Day to Day Policing

Bob Law

Any serving or ex-officers care to share some of the realities of the job? Not the wishy washy recruitment stuff, the real pro's and con's of the job.

da_hambo

Alright mate, not in the PSNI but I do follow the PSNI Newry & Mourne Facebook page. The guy that runs it is great and he (or she) updates it very often with what he has been upto for his shift which is great for PR purposes. Check it out.

notbrazil

It really depends a lot on where you are posted. Day to day policing is largely a thankless task with the occasional moment of self satisfaction. It's sometimes exciting and often painfully boring. It it was it is; I personally enjoy policing but unfortunately the PSNI as an organisation leaves a lot to be desired. You get very little information (Police phrase; "cops are like mushrooms - kept in the dark and fed on s***") and response officers feel like they're at the bottom of a very large and uncaring pile.

It's a good job and it's well paid, but given my time again I would have applied to join over the water where I believe the police are better managed and supported internally. The PSNI is not what it was even a few short years ago.

gigity gigity

Interesting words Notbrazil, I have def heard ex RUC/PSNI say that it is not the same as the old days, in what respects has it change in recent times?

Bob Law

da_hambo wrote: »

Alright mate, not in the PSNI but I do follow the PSNI Newry & Mourne Facebook page. The guy that runs it is great and he (or she) updates it very often with what he has been upto for his shift which is great for PR purposes. Check it out.

Thanks for this chum, will check it out later!

notbrazil wrote: »

It really depends a lot on where you are posted. Day to day policing is largely a thankless task with the occasional moment of self satisfaction. It's sometimes exciting and often painfully boring. It it was it is; I personally enjoy policing but unfortunately the PSNI as an organisation leaves a lot to be desired. You get very little information (Police phrase; "cops are like mushrooms - kept in the dark and fed on s***") and response officers feel like they're at the bottom of a very large and uncaring pile.

It's a good job and it's well paid, but given my time again I would have applied to join over the water where I believe the police are better managed and supported internally. The PSNI is not what it was even a few short years ago.

Policing is what I want to do and NI is where I want to live so I'm not left with a lot of options beside the Harbour Police :rolleyes:

Thanks for your honesty, it's helping me positively to keep pushing myself to be the best applicant I can be. I've worked a lot of jobs and the vast majority of them have been dull for poor pay. The thought that I could have the interesting work of a police officer and the pay, makes it doubly attractive.

Given01

Have to agree with not brazil it's not the job it once was a number of years ago, so much has changed and is going to change further over the next two years! Haha response sure is it not the face of policing, what you want to join the police for:-p

Shield

Good to see an old face pop in and say Hi.

Given01

Shield wrote: »

Good to see an old face pop in and say Hi.

I lost my account that time boards ie got hacked and so lost interest but decided to come on with the same name, hope all is going well

Shield

It's a given.

See what I did there? :pac:

Dekkers

Lifted this from facebook page mentioned above. Bit of a read but a day in the life...


Right folks either the money is gone after Christmas and New Year or you are all partied out....the City was really quiet tonight!

The neighbourhood team were on from 11am this morning and started the day by Policing the football match between Warrenpoint and Linfield - mainly traffic control and a little crowd control when the spectators emptied out at full time. Durign the match we patrolled the area in which car and buses were parked to prevent damage and thefts from vehicles. This is why I had to postpone the live Facebook Q&A's as the signal in the Point is terrible!

By the time we got sorted there is was after 4 so we took an hour and did some paperwork and caught up on some admin tasks. Following this we completed a foot patrol of the areas which are at risk of being effecet by the potential flooding on Monday. We checked the level of the Canal and River and handed out information leaflets to homes and businesses. We also checked up on some vulnerable folk who lie in these at risk areas and found them to be all good. Keep an eye on here and TWitter (@PSNINewry) on Monday as we will have live updates about the situation, contact numbers and advice for you all. A high tide is expected sometime between 2pm & 3pm which may cause some flooding. Sandbags will be available at Newry Sports Centre & Bagenals Castle from 10am on Monday if you require them.

Then we got a bite to eat and it was out into the city on another foot patrol. The craic we have in the city on a Saturday is priceless! 3 Selfie requests tonight, all of which we turned down mind you - although a rather enterprising young lady nearly got us pretending her phone didn't have a front camera - we were quick tho and avoided the lens! I imagine its only a matter of time before someone gets that illusive Selfie with a Newry Cop! I then suffered the theft of my cap and was only able to retrieve it after the suspect had used it and 2 of my colleagues caps in a quick photo. The same young lady told me she couldn't find anyone to marry her, dear love her she couldn't have been more than 23, plenty of time! We did offer up a single colleague but she reckoned he was old enough to be her daddy!

Up until 2:30 there were no calls in relation to the city centre then we responded to a report of 2 males fighting in a fast food restaurant, however when we arrived it was 2 mates seemingly arguing over who had ordered what! As we were leaving this call our colleagues tried to stop a car which took off from them. We were the only pursuit trained crew in the area and went after the car, however when we got to where it had made off from there was no sign of it - we checked the surrounding roads and couldn't find it. The crew it took off from managed to get the start of the registration so after some research someone will be getting a rap at the door to explain themselves.

An that was that, a 16 hours shift done and onto rest days, although Ill be back in on Monday to provide Social Media support for the ongoing flood operation so I shall get Facebooking & Tweeting to you all then!

J.0

Dekkers wrote: »

Lifted this from facebook page mentioned above. Bit of a read but a day in the life...


Right folks either the money is gone after Christmas and New Year or you are all partied out....the City was really quiet tonight!

The neighbourhood team were on from 11am this morning and started the day by Policing the football match between Warrenpoint and Linfield - mainly traffic control and a little crowd control when the spectators emptied out at full time. Durign the match we patrolled the area in which car and buses were parked to prevent damage and thefts from vehicles. This is why I had to postpone the live Facebook Q&A's as the signal in the Point is terrible!

By the time we got sorted there is was after 4 so we took an hour and did some paperwork and caught up on some admin tasks. Following this we completed a foot patrol of the areas which are at risk of being effecet by the potential flooding on Monday. We checked the level of the Canal and River and handed out information leaflets to homes and businesses. We also checked up on some vulnerable folk who lie in these at risk areas and found them to be all good. Keep an eye on here and TWitter (@PSNINewry) on Monday as we will have live updates about the situation, contact numbers and advice for you all. A high tide is expected sometime between 2pm & 3pm which may cause some flooding. Sandbags will be available at Newry Sports Centre & Bagenals Castle from 10am on Monday if you require them.

Then we got a bite to eat and it was out into the city on another foot patrol. The craic we have in the city on a Saturday is priceless! 3 Selfie requests tonight, all of which we turned down mind you - although a rather enterprising young lady nearly got us pretending her phone didn't have a front camera - we were quick tho and avoided the lens! I imagine its only a matter of time before someone gets that illusive Selfie with a Newry Cop! I then suffered the theft of my cap and was only able to retrieve it after the suspect had used it and 2 of my colleagues caps in a quick photo. The same young lady told me she couldn't find anyone to marry her, dear love her she couldn't have been more than 23, plenty of time! We did offer up a single colleague but she reckoned he was old enough to be her daddy!

Up until 2:30 there were no calls in relation to the city centre then we responded to a report of 2 males fighting in a fast food restaurant, however when we arrived it was 2 mates seemingly arguing over who had ordered what! As we were leaving this call our colleagues tried to stop a car which took off from them. We were the only pursuit trained crew in the area and went after the car, however when we got to where it had made off from there was no sign of it - we checked the surrounding roads and couldn't find it. The crew it took off from managed to get the start of the registration so after some research someone will be getting a rap at the door to explain themselves.

An that was that, a 16 hours shift done and onto rest days, although Ill be back in on Monday to provide Social Media support for the ongoing flood operation so I shall get Facebooking & Tweeting to you all then!

Now that I've read through all of that, I'm not so worried about my own use of the English language in the Assesment Centre papers!

Great insight into a routine shift though and glad this officer takes the time to update the public. Good on him!

Dekkers

J.0 wrote: »

Now that I've read through all of that, I'm not so worried about my own use of the English language in the Assesment Centre papers!

Great insight into a routine shift though and glad this officer takes the time to update the public. Good on him!

I get the impression that he/she uses his/her phone to update and given that it was posted after a 16 hr shift I'll forgive them a few errors!

Dekkers

And another for the more ambitious among you

Evening all. This is a wee blog from one of the Detectives based in CID in Newry. She has given a flavour of what an average working weekend is like which includes being on call for any incidents.

Thursday - Rest Day cancelled. I report to the office at 7am and prepare for three firearms related searches. I brief my three search teams 9:30 and then we head off. I attend one search and two other Detectives attend the others. A total of 99 various items are seized but no firearm recovered at this stage. I return to the station and complete my paperwork.

Friday - I am on late shift. I sort through all the exhibits from yesterdays search and log them all onto the computer. I update my notebook and victims. I attend the PPS and pick up Preliminary Enquiry papers in relation to a pending court case for two counts of attempted burglary at a local address. I help out in a cross border telecoms enquiry with neighbourhood Officer from Crossmaglen station.

Saturday I am on late shift and review a file in relation to theft and handling stolen goods with my Detective Sergeant. I am covering on call tonight for south of E District (Newry & Mourne and Armagh areas) and am home about an hour and a half when I get called back in for a suspicious fire where there is a confirmed fatality. I attend the scene with The Detective Inspector and Sergeant. I carry out initial enquiries and the scene is held. I finish work at 6am.

Sunday and I return into work at 930am and prepare to brief the Major Incident Team in relation to the overnight fire. I then carried out activities to Identify the deceased person who was not from the local area and attended the scene. I then prepared all the paperwork for the post mortem and brief prepared for the Coroner.

Monday - I attend the postmortem with the Detective Inspector and liase with the pathologist and then return to Ardmore and prepare urgent forensic submissions and liase with the coroners office.

Tuesday - I obtain a warrant and brief search teams and a firearms dog handler and I carry out an urgent firearms area search. I return to Ardmore and attend a further brief re the fire incident and return to the scene of the fire after examining a number of exhibits. I then close the fire scene.

MustBeCrazy

Hey Shield and Given1!!! How are you??? Here's my tuppence worth re day to day policing....I love the job. I really do. It has it's frustrations and I work in a place where a lot of people have serious issues with us and the security threat is exceptionally high but that's where maybe I can make a difference, if only a very miniscule one. The people you work with become like family. I talk to them about things I wouldn't talk to my closest friends or even family about. The threat we work and live under means we all share something very unique and I don't doubt for a second that my colleagues would give their life for me, and I for them, as a natural response and without thinking too much about it. Maybe if they thought about it they wouldn't be so quick to lol but there are not many other jobs where you could say this about the people you work with. Having worked in other places prior to the police there is no other job that offers the variety, unpredictability, craziness and responsibility that this job offers. Every day I go to work I have no idea what I am going to deal with. And I love that. Every day people surprise me, sometimes in a bad way, and sometimes in a good way. Most of the people I work with are professional, caring and doing their best to help people. Some of them, like in all walks of life, leave a lot to be desired and let the power go to their heads. Thankfully that's not too many, and usually someone will have a quiet word in their ear. All in all, my user name says exactly how I felt when first applying for the job, but quite honestly I don't ever regret it for a second. And I'm really glad I stumbled upon these boards during the recruitment process as they were a mine of information and helped keep me sane through the prolonged waiting periods. Good luck to all those going through now. It's worth the sweat and tears. Give it everything you have, and when you get there, don't let the power go to your head. That will just make you a pain in the ass to work with and a bit of a douche bag to boot :-)

Shield

MBC! All the oldies are starting to remember where it all started for them! Go on... massage my ego and tell me how valuable this site was in getting you in... :pac:

wanadrum

Shield wrote: »

MBC! All the oldies are starting to remember where it all started for them! Go on... massage my ego and tell me how valuable this site was in getting you in... :pac:

If you can get me in I will massage that ego till the cows come home shield! Think I have served enough time as a wannabe.....

Given01

Shield,

this site is invaluable and a fantastic foundation for meeting people and getting an insight into the job! Some of my closest friends now I have met on this site, many a night we had the craic meeting up in belfast as we were all waiting our placements!

Must be crazy hope all is going good, glad others have decided to pop back to!

It's fantastic Job and there's always something different happening and there will always be a role for you somewhere in the orgnasation. The only von I would say is be prepared to be shafted to the back end of no where, I unfortunately fell victim to this which left a bitter taste but you get out if the job what you put into it

Shield

Thanks very much for that Given. I'm glad you're enjoying the job and that you got so much from this site. I hope that others who are now at the point where you were back then take heed from your frank and honest post. Talk soon.

Homer01

By biggest area of concern isn't the security aspect or the hate from various communities & groups but the work/life balance.

I am married with kids so when you hear/read about rest days cancelled and leave cancelled it does concern me.

At the minute I'm pretty much 9-5 Mon-Fri. Shift work would be a big change but have time off pulled from under you doesn't sound fun

Can anyone speak to that? Is it as bad as made out?

Given01

Homer01 wrote: »

By biggest area of concern isn't the security aspect or the hate from various communities & groups but the work/life balance.

I am married with kids so when you hear/read about rest days cancelled and leave cancelled it does concern me.

At the minute I'm pretty much 9-5 Mon-Fri. Shift work would be a big change but have time off pulled from under you doesn't sound fun

Can anyone speak to that? Is it as bad as made out?

Homer01,

In the summer months it can be difficult due to the various parades and potential for spontaneous public disorder. Unfortunately yes It can be difficult for leave and to enjoy social/family life. There is usually a minimum leave quota operated for these few short months. But remember everyone across the force is subject to this and your not by yourself.

Further to the above operational demand varies from district to district, for example the urban areas would be 'busier' and as of the current case there would be a higher overtime demand and some rural districts require higher working demands to.

To sum it up yes there will be times when leave/rest days will be cancelled but don't be put out by that, you always have the option of protecting rest days in advance which will safeguard yourself should you have something planned outside of work! There's always bonus of short office usually means overtime if that's your thing.

Hope this helps,

Given01

Given01

Sorry for grammer on last paragraph, using my mobile phone dosent help, i meant .....There's always the bonus of having short notice..

Homer01

Thanks Given, that does help

I am going in eyes wide open so the more info I can get the better prepared I am.

Homer01

Given01 wrote: »

Sorry for grammer on last paragraph, using my mobile phone dosent help, i meant .....There's always the bonus of having short notice..

lol, thought short office was a police thing. And yes I think overtime would be my thing especially with kids

Homer01

Found this on Policeoracle.com. Thought it might be of interest.
Seems to be comparing PSNI with mainland forces.

http://www.policeoracle.com/forum/index.php?/topic/17488-psni-transfers-2013/

Posted January 2013

Before you consider applying, a word of warning:

The reason for this latest round of transferee recruitment (designed to plug the skills gap left by mass redundancies in the wake of the RUC's destruction) is being implemented to replace transferees who have arrived here in the last 12 months and have already left or, are in the process of leaving.

Over the past year or so, approximately 73 uniformed constables transferred to the PSNI from Mainland Forces, most coming because they liked what was advertised in the PSNI's glossy corporate literature, most of which is stage-managed and wholly fictitious. Promises of good promotion prospects and other excellent opportunities, oh my! I was myself unfortunate enough to fall for the PSNI's institutional dishonesty.

Of those 73 officers, 22 had already transferred back to Mainland forces within 6 months and a significant proportion of those still here are either off on long term sick (because they realise they've been lied to and are now living a nightmare) and/or in the process of transferring out of the PSNI. The same thing happened in 2008/9 with a batch of transferee D/Sergeants & D/Inspectors (I remember bumping into one D/Sgt who had been on the ground for just 3 weeks before realising he'd made a dreadful mistake!).

Every single one of them that I've spoken to is absolutely flabbergasted with the inefficient and backward nature of this force and the bullying management culture and I cannot name one who thinks they've made the right move.

Those with specialist skills were promised a move into an similar role within the PSNI but, all bar very few have been sent to response sections. Many of the specialist posts that are available are in remote parts of the province, which is why they are unfilled.
As a response or NPT Constable in the PSNI, you can forget any kind of investigative support that is available in your current Mainland force. Everything you go to will stay with you and hang like a millstone around your neck (CID will take robberies and live burglaries (i.e. suspect arrested at scene), if they can't twist a robbery into an assault and theft!). You will be responsible for the full investigation and case file assembly. You will not be given time to conduct inquiries and, given the prevailing culture in this organisation, you will get no supervisory input unless you screw something up.
There are no volume crime units, secondary investigation units or file prep units to assist you.

There are no promotion opportunities here (unless you belong to the closed group around which the PSNI was born out of the RUC's ashes and can get on HPDS. I have seen people who would probably have done well at national selection fail to get a place because their district commander would not make himself available to interview them in the first instance). There has not been a Con-Sgt promotion competition since 2008 and over 100 people already on the list will have to sit the exams again. There is no sign of this happening anytime soon. Other opportunities are scarce and will depend more on who you know than what skills base you have. We no longer have a traffic branch that any of you would recognise. It was amalgamated with ARVs last year so, unless you wan't to do both, you can do neither.

Rostering: We currently work the ten hour variable shift system. Duty changes are done via the electronic rostering system (Options), which you are obliged to check on every duty day. Changes, which are frequent, are simply applied to your roster. You will not be asked if you are available and will not be accommodated by planners for shift swaps. You have to "advertise" the overtime and hope someone else will take it. No matter how short the notice, you will receive no courtesy email or call and no apology for being messed around. It is my experience that much of this disruption owes itself to poor/lazy planning rather than unexpected circumstances. 8 hour turnarounds are also becoming more frequent, despite there being little justification for this.

Then there is the terrorist threat, currently assessed as severe and for good reason. Trawl the local newspapers to find out how many attacks and attempted attacks there have been on police officers, and their families. The politicians would rather pretend it's not happening. A number of officers have been forced to move home in recent months because of specific threats against them (if you are forced to move (SPED) you will receive only the current market value of your home but, many officers have negative equity. The response from above: Tough doo doo.

Also, thanks to some of the operational decisions made by senior officers around the ongoing flag protests, the PSNI has now managed to alienate a large part of the Unionist community who are now also making threats to attack officers and their families. Marvellous.

da_hambo

Thanks to Homer01's post above...

Everything you go to will stay with you and hang like a millstone around your neck (CID will take robberies and live burglaries (i.e. suspect arrested at scene), if they can't twist a robbery into an assault and theft!). You will be responsible for the full investigation and case file assembly. You will not be given time to conduct inquiries and, given the prevailing culture in this organisation, you will get no supervisory input unless you screw something up.There are no volume crime units, secondary investigation units or file prep units to assist you.

AGS is just like this also. Im up to my eyes in files at moment. Hard to progress when youre still responding to other calls every day!

notbrazil

Homer01 wrote: »

Found this on Policeoracle.com. Thought it might be of interest.
Seems to be comparing PSNI with mainland forces.

http://www.policeoracle.com/forum/index.php?/topic/17488-psni-transfers-2013/

Posted January 2013

I agree with everything that this officer says; it's all true (apart from CID taking robberies, which they generally don't). PSNI is backward compared to mainland forces, everyone thinks they're one rank higher than they are ('senior' Constables think they're Sergeants, Sergeants think and act like they're Inspectors and actual Inspectors wander around like they're Chief Supers. Very little support, no thanks, no praise and always some jumped-up HPDS office-jockey waiting to bring the sword of disciplinary action down on your lowly head.

But, on the other hand, the pay isn't bad.

MrsGeneHunt

Allo allo allo - room for another wee one lol?! Like MBC I too love the job, the last few years have not been without their trials and tribulations but it's worth it. I agree totally with what she says - where I'm based is one of the most high threat areas, however the Craic is mighty and gets you through long shifts. Best of luck to everyone going through and to the lucky ones who make it all the way to the finish line, enjoy every minute of Garnerville! I'm hearing that the whole course is being revamped from when MBC and I went through and a certain drill instructor has since retired but I do think there'll be a wee bit of double timing to be done muah ha haaaa!!!! Aww I'm feeling all sentimental now

LS7

Could a serving memeber shed some light on how new recruits are placed with regards to where they will be stationed? It is my understanding that you cannot serve in the town that you are from, is that correct? I realise that Belfast is split into 2 districts, but would being from one part of Belfast automatically rule out a posting in Belfast all together? I know that new recruits will be placed in accordance with operational needs but do they get any sort of say? Final question, If placed a fair distance from home, do you get travel expenses?

Homer01

LS7 wrote: »

Could a serving memeber shed some light on how new recruits are placed with regards to where they will be stationed? It is my understanding that you cannot serve in the town that you are from, is that correct? I realise that Belfast is split into 2 districts, but would being from one part of Belfast automatically rule out a posting in Belfast all together? I know that new recruits will be placed in accordance with operational needs but do they get any sort of say? Final question, If placed a fair distance from home, do you get travel expenses?

I know at least one PC who lives and works in same town. They have been with PSNI for 5+ years.

Pretty sure there's no travel expenses. Although I imagine they'll try to accommodate people as much as possible but ultimate operational needs will come first.

notbrazil

LS7 wrote: »

Could a serving memeber shed some light on how new recruits are placed with regards to where they will be stationed? It is my understanding that you cannot serve in the town that you are from, is that correct? I realise that Belfast is split into 2 districts, but would being from one part of Belfast automatically rule out a posting in Belfast all together? I know that new recruits will be placed in accordance with operational needs but do they get any sort of say? Final question, If placed a fair distance from home, do you get travel expenses?

In the past, some squads at Garnerville have been able to select districts on a preference basis whilst for other squads only rural districts have been open for selection. You go where you're needed unless you have some very compelling circumstances. There is no such rule about serving in the town where you're from, there is no truth in that at all. Every officer gets mileage expenses but only for overtime shifts. Other than that, there are no travel expenses no matter how far away from work you live (I doubt any police force pays such expenses anymore).

LS7

Thanks notbrazil, that pretty much answers any questions I had. I'm not sure I would like to serve in my home town as I wouldn't fancy running into people I know on a Saturday night in the town centre when they have had a skinful!! I thought there may have been some concessions for people who are maybe based 80 or so miles from home as I'm sure the expense of travel would add up very quickly but at the same time I can see how this wouldn't be very cost effective for the force!!