General Policing Discussions

Hello all Browsing the forum, I notice a lot of confusion (not intentional) and lack of knowledge (again not intentional) in relation to the mystical art of undercover and other covert policing methods. I understand this is a Specials forum, but it is very widely read, by Regulars and Specials, and indeed by members of the public In order to assist, and because I get somewhat infuriated about the over-zealous and interchangeable uses of the terms 'undercover' and 'surveillance' - not only on this forum, but in the media and elsewhere, please find below some simple explanations: Plainclothes This means 'not being in uniform'. It does not mean surveilling baddies, buyi…

Hi, I'm posting for some advice, sorry if I have put it in the wrong topic, just got home from a 12hr night shift, so I'm sleepy! I start training tonight and only found out a week ago today. My manager obviously knew I was applying because she had to do a reference for me. I've had set shifts where I work for approx 5 months; Wed, Thurs and Sun night, and I recently gave up a Sun night because 1) I was finding it too tiring and 2) because I was expecting to get onto training. Well, I arrived for my night shift last night, had a look at the rota, and my shifts have been changed to working every other weekend, which is obviously not conveniant because of training. I sp…

today on the m1 j11 a lorry hit the barrier on the moterway and crossed on to the other side causing a lot of damage with tailback back to j14 yet again the driver fell asleep long hours when is vosa going to do more to stop this happing or how can they tell how long they have been driving brfore it happens again? :D

Hi all, I was just wondering what others Forces' policies are regarding expenses, particually claiming taxi fare. I do not own a car and on late or night shifts, when there are no buses running, I will have to get a taxi home. My force does not allow me to claim the whole taxi fare but say I should claim the millage, which is 46.6p per mile. When my taxi cost, on average, £9 I am only allowed to claim about £5 back. This creates many issues for me, particually extreme lose of money each year and the fact I am almost paying to be a volunteer. Do other forces allow their specials and volunteers to claim the whole taxi fare?

An interesting piece from the BBC on the popular perception of police officers. I can't copy and paste it for some reason (the formatting goes mad) but you can read it here.

How often do police forces advertise for new specials in the Cambridgshire area?? also do you still have to do the maths test at the assessment centre? a few forums have said this is no longer done?

Hi guys, I was watching the BBC One show Crime & Punishment last week and they were presenting from Birmingham Central Police station. As part of the show the presenters were shown what happens when a prisoner is brought into custody. The police building is clearly very old and within the cell the toilet for the prisoner can only be flushed by police staff outside the cell. I was wondering if this is common practise within police stations. On the show the Inspector said it was so the prisoner could not flood the cell. I just felt that with drunk prisoners who may be sick etc this may be a health & safety risk not being able to flush the toilet themselves. That …

Does anyone know if there is a policy on piercings, i.e. I am concidering getting my lip pierced, I complete training at the end of march. Obviously I wouldnt want to wear it on duty, with regard to safety and public perception, however, I was wandering if a clear plastic stud/retainer would be acceptable. As a rule unless you are looking for one your wouldnt notice it. Any help with this I would appriciate.

Imagine putting that in your IPS! Full story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-16633260

Level 3 aid dates have been released on MSCOnline for my borough, does anyone know if there is a plan to circulate level 2 dates? There are a number of MET specials that are now level 2 trained... Wonder what level 2 aid will entail...?

Hey everyone, Hope you're all well :new_eyebrow: Is anyone able to tell me which 'departments' have regulars on motorcycles? Are they just limited to Traffic, or could you be part of Response on one? Would you even be able to attend NPT appointments/patrols on one? All with relevant training, of course. Thanks, ITaylor

What do you think of this music video from Staffs? Features a few Specials! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9DxvtbEjPY

People leavibg then coming back. Is it worthwhile?

The after effects of death or awful situation. I was wondering how different people deal with death and going to domestic where children are involved. What do you do to put what ever it is out of your mind after the job is over and go back to civil life during the week.

Not far in but it seems pretty good and Reggie is a good frontman and isn't doing a typical 'bleeding heart liberal' outlook. His face while talking to the girl in Morden whose blatantley an active drug dealer is hilarious.