Metropolitan Police Recruitment

Goonerdee

I see they have lifted their freeze, albeit to turn 200 PCSOs into fully fledged constables, but as far as I know, they plan in the future to only take recruits from their Special constables and Met PCSOs. Does this mean that there will be no places whatsoever for people outside of these two groups?

Delancey

Goonerdee wrote: »

I see they have lifted their freeze, albeit to turn 200 PCSOs into fully fledged constables, but as far as I know, they plan in the future to only take recruits from their Special constables and Met PCSOs. Does this mean that there will be no places whatsoever for people outside of these two groups?

Yes , as far as I know service as a ' Special ' willl be a pre-requisite to serve in The Met , given the tendency for other British forces to follow the Mets lead I would not be surprised if the likes of West Midlands , Greater Manchester , etc introduce the same requirement.

I am unsure if PCSO's can apply - they are not permitted to serve as Specials so where that leaves them

Goonerdee

Delancey wrote: »

Yes , as far as I know service as a ' Special ' willl be a pre-requisite to serve in The Met , given the tendency for other British forces to follow the Mets lead I would not be surprised if the likes of West Midlands , Greater Manchester , etc introduce the same requirement.

I am unsure if PCSO's can apply - they are not permitted to serve as Specials so where that leaves them

The BBC said they were considering two thirds from Specials and one third from PCSOs. Suppose people could apply to be PCSOs in order to try for the Met. Yes if it proves beneficial other forces will follow suit.

CaseyRyback

Delancey wrote: »

Yes , as far as I know service as a ' Special ' willl be a pre-requisite to serve in The Met , given the tendency for other British forces to follow the Mets lead I would not be surprised if the likes of West Midlands , Greater Manchester , etc introduce the same requirement.

I am unsure if PCSO's can apply - they are not permitted to serve as Specials so where that leaves them

This is not the case. A report was written last year that the Met considered as a possibility for future practice. It has not been implemented.

This recruitment drive is a shrewd move in upping the number of Constables (good PR for the Mayor) and at the same time reducing the number of PCSOs which many forces are now seeking to make redundant, all in the name of saving money. To recruit 200 new Constables would have meant retaining the 200 PCSOs at a time when the police service is making civilian staff redundant.

PCSO or Special service for 12 months has qualified applicants for an expedited application process for some time and is not a new thing.

As for the tendency of other forces to follow the Met? The Met is usually the last force to get kit and adopt new practice!

Delancey

Thanks for that .

I heard that future recruits will also need to obtain some sort of certificate in Law / Police Studies at their own cost - is this the case ?

The proposed requirment to be a Special was a worry for PCSO's many of whom had joined as preparation to become full Police , given they are not allowed to serve as Specials this would have really placed them in a no-win situation.

A similar thread some time ago mentioned that in Canada some forces require recruits to make a contribution of thousands of dollars towards thier training costs :eek:

CaseyRyback

I've read newspaper articles about the pay for your training bit, but again don't see it happening anytime soon for the Met. I know of one force that trialled it, but that force was near bankrupt at the time.

As for PCSOs not serving as Specials, there would be a clear conflict of interest in allowing them to do so; CSOs are paid uniformed civilian 'wardens' that have a non-confrontational eyes & & ears role. Specials are unpaid volunteer part-time police officers.