Specials

May sound like a strange and almost unanswerable question as I imagine it varies but has anyone any idea roughly how long the medical tends to take? I have to work it around work commitments and if I had an idea how long I'll be there it will allow me to plan in advance.

Last week I was informed I had passed vetting. On the form it asked about my partner and her parents which I filled in, however the other day we broke up and she has now moved out of my house. Should I inform HR about this or not?

Hi, New member here, and just about to send my initial application off for special constable! Anyway, after some searching here and on google, I was wondering what the policy was on facial hair. I wear a beard, which is trimmed, off the neck, and upper cheeks are tidy (I shave lower neck and cheeks). It's not a scratty thing either, I am... Rather hirsute, so it looks like a proper beard - not patchy, or 'designer stubble'... Anyway, its not the end of the world if I have to lose it, but would rather keep it if possible, so thought I would ask the question just out of curiosity really! Thanks, Shmook Edit, it's not for religious purposes either, just because I can!

Hi, I've applied to be a Constable for Cumbria Police, and have passed the final interview. Going for fingerprint/DNA test next week and waiting for a medical/fitness date. But I don't have a full driving licence. I had written this on the application form, and also mentioned it in the interview to which they said I need one by the time training starts, but nobody seems to be chasing it up at all. I heard that the training is set for the end of October, and my driving test is the 15th of October. I'm not sure what to do, as If I'm offered a place, I would need to hand in my notice for work and I'm afraid if I do that and don't pass I'll be left without a job. I'm just u…

There is a possibility I may be changing jobs within the next 2 weeks, now I know I have to notify HR of these changes but my question would be, can and will it delay my process of becoming a special? Iam in the final stages of the process with just the medical to go I have passed all vetting and reference checks. Do they have to do checks on the people I work with? Or even the company? If there's a chance it will delay it any further then it may be a case of sticking to my current role because i want to get onto the October intake they have picked for me and not hold it up.

Torn between which career path to go down. Thought of the obvious like indoors vs outdoors, night shifts etc but haven't yet made my mind up which to pursue. Will be good to get some feedback off you guys.

Hello everyone, i hope someone could help me with the following questions. i would dearly love to join the PSNI however there are two things i am concerned about - 1) I have a large sleave tattoo from my army days its a tribal tattoo non offensive on there website they state about tattoos not being shown for certain dress types. 2) in 2005 after a family death i went off the rails a bit and got caught shop lifting a crate of beer from ASDA its so daft i know and its the only time i have fell foul of the law. i basicly got told off and given a £80 ticket which i paid. Is this a formal caution? Any advise would be fantastic

An important question. I was vetted a few years ago to work airside, I was a driver and drove aircraft crew to their planes. I know I undertook vetting then and a very thorough medical, I passed no problems. My question is, how different is the police recruitment vetting? I am not sure anyone is going to be able to answer but worth a stab. I am guessing Police vetting is more thorough and possibly would include additional checks but I worked air side, could go on and off any plane I wanted/needed to go on/off, carried members of the public, children and crews. Operated very different types of vehicles air side, including cars, vans, mini buses and coaches. Just to give…

Well guys after applying just 3 months ago im just the medical away from starting training, spoke to Hr today and they confirmed all vettting and reference checks have been done and complete and they just need to get me in for medical, must say the whole process has been alot quicker than expected and theres nothing more exciting than passing the next stage, hoping to work with some of you guys (if your at lancs) very soon.

Interesting subject, a friend of mine is looking at joining the police. He suffers from Crohn's disease yet hasn't had any issue or flare ups since he was first diagnosed. It does state that some illness'es can rule you out from applying yet it seems individual circumstances are looked at. Is this true? He said he has spoken to his GP and his GP can't see any reason why he can't apply. How does the force look into this? If he has backing of his gp, his condition is under control will they look at it at an individual basis or is he ruled out? He hasn't taken any sickness due to his condition. Anyone has any information

My interview is about 20 days away. In preparation I've been wondering do I take off my acrylic nails? I wear them quite short and only have white tips. Do I go for a pink or blue suit? I think pink might look like I'm going to a wedding . Also what do you as a police officer notice about a person the first time they walk into a room? I'm eager to create a good first impression and don't want to be judged for all the wrong reasons. Finally sorry to pry, but is there anyone who's failed their interview? Without divulging the gory details, what do you think went against you? I'm not a very confident person so preparing myself for a kick in the teeth .

Hey all! Had the fantastice news today that I have passed my interview/fitness test and PIRT. I still have my vetting, reference checks and the medical to go, of which I have a question for you.... I am just wondering what the medical may involve and what generally has it involved for others? Is it likely to be a once over by a doctor checking me against my medical form or a proper medical when they do tests etc? (Note: I'm healthy with no medical conditions and the only thing I think they may want to double check would be the end result from surgery on my finger from last year when I had my tendon restrung :new_doh2: )

Hi All, I have my day one assessment for the MSC tomorrow at the Empress State Building. I was wondering if anyone on the forums has theirs as well. I have woken up this morning feeling quite nervous about the interview. I'm sure that i'm not the only person feeling like this! I have only had around four interviews in my life and they were a couple of years ago so I don't have much experience! I'm not too worried about the reporting writing exercise as I have done a fair bit of that in the past. I have been spending the last few days trying to remember and write down events that happened to me that I can use in my examples and have been trying to pick out the importan…

Hi All, I'm in the process of updating some of the recruitment information on here and wondered if anyone knew whether any forces still do the grip test as part of fitness? Thanks

Morning all, I'm hoping someone on here could possibly throw a few tips of advice in my direction. I've not yet applied to become a special, (although, I will be doing sometime towards the end of August) however I thought I'd prepare well in advance. In the past couple of months I've bought much literature, lurked through dozens of threads on here and had been curious to see what crops up on my CRB check, so I had gone ahead with the subject access request. After waiting around a month, this is, in simple terms, what's shown. December 2006 - Caution for battery. September 2007 - Caution for criminal damage. January 2008 - Conviction - battery. Looking at the above,…