2014 Recruitment!

Sthm wrote: »

Yeah, I done mine on Saturday there. A couple of us posted in the IST thread.

Sthm wrote: »

No worries - wasn't sure whether to keep posting in here or on the IST thread.

You up soon?

Sthm wrote: »

Haha, it's hard to keep track of these threads at times. Although, it seems a lot quieter on here this campaign when compared with last year.

Good luck for the test.

I'd mentioned on the IST thread that, at least for me, I find it almost impossible to gauge how I've performed. Same feelings as last time round really. Unfortunately, it's also a long couple of months until results.

PutItDown wrote: »

I'm in Belfast, got here yesterday, leaving tomorrow. Nice to have a lie in during the week, don't go away enough.

Suzuka wrote: »

They don't use negative marking so its to your advantage to guess if you're running very tight on time

Suzuka wrote: »

Yea they do for the spelling/grammar part meant the multiple choice tests

Resilience, breaking points and the folly of mutual aid

As another potential deployment to Northern Ireland looms, the suitability of using UK officers to plug the gaps in the PSNI has still not been thought through, says Cliff Caswell

It is a geographical area of policing that has taken on a new significance for officers from the UK over the past 12 months – Northern Ireland has suddenly become a potential tour of duty, with personnel supporting colleagues across the water in public order duties.

Last year – on July 12 – hundreds of officers from England, Wales and Northern Ireland volunteered for duty in Belfast under mutual aid arrangements as a contentious parade through the Ardoyne area of the city descended into violence. Water cannon and attenuating energy projectile baton rounds were deployed as masonry, petrol bombs and other missiles were hurled at the police lines by troublemakers.

As the same annual event looms this year, the legally binding ruling from the body regulating parades that the marchers cannot complete their return leg along the Crumlin Road has again caused disquiet. As in 2013 when the same ruling was made the move has angered some local politicians – and again the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chief constable has said the determination will be enforced.

Despite appeals for calm all the ingredients are now present for the requirement of a major mutual aid operation. Sadly, the same set of circumstances could mean another hammering for PSNI officers, scores of whom were injured in the previous outbreak of violence.

Declining resilience

The requirement for a large scale mutual aid deployment should concern senior politicians who have thus far seemed largely indifferent to the stresses the PSNI has been under.

It would appear that the desire to paint a rosy picture of the achievements following the Good Friday Agreement – and there have been many – has come at the expense of the establishment accepting that there are still elements that want to drag the province back to the past.

Against this backdrop, numbers of officers in the PSNI have now fallen well below 7,000, more are on the cards to retire and the force resilience is being significantly undermined. In parallel, a public order situation that anywhere else in the British Isles would be the subject of crisis talks and debates in Westminster has prevailed while the activities of dissident Republicans have claimed the lives of two PSNI officers and come close to killing others.

This environment should not be taken lightly and requires a keen understanding of sensitivities, an understanding of particular risks and unique skill sets. Yet those embarking on deployments from the UK mainland have so far only received a two-day pre-deployment package in PSNI tactics and equipment, they do not have firearms for personal protection like their colleagues and are not rapidly available if there is an immediate need.

Numbers game

However, while it should be obvious to politicians that a growing threat requires more officers, not less, and that the sticking plaster of surging officers into an unfamiliar place requiring a unique policing style is neither a cost-effective or sensible option in terms of risk, these are basic concepts that do not seem to have been grasped.

The fact is that numbers matter – and a properly resourced, home grown force with the personnel to rapidly mobilise to deal with any threat should be the way forward.

But current plans to take on – at best – another few hundred or so officers are insufficient and the reality that a large scale recruitment campaign is urgently needed must be recognised. The relevant funding arrangements to make this happen should be put in place.

On the mainland UK, it has been a popular mantra of the Coalition Government that there must be more for less, and austerity must remain the watchword. These make fine soundbites, but when they are applied to modestly paid flesh-and-blood officers who are being smashed in disorder and targeted with a murderous zeal by terrorists, they tend to have a hollow ring.

A year has passed since the last July 12 disorder, and nothing has changed. The PSNI has continued to shrink; officers waiting in the wings for a mutual aid deployment that now seems an accepted part of policing have received no extra training or assurances over remuneration. Terrorists groups are active and increasingly well organised and the threat level in the province is still at the upper end of severe.

Action is now needed to address this situation and the government must have a reality check on Northern Ireland, informed by honesty rather than a relying on a blind optimism.

In the words of Police Federation for Northern Ireland Chairman Terry Spence, officers are not cannon fodder. They, more than anybody, are feeling the physical pain of austerity.

Cliff Caswell is the Editor of PoliceOracle.com and a former defence correspondent

Mop a top wrote: »

there were a few people who were asked to leave and disqualified as they tried to fill in answers when they told pencils down. Good luck

Mop a top wrote: »

So what creative fib have you come up with about your potential job? I mean when you're in and dating. I can lie and say I'm busy with the kids lol