Specials

I'm due to start training for a new PC role on the 30th August, so earlier I was discussing with the parents and looking into the police pension, it is my understanding for officers that start on police pay point scale 1 (£22,444 + £6,663 allowances) that your monthly pay is roughly £2,500, minus tax and national insurance leaves you with about £1,945 a month, minus the police pension at (a guess) around 10% you're left with about £1,728 or so. My question is this, I assume you can opt out of this if you wish? Secondly, I assume I will get all the info I need regarding police pay and pensions on the first day at Hendon (Which was an admin and signing many bits o…

Hi, I've tried having a search of the forum but there are so many vetting topics it could take forever to potentially not find anything.. When you go through vetting, will the force let you know if you have passed? Obviously they would if you fail but i'm just wondering if silence is best or whether i should email my recruitment contact to ask for any update? To date i've passed fitness and i have my medical this week. They are aiming to have us on training at the end of July which i'm very much looking forward to all being well! If it makes a difference, there were things i declared in my financial history from years ago as honesty is the bes…

Hi, Just thought i'd ask this as i had my medical today and to my surprise i didn't leave with missing hair! Although i did have to do a "duck walk" - first time for everything. I thought there was some kind of rule that as part of the recruitment process you had to a drugs test during your medical / OHU phase of recruitment? I did give a urine sample but they said that was only to test for things like sugars in the urine and when i asked the second person i saw about giving a hair sample he said in his time there he hadn't ever done that. Does it vary force to force? I've seen some posts around saying they also didn't give hair samples but most posts i f…

Hi, Had my medical today but the Doctor has deferred a decision until he gets more information from my GP about my Asthma. I am absolutely gutted as I think I will now be rejected. My Asthma is mild and under control and I am reasonably fit. Just wondering if anyone knows of anything I could do to help the situation. Many Thanks

Hi I've got my interview to be a special constable coming up in a few weeks. I've been doing as much revision as possible. I've also purchased the "how to become" book which has really helped. I'm just wondering if anybody has got any ideas what else I can do to maximise my chances of passing the interview. Many thanks

Hello, Am currently applying for North Yorks specials, after two years as a PSV with Staffordshire. Currently I have the two minimum references; an educational one, and an employment one, which is the Deputy Chief of Staffs specials. Do you think I should add more references to the application? Cheers!

I'm planning to apply to either Cheshire Constabulary or BTP later this year as a Special Constable. BTP are holding Recruitment Seminar in April that is an evening event aimed at giving potential candidates an opportunity to ask questions etc. Has anybody been to one of these events, either with BTP, Cheshire Constabulary, or another force? I'm trying to find out what people usually wear to this type of event. Whilst I'm sure there will be people there remembering faces etc, i hope that anybody attending is not actually assessed and therefore the evening will not be too formal. You might think that's a stupid question, but I've changed size and shape since i l…

I'm having a bit of a nightmare with competencies and could do with some help. I have the sheet issued by the CoP with the 6 Core Competency headings, then under each one there is about a paragraph of questions/statements. I'll call these the sub-competencies. Personally I have bundles of life experience, Armed Forces, volunteering, charity work, own company etc. Yet I am really struggling to get good quality competency examples. It isn't that I haven't done anything with my life, I'm just struggling with some sort of mental block on how to interpret what they want, I think mainly because nobody talks in the gobbledygook that they do in the sub-competencies. Doe…

Hi guys, Helping a friend of mine with an application and he's sent me through the questions. 3 of them were fairly standard but the last one seemed a bit odd, it was; WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO ACHIEVE IN THE ROLE OF A SPECIAL CONSTABLE? I've tried to give the best advice I can but to be honest I'm struggling to see how I would answer it confidently - or even what they're trying to find out. Anyone able to give some advice? I'm not sure whether it's trying to determine whether you're going to use it as a stepping stone or a career Special Cheers Sent from my iPhone using Police Community

Good evening people, hope everyone is well? I have been thinking recently (dangerous I know) regarding my efforts to join the Policing family. As some of you may know from my earlier posts to this forum, that I was successful in most of a particular force's recruitment process, up to vetting, where I unfortunately failed. I appealed via written letter, and the decision was upheld. After speaking to the recruitment department, I was advised I would no longer be able to apply for any vacancies to the particular force due to failing Vetting once. My query is not specifically Vetting based (but if it is deemed to be by moderators, I don't mind it being relocated). I have sinc…

I'm sure this topic has been covered countless times on this site, but I feel my circumstances are a little different. I passed a day 1, and then day 2 for the regulars in the last month or so, I am already a serving special in the Met, and this is the force I have applied to (external CKP route). I was recently contacted by a "SSS Recruitment and vetting" officer, who asked questions such as "has anything changed in your circumstances since you submitted the vetting forms in October" and then a second email asking me if I resided at an address I used to work at for just under a year as an apprentice, I had assumed police could only see your public credit record…

Hi, i inow this will vary for each force but was wondering how strict the tattoo policies are? I have a few traditional tattoos on my forearm including a skull/swallow (no other offensive slang or writing) just literally a skull and was wondering if this will have a negative effect on my application? Does anyone have any colleagues in the force will similar tattoos?

Hello Everyone Just joined this forum I've got an interview with Beds Police next week to join as a Special. Are the questions based on scenario's such as can you give us an example of dealing with the public or what's your views on equality and diversity?

Hi again, I was applying last year for Avon & Somerset specials but decided that I couldn't commit to the time so withdrew my application. However, I have had some things change and am now in a position to be able to make the commitment (if successful). I have been invited to a familiarisation event this week and am looking forward to it. Has anyone else been to one of these and what can I expect? Also, would I be right in thinking that we will all be under assessment during our time at such events? Thanks in advance for any replies. Sent from my iPhone using Police Community

Good evening, I hope you are all having a good week. I have this topic and decision on my shoulders to which I would love to hear your views. I am currently studying acting and have been planning to become a Special Constable for some time. However, I am now facing the strangely hard decision in which I am wondering if I should apply for the Metropolitan Police or British Transport Police. I am interested and like both forces, however, I am finding it hard to make a decision for which force to apply. Any views or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.