PSNI Recruitment (Archived)

Shield

Hello everyone.

I would like to inform you all that Recruitment Campaign 13 for full-time Constables in the PSNI is now open for business.

As always, I am on hand to answer any questions you may have either on this thread or in PM - whichever suits.

You can apply online here: http://www.selectnip.org/

I wish any would-be applicants the very best of luck!

Jay112

Thanks a million for that, think ill give it a shot

juanveron45

Can you please highlight some of the differences between the recruitment of a garda and a psni officer and any differences in the actual jobs?

Shield

I'm afriad I can't help you on the first as I have no idea how Gardai are recruited.

The job is the same the world over, no matter where you go. Only difference is we carry guns and CS incapacitant. Looking at what the Gardai have to put with in Dublin alone, I'm more than happy to work in Northern Ireland. Believe it or not, there are far less shootings than Dublin!

geo1212

psni wrote:

Hello everyone.

I would like to inform you all that Recruitment Campaign 13 for full-time Constables in the PSNI is now open for business.

As always, I am on hand to answer any questions you may have either on this thread or in PM - whichever suits.

You can apply online here: http://www.selectnip.org/

I wish any would-be applicants the very best of luck!

Hi PSNI,

Have a few questions for you.

Have you had any problems with friends/family, regarding the job?
Do you travel from this side up to work every day, or live across the border?
Generally do you take much stick as a result of your accent?
Are the promotion opportunities same as the Guards in relation to length of service, ie 6-10 yrs for Sgt?
I would assume that your personal issue side arm is signed in and out of station, if a situation arose with a security issue, would the PSNI inform your local station? i suppose that would depend if you are living this side of the border, so you might not be able to answer that one.
Are the postings made on what you initially ticked on app. form ie Nationalist, Unionist etc?
Are all officers automatically put through the driving course? as down here it seems to take ages, unless you get Chiefs.
Does your warrent card carry the same benifits as on Mainland? ie travel etc, and I would assume that carries only as far as the border.
What age did you join?
Are there benifits afforded to you in relation to car ins, mortgage same as here for Members of the Guards?
Sorry for all the questions, but I figure the more info I have the better.

Many thanks,

Geo
The info on both PSNI & CONS. web sites is excellent, they seem to have their act together in relation to recruitment.

Shield

Hi geo1212,

My job causes no problems with any family or friends. Most of them know what I do and the hardest thing is the shifts, and not the job itself.

I live in Northern Ireland and go down "home" to Dublin every so often.

No stick taken at all regarding the accent. It's been mentioned less than 5 times in the time I've been on the streets, and only one was a hairy incident but I wasn't alone and had more than enough manpower to handle the situation.

You can take your Sgt exams as soon as you come out of your probation (2 years) and there are opportunities everywhere. After you come out of your probation, get busy applying!

Your gun is yours and you are responsible for it 24/7. When I go down to Dublin I leave it in a secure place. When I just knock off work, I lock in in my small wall-mounted safe at home.

You are posted where there is an operational need. You get to choose 4 places in order of preference where you would like to be stationed. They try to accomodate everyone's first preference.

Yes, all newly attested officers go on the 4 week driving course (provided you have a full B licence and a provisional C).

There are no "benefits" to carrying the warrant card at all in Northern Ireland I'm afraid. You must be thinking of London where they get free travel within X miles of their station?

Car insurance is cheaper if you pass the 4 week advanced driving course. We get great mortgage rates and deals through the Police Mutual (www.pmas.co.uk).

Recruitment is done by Consensia and you are never interviewed at all by the PSNI. Be aware of sites that offer insight into how mainland UK forces recruit, as the PSNI is completely different to all of them!

Keep the questions coming!

geo1212

Hi again PSNI,

Thanks for the answers. have a few more questions.

Did you move to Northern ireland after you were attested? or were you living there first?

What is the situation regarding an officer living in the Republic concerning salary? would they be paid in sterling to a Northern Ireland account, and then up to them to transfer funds to their existing account.

Are there any officers that you know who commute for the Republic?

If you were to commute, can your weapon be left at the station? as I assume it could not be taken to home if you were outside of Northern Ireland, as it would be unlicienced.

Thanks again, and yeah I was thinking about the Met regarding travel, have a friend in the Met who is also considering PSNI.

Geo

Shield

I moved up to NI when I joined the job. I lived in Dublin all my life up to that point.

You get paid in pounds, preferably to a UK bank account. I assume you would be hit with conversion charges if you got it paid into an Irish account but you'd have to check that with your bank. I just set up a UK account. Very straightforward when they see who you work for. Ulster Bank is best because there are no fees if you withdraw Euro from an Ulster Bank ATM in the Republic, from your Sterling account in NI.

I do know a good few officers who cross the border to work in their DCU and then back again to the Republic after work. It depends on where you are based I suppose. You can get the best of both worlds by doing it. Cheap petrol AND lower tax rates. Win/Win.

Yes, you can leave your Personal Protection Weapon (PPW) at any station armoury for safe keeping. Happens all the time when we go abroad on holidays. You most certainly can't bring it across the border.

I thought about the Met too believe it or not, but I got turned off by the travel if I wanted to come home, and the property prices over there. I can comfortably drive down home in less than 2 hours, and it will be even less again when the Newry bypass is open next year.

Keep the questions coming in either PM or here on thread. And please give me time to answer people. I like to be as detailed as possible.

paul666

very informative, nice work.
Would u explain the recruitment process? and is there figures on how many they recruit and how many apply?

Shield

Out of each Campaign, only 240 are successful. Most campaigns draw over 8,000 applications for just 240 jobs, but I'm told this figure is constantly on the rise because now they're recruiting in Poland.

When you apply, you will sit your initial selection test in a hotel in Dublin. If you pass, you are called to the Assessment Centre for a full day somewhere in Besfast where you do 3 role plays, 1 situational interview and 1 written exercise.

If you pass that you are called to a medical in Belfast. Pass that and the PSNI contact you directly with forms you have to fill in and return, so they can check your background with the Gardai. That bit takes the longest for us Southerners. I was waiting for a full year before the Gardai returned it and I've never even had a parking ticket.

Pass vetting and you enter the "merit pool" which is a list of all those who have passed everything like you. The top 50% of those who are Roman Catholic in the merit pool get offered training, and the top 50% of those who are not Roman Catholic also get offered training. The rest of those in the merit pool get flushed down the toilet and get the standard "Dear John" letter for all their troubles. Because of the relatively small number of Roman Catholics applying, you have a better chance of getting in if you are RC, than you would have if you were anything else other than RC.

I know someone who applied over 10 times to get in who wasn't RC, and eventually was successful. Talk about commitment.

I think that about covers it.

Stephen

If you were, say, an atheist would that affect your chances of being selected?

Shield

Good question but they've got that covered. It's decided on where you went to secondary school and has no bearing on whether you consider yourself now to be a Catholic, Athiest or Jedi.

Stephen

Damn those christian brothers!

Jay112

Applied and have my date for the Initial selection test , a trip to the Baile Atha Cliath!

Shield

It's just a sit-down type of test so don't worry about it.

There's a fairly helpful book called "How to Pass the New Police Selection System" by Harry Tolley, Catherine Tolley and Billy Hodge. It's full of examples of things you'll be faced with in the test, verbal logical reasoning and psychometric being the 2 big ones.

From the feeback I've received, it's helped people who had no experience with this type of testing to prepare for what's ahead.

collied

psni wrote:

Hello everyone.

I would like to inform you all that Recruitment Campaign 13 for full-time Constables in the PSNI is now open for business.

As always, I am on hand to answer any questions you may have either on this thread or in PM - whichever suits.

You can apply online here: http://www.selectnip.org/

I wish any would-be applicants the very best of luck!

HI PSNI,
Got my test date. how long from test to interview stage roughly?

Shield

They are usually very quick in letting you know whether you are through to the next stage or not. You should know by the following week whether you are through.

If you are, you can expect your date for the assessment centre to be between 6 and 8 weeks from the date of your initial selection test.

Jay112

psni wrote:

It's just a sit-down type of test so don't worry about it.

There's a fairly helpful book called "How to Pass the New Police Selection System" by Harry Tolley, Catherine Tolley and Billy Hodge. It's full of examples of things you'll be faced with in the test, verbal logical reasoning and psychometric being the 2 big ones.

From the feeback I've received, it's helped people who had no experience with this type of testing to prepare for what's ahead.

Thanks PSNI! your great help around this place:D will look for this book on the net!

Jay:)

PeteK*

My test is soon enough. :cool:

Hi PSNI. Do you need to wear a Suit? Or are there any parts of the recruitment you're expected to wear a suit?

If say, we passed everything and we are now in the PSNI two year probation period... and you don't feel you like the job.. is it OK to be trying to recruit with the Gardaí whilst you're still working for the PSNI?

Do we act in the roleplays or just watch people roleplay?

Do you wish you were with An Garda Siochana or do you prefer or are you just as happy with the PSNI?

Random

Are all PSNI officiers armed?

Shield

Chatmaster wrote:

My test is soon enough. :cool:

Hi PSNI. Do you need to wear a Suit? Or are there any parts of the recruitment you're expected to wear a suit?

If say, we passed everything and we are now in the PSNI two year probation period... and you don't feel you like the job.. is it OK to be trying to recruit with the Gardaí whilst you're still working for the PSNI?

Do we act in the roleplays or just watch people roleplay?

Do you wish you were with An Garda Siochana or do you prefer or are you just as happy with the PSNI?

It makes no difference if you wear a suit or not to the initial selection test. All you do is sit a test and there is nobody there paying attention to what you're wearing. I would be advising that you wear a suit to the assessment centre for the role plays if you get through.

Yes, you can be trying for the Gardai while in the PSNI. They don't recognise your service though, so you'd have to start all over again from scratch.

You act in the roleplays. You don't get a chance to observe. The second you walk into the room, the actors make themselves known to you.

I am absolutely delighted with being in the PSNI, and have no desire to be in the Gardai whatsoever. The pay is far better, the policing plans are far superior and the prospects for us Southerners joining are FAR better than if we were in the Gardai. We can thank Patten for that, while those from the Protestant community despise him for it!

Finally, yes - all PSNI officers carry a handgun and CS incapacitant. Some even covertly carry the gun around off-duty just in case.

PeteK*

Thanks for answering those.

Can anyone carry guns there? Or just the Police whether they are on duty or not?

Shield

You need a firearms licence on you at all times if you are carrying a firearm, and even then it can't just be for your own security. You need to be out hunting game or clay pigeon shooting etc.

The laws are very different than the Republic. You can't ever bring your service issue firearm across the border. Ever.

PeteK*

OK, I think this is my last question lol...

For the roleplay part.. how long are you acting it out for?

Shield

You have exactly 5 minutes in each role play, which starts the second you walk into the room. The role actor starts the digital countdown timer as soon as they see your first footstep through the door. You have 5 minutes to bring each situation to a satisfactory conclusion, or put another way, to shut the role actor up.

The situational interview lasts about 5-10 minutes but it could be longer depending on your answers to the interviewers.

The written test is about 30 minutes. I'll check up with some people who recently sat it, but I don't believe that's changed.

Keep the questions coming!

PeteK*

How many people are in the room with you?

Are other people acting with me, like someone else who is in the same situation as me?

Is there an audience like?

I'm going to hate this part. And there are three! I hate interviews too.

Shield

There are 2 assessors watching you, listening to you, writing stuff down and ticking boxes. There's an independent observer sitting somewhere at the back of the room to make sure the whole thing is done by the book and impartially. There's the role actor, and there's you.

You go into the room and they are the only 4 people that are there. Sometimes the independent observer moves from room to room during roleplays and may not be present during your roleplays.

You are alone in the roleplays. It's just you and the actor. There is no audience or viewing area. It's all done in hotel rooms.

All you have to do is be natural and be yourself. The rest is a piece of cake.

PeteK*

Are you required to swim at anytime of being an officer? I asked the same on the thread for the Gardaí. =]

Shield

Chatmaster wrote:

Are you required to swim at anytime of being an officer? I asked the same on the thread for the Gardaí. =]

No swimming at all.

paul666

could u explain to us some of the role plays that an applicant may come across, also does the role play get physical!? what are the situations most commonly used when one walks in that door?

Shield

The role actors never ever get physical. If you feel the need to get physical with the role actor, then policing may not be for you!

The role plays are designed to test your competency in 7 areas, namely Respect for Diversity, Teamworking, Community & Customer Focus, Effective Communication, Problem Solving, Personal Responsibility and Resilience.

Each role play will be testing a combination of different competencies, so you may get an angry role actor where you would need to demonstrate Resilience - you may get a role actor with a problem where you would need to demonstrate your Problem Solving ability, or you may get a role actor who is difficult to work with where you would need to demonstrate your Teamworking skills.

Consensia have many different situations in a pool to dip from. They always change them to keep previous applicants on their toes, so I can't tell you which situations are most commonly used for this reason.

The day itself is long, and you are given a booklet to read about who you are for the day, for example, a manager of a large shopping centre like The Square in Tallaght. The role actors that will be coming to you will either be customers, shop owners within the centre you manage, colleagues on the management team with you, and so on. This is just an example of a scenario that has been used in the past, so please don't go preparing for it!

Just think of someone saying: "Well it's about bloody time..." when you walk in the door. Another role actor may come out with: "Oh thank GOD you've arrived..." and another may say something like: "John is out again today, it's the third time this week...".

Your non-verbal reactions to these statements are watched just as closely as your verbal responses are listened to, so that's why I say "be yourself", because the assessors can detect if you are a phoney a mile away.

I hope this kinda/sorta answers your questions.

paul666 wrote:

could u explain to us some of the role plays that an applicant may come across, also does the role play get physical!? what are the situations most commonly used when one walks in that door?

PeteK*

Was the Shopping Centre Manager an actual used example from before?

Can it be used since managers are supposed to be able to deal with situations like the police in problem solving and all?

And, can it turn out that the actors may have a knife or somethin they might pull out and get pissed off with you?

Lol I saw it before on training.. but it was in the training place for the police in England.

paul666

thanks for the detailed reply.
i thought that it was in relation to police work like if u walked into the room u would get a drunk who was aggressive and u had to act out how u would deal with the problem. i understand now that its role play dealing with how u would deal with problems not necessarily to do with police work

Shield

Yes the Shopping Centre scenario was used before, and it's your behaviour that they are observing and not your knowledge of the law or policing skills. For that reason, the role actors are not armed and certainly aren't violent in any way.

Like paul666 said, it is actually nothing to do with policing. You are expected to demonstrate skills that a police officer would have in dealing with the public on an every day basis, just like those of a manager, e.g. problem solving, respect for diversity etc..

If you get in to the PSNI, you will then learn how to deal with physically aggressive people during the 20 weeks in Garnerville.

Chatmaster wrote:

Was the Shopping Centre Manager an actual used example from before?

Can it be used since managers are supposed to be able to deal with situations like the police in problem solving and all?

And, can it turn out that the actors may have a knife or somethin they might pull out and get pissed off with you?

Lol I saw it before on training.. but it was in the training place for the police in England.

PeteK*

Cool, thanks. :cool:

So when you get in, you're there for 20 weeks? And then put in a police station?

Shield

20 weeks in Garnerville, and an additional 10 weeks of training like Firearms, Driving, First Aid and so on. After that 10 weeks is over, it's out to your station to start with your tutor constable for a further 10 weeks with him mentoring you every step of the way. After that you're just one of the guys!

collied

Basic training is LIGHT YEARS ahead of An Garda Siochana.Diving for recruits in the GARDA is UNHEARD OF.There is a waiting list to do the basic driving course.This situation is ridiculous in a modern day police force.
Can you confirm if there is a dog handler course in basic training for the PSNI?

Shield

collied wrote:

Basic training is LIGHT YEARS ahead of An Garda Siochana.Diving for recruits is UNHEARD OF.There is a waiting list to do the basic driving course.This situation is ridiculous in a modern day police force.
Can you confirm if there is a dog handler course in basic training for the PSNI?

No. There is no dog handler course in the 20-week foundation program or the 10-week combined operational training program that follows. You have to complete your 2-year probation out on the streets and then apply to do any subsequent courses that may interest you like dogs, boats, and so on.

You are quite correct collied. Our training is far superior than that of the Gardai even though the facilities are not as good. There are quite a few ex-Gardai who joined up here and told me so. The wearing of the blue training flashes out on the street has to be one of the daftest ideas they have. It quite literally tells the public: "Hey, I'm a newbie".

collied

I don't know what they teach them in Templemore but it seems they want to get young people in that they can mould into their mantra that its them against us ,they don't seem to want people with life experience , people that have opinions and ideas of their own, in case they might "GO AGAINST" the grain....Its a pity because they could be a very professional organisation if they could open their minds a bit. Now I dont mean your average Garda on the beat 99.9% of which are excellent people , I mean the heirarchy of the Gardai, the rule makers that are making it harder for beat cops to do their jobs.

Rihanna

im extremely disappointed that only 240 get recruited each year, i have spent some time in northern ireland over the last few yeas and the police seem to be well organized and equipped. they seem to have a different attitude to the public and a more positive way of resolving situations. i feel opportunities in psni are greater but the chances of getting in are probably slim to none so that leaves an garda siochana which i do respect and i they do do a good job but i think its alot to do with the lack of training that they recieve after they pass out from templemore, society changes and so the gardai need to change too, also a lack of fitness is a huge problem in an garda siochana once they are out in the real world annual fitness training shoud be compulsary

PeteK*

psni wrote:

The wearing of the blue training flashes out on the street has to be one of the daftest ideas they have. It quite literally tells the public: "Hey, I'm a newbie".

Lol yeah. How long are they supposed to be worn for? If you know.

Shield

Bear in mind that many don't even get past the initial selection test, many don't get through the assessment centre, and many fail the medical. The 240 figure looks worse than it is. Being from the Republic, statistically, you have a better chance of getting in than if you weren't. My advice would be to take advantage of it and apply. You just never know where it might lead.

Rihanna wrote:

im extremely disappointed that only 240 get recruited each year, i have spent some time in northern ireland over the last few yeas and the police seem to be well organized and equipped. they seem to have a different attitude to the public and a more positive way of resolving situations. i feel opportunities in psni are greater but the chances of getting in are probably slim to none so that leaves an garda siochana which i do respect and i they do do a good job but i think its alot to do with the lack of training that they recieve after they pass out from templemore, society changes and so the gardai need to change too, also a lack of fitness is a huge problem in an garda siochana once they are out in the real world annual fitness training shoud be compulsary

Rihanna

psni are you getting paid to recruit through boards.ie cause your so positive about the whole thing, i think i might be a little disheartened by the an garda siochana campaign that it feels like ill never get to the place i really really want to be, all this waiting and hoping and dreaming and not being able to plan anything for the near future just bugs me. i got my psni exam date yesterday, hopefully the psni recruitment will be a better experience then the gardai.

PeteK*

Rihanna wrote:

psni are you getting paid to recruit through boards.ie cause your so positive about the whole thing, i think i might be a little disheartened by the an garda siochana campaign that it feels like ill never get to the place i really really want to be, all this waiting and hoping and dreaming and not being able to plan anything for the near future just bugs me. i got my psni exam date yesterday, hopefully the psni recruitment will be a better experience then the gardai.

Well they have already said that Templemore is a better facility... so that wouldn't have helped if s/he was...

Shield

If only I were getting paid! The amount of PMs I get is nearly a full time job in itself!

I'm generally a positive person and there's a lot to be positive about. Northern Ireland is a changed place. Just look at how peacefully the parades went off today compared to just 2 years ago. People are loving the peace and now that the Assembly is up and running again, both communities have won a situation that was thought impossible to resolve.

Don't get me wrong, we're still not liked by certain groups of people who would like us dead, and the job is dangerous as long as people like that are around. I talk to people who are still bitter from the old RUC days and quite frankly I agree with most of what they say regarding what went on back then. But I didn't join the RUC and I make that plain and clear every time it comes up. I always tell these people that the only way they can make sure things like that never happen again is to get involved.

The more Irish people up here in the PSNI, the more the Irish communities will feel they will be treated equally and fairly. It's happening now. I see it every day.

Rihanna wrote:

psni are you getting paid to recruit through boards.ie cause your so positive about the whole thing, i think i might be a little disheartened by the an garda siochana campaign that it feels like ill never get to the place i really really want to be, all this waiting and hoping and dreaming and not being able to plan anything for the near future just bugs me. i got my psni exam date yesterday, hopefully the psni recruitment will be a better experience then the gardai.

Shield

Chatmaster wrote:

Well they have already said that Templemore is a better facility... so that wouldn't have helped if s/he was...

Templemore is far superior than Garnerville without a doubt. It's the actual training that's better, not the facilities.

I'm a man by the way.

PeteK*

psni wrote:

Templemore is far superior than Garnerville without a doubt. It's the actual training that's better, not the facilities.

I'm a man by the way.

Lol OK Mr.

I'm going to have a Google at Garnerville Lol. I'm assuming it's right in the centre of Belfast lol.

PeteK*

How far is Newry from the Training College?

Shield

East Belfast. Right across the road from the Belfast City Aiport.

Here you go: http://www.psni.police.uk/index/the_college.htm

Chatmaster wrote:

Lol OK Mr.

I'm going to have a Google at Garnerville Lol. I'm assuming it's right in the centre of Belfast lol.

Shield

45 miles but it's all dual carriageway so you can do it in about an hour.

Chatmaster wrote:

How far is Newry from the Training College?

PeteK*

psni wrote:

45 miles but it's all dual carriageway so you can do it in about an hour.

And it takes me about 30-40 minutes to get to Newry. But it'll be less now that the Motorway is going there. :cool:

Maybe an hour and 30 minutes.. probably less.. not so bad.