve, tolerance and restraint.
Training and development You would spend the first two years as a student police officer (or probationer). This period is part of an Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP), which is split into four stages. The stages cover wide-ranging training, including policing skills, legislation, investigative methods, community partnership working and professional standards. You would be supported throughout the probation period and your skills and knowledge would be continually assessed. After successfully completing your probation, you would be awarded the rank of police constable. At any time during your training you are classified as a Police Constable and would be expected to deal with an incident as and when it arises. After becoming a police constable, you could apply to specialise in a number of areas, for example: drugs or firearms or dog handling or mounted policing. As a probationer or a serving officer, you may be able to apply for the High Potential Development Scheme. Each service has its own application process for specialist units and there is usually strong competition for places.
The special Constable role You will also be strongly encouraged to become a Special Police Constable or police volunteer with Merseyside Police for the duration of your studies so that you can gain practical insight into police operational practices, as well as building up professional relationships. This will provide you with the opportunity to enhance your employability skills for police and related criminal justice professions postgraduation. Special constables are volunteer police officers, who work alongside regular officers and PCSOs in the local area policing teams and play a vital role in supporting the work of the police and the community. Once they have completed their training, they have the same powers and wear the same uniform as regular officers. The role provides support and assistance to regular officers in the delivery of high visibility policing within an Area. They respond appropriately to all calls for assistance, investigating the circumstances, calling for and co-ordinating specialist assistance when required to resolve incidents as appropriate. Joining the Specials can give you the chance to make a real difference to your community. However, it is a demanding role, and you may be asked give up at least 16 hours of your spare time each month, but the role opens up all sorts of opportunities. See http://www.merseyside.police.uk/joinus/special-constable-recruitment-events/ which will provide more detail about the role and when they are available. Merseyside Police run on-line applications for Work Experience Placements three times per year, for a period of two weeks each time. Please note this is a very competitive process with a very high demand for placements. Therefore can you please ensure you complete the form as accurately as possible in order that your application will not be delayed?
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Career Insight: Policing Studies
For more information about the application process, see the website at
http://www.merseyside.police.uk/join-us/roles-within-merseyside-police/work-experience/ If you are considering working for police forces outside of Merseyside, please see the list of available forces in the UK which is listed below.
Local forces http://www.merseyside.police.uk/ http://www.cheshire.police.uk/ http://www.gmp.police.uk/ http://www.lancashire.police.uk/
Other forces in England
https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/ http://www.bedfordshire.police.uk/ http://www.cambs.police.uk/ http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/Pages/default.aspx http://www.cleveland.police.uk/ http://www.cumbria.police.uk/ http://www.derbyshire.police.uk/Homepage.aspx https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/ http://www.dorset.police.uk/ https://www.durham.police.uk/Pages/default.aspx http://www.essex.police.uk/home.aspx http://www.essex.police.uk/home.aspx http://www.hampshire.police.uk/internet/ http://www.herts.police.uk/ https://www.police.uk/humberside/ http://www.kent.police.uk/
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Career Insight: Policing Studies
https://leics.police.uk/ http://www.lincs.police.uk/ http://www.norfolk.police.uk/ http://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/ http://www.northants.police.uk/#!/Home http://www.northumbria.police.uk/ http://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/ http://www.southyorks.police.uk/ http://www.staffordshire.police.uk/ http://content.met.police.uk/Home http://176.227.211.202/SuffolkConstabulary/ http://www.surrey.police.uk/ http://www.sussex.police.uk/ http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/ https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/article/2087/Warwickshire-Police https://westmercia.police.uk/article/1694/West-Mercia-Police http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/ http://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/npt http://www.wiltshire.police.uk/
Northern Ireland
http://www.psni.police.uk/ Scotland
http://www.scotland.police.uk/ Wales
http://www.dyfed-powys.police.uk/ https://www.gwent.police.uk/ http://www.south-wales.police.uk/en/
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Career Insight: Policing Studies
Other useful police websites http://www.college.police.uk/What-we-do/Learning/Certificate/Pages/Information-forStudents.aspx https://www.police.uk/ https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/@1.htm http://www.btp.police.uk/ https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-nuclear-constabulary http://www.mod.police.uk/index.html http://www.allpolicejobs.co.uk/ https://www.police-information.co.uk/index.html http://www.sfjuk.com/ http://recruit.college.police.uk/Pages/home.aspx
Alternative Job Options Armed forces operational officer
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/armed_forces_operational_officer_job_description.htm http://army.mod.uk/ http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/careers/ Community development worker
https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions/279083-community-worker-job-description http://www.lgjobs.com/ Firefighter
http://www.totaljobs.com/careers-advice/job-profile/public-sector-jobs/fire-fighter-job-description http://www.cfoa.org.uk/ Forensic Psychologist
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/forensicpsychologist .aspx http://www.bps.org.uk/ Prison Officer
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Career Insight: Policing Studies
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/prison_officer_job_description.htm http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/hmps/ Probation Officer
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/probation_officer_job_description.htm https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/national-probation-service Social Worker
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-career/wider-healthcare-team/careers-in-the-widerhealthcare-team/clinical-support-staff/social-worker/ http://www.hpc-uk.org/aboutregistration/regulators/socialwork/ Youth Worker
http://www.jobisjob.co.uk/youth-worker/job-description http://www.nya.org.uk/ Law – Solicitor High Street
http://www.allaboutcareers.com/careers/job-profile/solicitor http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/ Forensic Accounting
https://www.milkround.com/job/71096/forensics-work-placements-pwc-autumn2015/?utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=scrape&utm_campaign=IndeedNat Customs Officer
https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions/279199-customs-officer-job-description https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs Trading Standards Officer
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/tradingstandardsoffi cer.aspx http://www.tradingstandards.uk/
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Career Insight: Policing Studies
Health and Safety Adviser
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/health_and_safety_adviser_job_description.htm http://www.healthandsafety-jobs.co.uk/ Community Development Worker
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/community_development_worker_job_description.htm http://www.lgjobs.com/ Paramedic
http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-career/ambulance-service-team/careers-in-theambulance-service/paramedic/ http://www.ambulanceukonline.com/
The suggestions listed here are by no means exhaustive so we would encourage you to conduct further research to find out about additional careers open to you and consider other relevant options, e.g. based on previous work or voluntary experience, skills and interests. To explore job options by sector, check http://www.prospects.ac.uk/types_of_jobs.htm you can also use career planning tools like http://www.prospects.ac.uk/myprospects_planner_login.htm and Career Smart https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers/130881.htm http://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-report to generate initial career ideas.
Ensure you check entry requirements for each area, e.g. will you need a degree in a specific subject? Is a 2:1 degree classification essential? Will you need to complete a postgraduate degree for example? Recruitment cycles and deadlines will vary depending on the type of work you are applying for. Again, research is key to ensure that you do not miss relevant opportunities. As a rule of thumb, the selection process takes longer in larger organisations, as they tend to receive a higher number of applications and use several different stages to reduce the number of potential candidates. As a result, application deadlines can be as early as October/November in your final year of study for a start date in August or September of the following year. If you are considering postgraduate study, find out if there are any specific closing dates for applications by contacting relevant universities directly. Many graduate training schemes with large companies will accept applications from students of any degree background. If you are interested in these roles, you will need to be aware of the recruitment cycle. Many employers begin the graduate recruitment process during the autumn term for final-year students – some placements are advertised then as well. Most closing dates are in November and December, but some are earlier so it is important to start researching companies that you want to apply to early on. The application process for graduate training schemes usually involves completing an online application form, which may require you to answer ‘competency based questions’. This may be followed by psychometric tests, a telephone interview and an assessment centre. You may also need to submit your CV. Most of the large recruiters have a section on the student/graduate pages of their website that outlines the different steps of their selection process, so check these to find out what is required. For more information about graduate schemes, download the ‘Graduate Schemes’ guide from https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers/
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Career Insight: Policing Studies
The Careers Team runs “Graduate Schemes Uncovered” workshops and webinars on a regular basis – please check our events pages on https://worldofwork.ljmu.ac.uk/events/ for details. Many of these opportunities are advertised in the Prospects Student Career Guide and the Targetjobs directories (available from Careers Zone) and on websites such as Prospects, Milkround and Targetjobs – also check organisations’ own websites. You may also find work through small and medium-sized enterprises/businesses (SMEs). These types of companies don’t usually have structured training schemes but will recruit ‘as required’. Depending on previous experience, you might find yourself applying for entry-level roles on an administrator grade at first i.e. job titles like marketing administrator, marketing/PR assistant; but once you have gained experience in one of these roles this should open up opportunities for promotion within your organisation, or give you the required experience to apply for higher-grade positions with other employers. Some SMEs may use their own application form but most applications will be by CV and covering letter. These positions will be advertised on company websites, relevant recruitment websites, the Job Centre and national and local newspapers. The ‘creative’ or ‘speculative’ approach to job hunting, outlined above, is also important when looking for graduate roles. Making contacts and approaching organisations speculatively to look for work is a common route into employment. For more information about the speculative approach to job hunting, download a copy of our guide to ‘The Hidden Jobs Market’ from https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers/123871.htm You can get advice about the recruitment process by booking a one-to-one appointment with a careers or employability adviser (call us on 0151 231 3719/2048 to arrange this) or you can attend relevant workshops or employers events run by the Careers Team.
Key events and networking
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Liverpool Careers Fairs: are usually held in the autumn and spring of each year, see fairs website http://www.liverpoolfairs.org.uk/ for details.
Manchester Careers Fairs: open to students and graduates from any university; check http://www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/events/ for details.
Placement fair at LJMU: the Employability Support Unit in the Business School organises an annual placement fair where you can meet employers offering year-long placements to find out more about available opportunities, entrance requirements and application deadlines. If you are considering applying for a sandwich placement, this is an essential date for your diary!
Careers and employability events at LJMU: keep an eye on our events page at https://worldofwork.ljmu.ac.uk/events/ for details of upcoming employability workshops, networking sessions and employer talks.
LinkedIn: You could also consider setting up a LinkedIn account https://www.linkedin.com to network online with professionals and organisations in your chosen industry.
LiverpoolSU Clubs and Societies: http://www.liverpoolsu.com/clubsandsocs.
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Career Insight: Policing Studies
Careers Zones Campus-based Careers Zones provide easy access to careers support in convenient locations at Byrom Street, Aldham Robarts Library and at IM Marsh, staffed by the Careers Team. Support available includes CV and application form reviews, Careers Adviser appointments, drop-in quick queries, practice interviews and access to careers resources and information. The Zones also host regular employer visits during term time where you can meet and network with employers and discuss job and placement opportunities. For the latest updates and details of locations and opening times, try our Twitter and Facebook pages.
Other information Centre for Entrepreneurship - support for LJMU students and graduates interested in starting up their own business https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/startup/. Postgraduate Study - download our mini-guide on “Thinking about Postgraduate Study” from https://www2.ljmu.ac.uk/careers/123871.htm for an overview of the different options available.
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Career Insight: Policing Studies
NOTES
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