2013 Recruitment!

Gee-22

I was contacted today by a friend, former boardie and recent recruit who said there are rumours of a 2013 campaign doing the rounds.

He said due to the numbers leaving and the general low level of officers, they may be forced into a new recruitment campaign.

As I say it's only a rumour doing the rounds, but I thought I would pass it on.

===============
Moderator Shield says:

Now that we know for sure there's actual interviewing and testing going on, can I ask that you all please, please, please - in the heat of the moment - do not post anything that in any way gives away anything about you, the exact area where you live, precisely where you work, where the whole thing took place, and so on. Helpful tips on keeping yourself safe can be found in this thread, and I strongly suggest you give it a good read, and think very carefully about who you choose to tell that you are interested in joining. Once you say something, it cannot be unsaid.

Now that we have the most important part out of the way, I would refer you all to this thread for this forum's stance on the discussion of the format of the interview, content of video clips you might be shown, roles plays that you may need to participate in, and so on. I believe you have to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement before everything starts, and that is legally binding. It means you legally cannot disclose any part of the recruitment process they have devised to select candidates for training.

The other way to look at this is: This is a competition. You are pitting everything you've got against one another for a place as a Student Officer (S/O). It is the dumbest thing in the world to tell other S/O wannabes exactly what happens, so they can go in all prepared - something you didn't have the benefit of. I don't mind you saying "The day was broken down into 5 sections", and "Section 1 was a spelling test". You can NOT, however, say "they asked the correct spelling of harassment and gave 4 choices: harrassment, harassment, harrasment or harasment".

You CAN say "Section 2 was a role play, and lasted 5 minutes". You can NOT say "Section 2 was a role play where you were a multi-cinema manager, and you have to deal with a customer who made an online booking for a family ticket, and turns up with a reference number, but your systems are down and won't be fixed until tomorrow... (more details)..." This is an absolute no-no. Like I said in one of the stickies out in the main forum: Giving helpful tips like "bring water because you'll be talking a lot during one part of the day" is fine, but "The Answer to Question 23 is (c)".

Because boards is a Limited Liability Company, if any of you DO disclose details of what would be classed as "intellectual property", and the PSNI find out about it, there are potential legal issues that could arise out of you posting these details, so please just obey the rules like everyone else.

Thanks,

-Shield
(Moderator - 29th May 2013)

DesertCreat_15

That would be great, i think I've got it into my head that i would love to be apart of the first class to pass out from Desertcreat, all going to plan, i.e. it being actually built and me successfully getting into the Police :pac:

pastiesupper

That would be excellent!!

I saw another couple of (conflicting!) items! .........

http://www.psni.police.uk/psni_recruitment.pdf

"It is therefore difficult to accurately answer your question at this time, however we currently anticipate the normal recruitment arrangements resuming by 2014"

and the Belfast Telegraph Facebook page mentions a story they are running tomorrow:

"In Friday's paper: PSNI may have to consider forced redundancies of experienced older officers as further cuts to the policing budget loom."

It would be nice to know for sure though!!

Delancey

It would indeed be nice to think there might be movement prior to 2014 though as we all know by now the rumour mill has the capacity to drive you nuts.
I certainly wouldn't go planning my life around a possible campaign in 2013.

pastiesupper

Interesting interview with the DCC......

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/psni-may-force-out-its-veterans-16179140.html

Judith Gillespie on:

The force’s recruitment freeze
I cannot see any recruitment for the next two years. It would be madness to recruit officers when you have no certainty of affordability in the future. What is certain is that (the next CSR budget) is not going to be any better. A concern is that the organisation would be stagnating if we froze recruitment for a long time. The age profile of the organisation is very important. That is why stopping recruitment can only be a short-term fix.

Delancey

pastiesupper wrote: »

Interesting interview with the DCC......

Judith Gillespie on:

The force’s recruitment freeze

The age profile of the organisation is very important.

When viewed in the context of the PSNI being open to all adults below Police retirement age the above comment is slightly puzzling ?

Goonerdee

The special budget they have runs out in 2014 so I cant see any recruitment before then!

The age profile bit, concerns me, I am no young pup straight out of Uni. I have a few years under my belt. Slightly concerned that they are going to discriminate against people who have what I regard as life experience for someone who has just finished school and is facing the real world for the first time.

Would they know they are under threat from terrorists and have to carry guns on duty at all times?!

wannabe2010

I got a personal email responded to from PSNI's external appointments, and they said late 2014 at the absolute earliest, almost without doubt.

And when they do 'recruit', you can bet that they will take all transferees first, and you can bet that there will be a VERY small number recruited from the civilian population.

I've pretty much given up hope tbh

Gee-22

wannabe2010 wrote: »

I got a personal email responded to from PSNI's external appointments, and they said late 2014 at the absolute earliest, almost without doubt.

And when they do 'recruit', you can bet that they will take all transferees first, and you can bet that there will be a VERY small number recruited from the civilian population.

I've pretty much given up hope tbh

Ex Appointments dont make the decisions, they only repeat what they have been told by the decision makers.

I find it hard to believe that the PSNI can cope with the staffing levels they have now, until late 2015.

wannabe2010

But have they not been recruiting for 'jobs for the boys' as someone else said in another post so that they can keep up with the retirements etc with minimal cost? With all the station closures as well, there'll maybe be slightly less people needed etc..

Gee-22

wannabe2010 wrote: »

But have they not been recruiting for 'jobs for the boys' as someone else said in another post so that they can keep up with the retirements etc with minimal cost? With all the station closures as well, there'll maybe be slightly less people needed etc..

Jobs for the boys has been largely cut.

Yes, they may have closed loads of stations but there is still the same work load and area to police. It's now a case of less stations covering bigger areas.

Everytime I speak to a friend in the psni they mention how short staffed they are. One was telling me the other day they have worked 9 days in a row last week.

wannabe2010

I dunno.. I just wouldn't hold out much hope.. might be trying for Strathclyde instead.. Who knows what to even think about desertcreat, it's been in the pipeline since like 2008.. I was always positive about it but think I've just lost all hope for getting into PSNI

9 days is nothin, try 11 twelve-hour shifts :P but aye PSNI have been complainin of bein short-staffed.. these budget cuts will only get worse I'd say

Goonerdee

One or two forces in England are off loading more and more policing jobs onto PCSOs. I think Yorkshire Constabulary wants to move every single community job to the PCSOs and leave cops doing only 999 calls. Their police federation is kicking up, saying it took decades working up a relationship of trust between the community and police and now it is being cut in favour of the cheaper option.

Delancey

It's inevitable that more forces in England and Wales will increase the use of PCSO's and one can expect increased reliance on ' Specials '.
My own bet is that more forces will require service as a ' Special ' as a pre-requisite to apply for Police Officer.
It is indeed Policing on the cheap though the PSNI does not have the capacity to offload in this fashion so recruitment ( to the PSNI ) in the future will be very nescessary.

notbrazil

Sorry to burst the bubble folks, but I have heard nothing of the sort. The word within the force is that any shortfalls in numbers will be taken up by transferee officers as they are cheaper to recruit and train. With the Winsor report coming into action over the water, the numbers of English and Welsh officers looking to transfer is set to boom (a recent transferee to the PSNI tells me that there are plenty of people who would move over tomorrow if they were offered a position due to the better job security and higher pay).

Desertcreat seems to be on the back burner - thank God. Garnerville has undergone another round of renovations.

All rumour of course, but I doubt there will be any external recruiting for a few years yet.

Delancey

Ta for that update NotBrazil - I would agree that Desertcreat seems impossible to justify at this time and it certainly makes financial sense to fill vacancies with transfers.
The only potential problem with this approach may be in maintaining the magic 30% RC representation figure as set out by Patten - should that figure dip then there will be calls for the imbalance to be addressed.

Goonerdee

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/protest-at-police-reinforcements-plan-for-northern-ireland-16183913.html

If this was a normal society it wouldn't be too bad. But cops are the targets here in NI so having unarmed police who don't know the streets at all will only end badly. Plus I remember English forces crticising the PSNI for the way they dealt with the Ardoyne riots and the officers on the front line had to explain to them why they had to stand in a line and grt battered!!

Delancey

Been hearing a fair bit about ' mutual assistance ' from other UK forces lately - the thing is that Patten was told by ACPO that its membership would not be favourably disposed to sending their officers to Northern Ireland in an emergency due to the dangers.
Patten noted that political and legal issues would prevent Gardai from the Republic helping out also . It was for these reasons that PSNI numbers were set at 7,500 which by UK standards is a large number for the population served.

Wonder what has changed ACPO's mind ?

wannabe2010

This was originally an enquiry about transfering but it can be applied to general recruitment as well.. so just a wee update for anyone...

I emailed PSNI:
Hi, I was just wondering.. If I do my two years probationary training with Strathclyde Police, would it be possible to transfer to PSNI (when they are accepting applications) to the rank of PC? I know that this was not possible under Patten but as Patten finished in 2011, I was wondering if it would now be possible?

PSNI replied:
Thank you for your enquiry.



The PSNI can only take transferees during an open competition, and we can only run these against an identified organisational need.



Like most UK police services, we are subject to ongoing financial uncertainty, and must 'cut our cloth' accordingly. For these reasons, our police recruitment has been suspended for 2 years now, but transferees remain a viable interim solution.



We last ran a PC/ DC process during the summer of 2011, and there may be another this coming autumn, but this is still subject to formal approval and the financial considerations outlined above.



If you wish to contact me again in a few weeks, I will be happy to update you on any change.

wannabe2010

So as you can see, PSNI recruitment HAS BEEN SUSPENDED FOR 2 YEARS. Think that clears up any doubt...

teaenthusiast

wannabe2010 wrote: »

I dunno.. I just wouldn't hold out much hope.. might be trying for Strathclyde instead.. Who knows what to even think about desertcreat, it's been in the pipeline since like 2008.. I was always positive about it but think I've just lost all hope for getting into PSNI

9 days is nothin, try 11 twelve-hour shifts :P but aye PSNI have been complainin of bein short-staffed.. these budget cuts will only get worse I'd say

Just be careful, if you apply for strathclyde and get rejected, you cannot apply for any UK police force for another year. I was going to take this route but I know it would be my luck this would happen as the PSNI announce a recruitment drive.

M2010

teaenthusiast wrote: »

Just be careful, if you apply for strathclyde and get rejected, you cannot apply for any UK police force for another year. I was going to take this route but I know it would be my luck this would happen as the PSNI announce a recruitment drive.

I could very well be mistaken, but I was under the impression that you had to wait 6 months between applying to different forces? And in Scotland, it was a year before you could apply to the same force again?

I'd appreciate it if someone could say for certain though.

wannabe2010

I'm certain that if you apply to Scotland, it is a year before you can reapply to Scotland.. and you can only apply 3 times to Scotland as they only have 3 maths/English papers.

I'm not sure about the applying to Scotland/PSNI thing though.. can anyone confirm 100%?

M2010

Ah right. I'm going for Lothian and borders at Christmas when they open again. I wonder if the year still applies if you apply to an English force if you fail the Scottish application? As I'm sure psni won't be recruiting within the next year.

Just thinking worst case scenario back up solutions I guess.

wannabe2010

I was considering waiting and trying to Lothian and Borders.. but.. the recruitment process appears to be harder than that for Strathclyde lol

M2010

haha yeah lothian and borders might seem hard when looking at the recruitment process on paper, but I'm sure Strathclyde isn't going to be much easier to get into.

Are you going to go for Strathclyde when they open again then wannabe, or hold out for PSNI?

Goonerdee

Seriously I doubt there will be recruitment before 2014. That special security fund runs out that year and they will have to review their budget at that time. Hoping that it will be the start of 2014 and not the end. I noticed today the Isle of Man was recruiting and checking it out. Being a TT fan it would be awesome. But of course I have so much here at home that I don't think I'm ready to up sticks and leave. I have a brilliant job at the minute and have just taken an opportunity at promotion and my Voluntary Rescue work is awesome I love it. At this moment in time it is the PSNI for me only. Age is against me I know, so I am hoping the delay is not too long and that luck is on my side.

grad10

M2010 wrote: »

I could very well be mistaken, but I was under the impression that you had to wait 6 months between applying to different forces? And in Scotland, it was a year before you could apply to the same force again?

I'd appreciate it if someone could say for certain though.

Each force is different. I applied for L&B in November and you have to wait 12 months between applications, and a maximum of 3 applications are permitted. Tayside however treat everyone as an individual and have no time limit or maximum times. They are the only other 2 forces I've dealt with other than PSNI so I can't speak for the rest, you are best contacting the force directly to enquire before submitting an application.

wannabe2010

The SC process seemed easier though as there are no role plays or stuff like that, it just seems to be a 'normal' job interview style (obviously based on officer competencies).. whereas there is an assessment centre etc for L&B and the rest of the forces, but not for SC..

I'm in two minds about applying, driving me a little crazy to be honest.. If I did get in, I'd have to leave everything here, including my partner of over 6 years as they are not willing to come with me.. and if I don't get in, does that count towards any three strikes regarding the PSNI/other forces, or just the Scottish ones?? So complicated all this isn't it!

Yes, I believe that there is less than 1% chance of them recruiting externally before 2014.

Delancey

Mod ' gentle reminder ' - there are already a couple of Scottish Police Recruitment threads in the Other Emergency Services Recruitment Forum - this thread being an example.
I'd rather this forum confined itself to PSNI recruitment.

Cheers and thanks.

Canyon86

50:50

apologies if this appeared elsewhere..


Is the P.S.N.I policy of 50/50 recruitment gone away with it?????????????

Delancey

Yes , 50/50 was done away with at the same time recruitment ceased ( coincidence I'm sure ). Current status is that were recruitment to resume tomorrow then 50/50 rules would not apply.

gigity gigity

I wonder if our new secretary of state would be "minded" to allow 50/50 recruitment to get some recruits in just as our last secretary was "minded" to end it. unless its been shredded there is still a merit list in a drawer some where!

Think I remember Terry spence saying something along the lines of- the police federation would back 50/50 if it meant they could get some more recruits.

I will always be dreaming

Delancey

gigity gigity wrote: »

I wonder if our new secretary of state would be "minded" to allow 50/50 recruitment to get some recruits in just as our last secretary was "minded" to end it. unless its been shredded there is still a merit list in a drawer some where!

Think I remember Terry spence saying something along the lines of- the police federation would back 50/50 if it meant they could get some more recruits.

I will always be dreaming

Thats the spirit Gig - never give up !

50/50 is gone for now but I won't be surprised it it makes a return in some form or another.

1967J

gigity gigity wrote: »

I wonder if our new secretary of state would be "minded" to allow 50/50 recruitment to get some recruits in just as our last secretary was "minded" to end it. unless its been shredded there is still a merit list in a drawer some where!

Think I remember Terry spence saying something along the lines of- the police federation would back 50/50 if it meant they could get some more recruits.

I will always be dreaming

like your train of thought

Gee-22

I was talking to a high ranking PSNI member yesterday, and he has said the decision to recruit in 2013 has already been made by Matt Baggott.

Roll on 2013.

M2010

Fingers crossed.

wannabeapeeler

It's been a long time since I added anything to this forum, since I was successful in C16, and have been only a mere spectator since then. I have it on excellent account, and I mean EXCELLENT, that there will be recruitment in 2013 with anticipated appointments of student officers in being made in early 2014. The successful candidates will more than likely be the last students to study and live in Garnerville, ad the new college will open in 2015. There's no word on how many positions will on offer, but I'm sure that in time such information will become known.
So all you aspiring constables should start getting ready so that when the campaign begins, you'll be able to give it everything you have to be successful in obtaining what is 'the best job in the world'.
Don't listen to the doom and bloomers about the masses of paperwork. Sure, there's a bit of that, but you'll soon learn to master that end of the job. It's a brilliant job which is very well paid!! Give it everything you've got when recruitment commences!! It's worth the torment that a campaign brings upon those participating in it.

Take it from me....THERE WILL BE A RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN IN 2013.....!!!


I hope this assuages the anxiety of some of you boardies who have been frustrated in past campaigns, and who have waited patiently for the next recruitment campaign!! Your wait is nearly over.

Roll on 2013-:)

1967J

Bring it on

Goonerdee

Belfast Telegraph tomorrow is doing an article on PSNI restarting recruitment as one in six officers are about to retire.

Goonerdee

Recruitment due in twelve months. It will be alot smaller than previous campaigns. The PSNI Strength quota is 7,100 and in the next three years as many as 1,100 officers will be eligible for retirement.

D4z

I'm very excited to hear about the new recruitment campaign, I was seriously considering applying for England/Scotland police then attempt to transfer back to Northern Ireland. The police or army are the only jobs I can see myself doing in life as after working countless jobs in an office I just can't see myself doing this for the rest of my life.

Last time I failed the roleplay by a couple of points but I feel more confident now that I have tried and failed knowing what to expect.

Goonerdee

D4z wrote: »

I'm very excited to hear about the new recruitment campaign, I was seriously considering applying for England/Scotland police then attempt to transfer back to Northern Ireland. The police or army are the only jobs I can see myself doing in life as after working countless jobs in an office I just can't see myself doing this for the rest of my life.

Last time I failed the roleplay by a couple of points but I feel more confident now that I have tried and failed knowing what to expect.

I barely passed the IST but did well in the AC. However it wasnt enough to get in the merit pool. It will be tougher this time with only a small amount of officers being taken on at a time. I will have to be getting near 100% to be in with a decent chance.

Gee-22

I passed everything last time and cleared vetting and medical, but just missed out.

Hope this time is 7th time lucky.

Gee-22

Delancey wrote: »

I certainly wouldn't go planning my life around a possible campaign in 2013.

Ye of little faith.
I trust my numerous sources.

I also hear you will need a driving licence and pass a fitness test as part of the recruitment campaign.

Also talk that you may have to self finance part of your training if you are selected.

M2010

Gee-22 wrote: »

I also hear you will need a driving licence and pass a fitness test as part of the recruitment campaign.

I have also heard about the driving licence and a fitness test. I also heard that they are considering setting a required minimum standard of educational qualifications. Which, if that is the case, I imagine would anger alot of people that do not have them...

DesertCreat_15

I luckily have no financial worries or wont have in the future but out of sheer interest, what part of training are they thinking of requiring self investment?? :pac:

Gee-22

DesertCreat_15 wrote: »

I luckily have no financial worries or wont have in the future but out of sheer interest, what part of training are they thinking of requiring self investment?? :pac:

The theory/law degree bit which may be university based learning.

DesertCreat_15

Gee-22 wrote: »

The theory/law degree bit which may be university based learning.

Interesting, thanks for that !

fingerbob

If for example an individual had applied for a different UK police force and was about to go for the first stage of the process in the next few weeks and in the end was successful, starting around april.

What sort of situation would they be in if they were to apply for a transfer in 12 months time when this recruitment is rumoured to begin?

Delancey

fingerbob wrote: »

If for example an individual had applied for a different UK police force and was about to go for the first stage of the process in the next few weeks and in the end was successful, starting around april.

What sort of situation would they be in if they were to apply for a transfer in 12 months time when this recruitment is rumoured to begin?

They would be snookered unfortunately - officers in other UK forces must at a minimum have completed their 2 year probationary period before applying to transfer to the PSNI or indeed any other UK force.