General Policing Discussions

As a special, say I had 5 years experience under my belt and the Met decide to recruit for Regulars again. If I got accepted to become a regular, would I need to still do the two years probationary period or would I be exempt from that?

Does anyone know where there are any statistics on accidents rates when SCs are driving? We're having some issues over what we can and can't do when driving and I'd like to go into meetings about it with some information.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13037808 A woman has admitted handling stolen goods after being accused of taking potato waffles, pies, and 100 packets of ham from a bin outside of a Tesco Express in Essex. But if something is thrown away, when is it illegal to take it? Sacha Hall, 22, denied a charge of theft, which was left to lie on file, over taking the items said to be worth a total of £215, which the grocery store had discarded after a power cut had spoiled large amounts of food. Hall said dozens of people had taken food from the Tesco bins but that she had only received a bag, mainly containing ham, brought to her flat by a friend. …

Hi, Please forgive me if this is already on the forums. I have tried to look for it but there is none that I can see. Fishing through old topics, I have seen a few which speak about how they do not use the warrant card in fear that if the bus encounters a disturbance, then the officer with the warrant card will be called upon by the driver and then this could be the off-duty officer in possible danger. Do you think that TFL should be contacted on this matter about how staff should not call upon off-duty officers and await a response and if none is made, then the driver should proceed to his/her normal procedures of code red. I ask because my Dad is a bus driver, and o…

Really quick question this. I understand SC's can choose their own operating hours, but my question is, can a borough refuse you from operating on a day if they have enough officers or is it the more officers the better? For example; At a town festival there are already 50 officers operating including special constables. If I wanted to operate that day, could they say no because they already have the man power needed?

Hi Ive just come to the end of my MOD 1 training and go out to district on the 10th of June.. The reason for this thread is to ask if anyone knows if there is such thing as, or if there is any development opportunities for us specials to become maybe dog handlers or anything like that but still being a volunteer.. Ive always been interested in being a dog handler and have had a few dogs in the past and i have the patience to work with one everyday.. Now i know that specials aren't allowed to do response driving, the reason why I was told is because the course takes 3 weeks and costs too much to put volunteers through it... wondered whether this…

Firstly, I'd like to apologise if this has been discussed before, elsewhere, at length, deteriorated in to an argument/ didn't gain a consensus/ provoked WW3/4/5. Over the last 12 months and looking forward to the coming few years most Police Forces are looking to significantly increase their number or specials through extensive recruitment and training. Personally speaking I welcome increasing numbers and see the necessity therein. My concern is however that the quality of the intakes may suffer. Someone undoubtedly will reply stating that the 'bar' will not be lowered to enable the desired increase in numbers however one must ask if more 'bad apples' will slip through…

I have to say I enjoyed the image of Obama as he entered number 10 downing street shaking hands with the DPG officer outside, nice to see an ordinary PC getting a hand shake from Mr President, I wonder if the PM has ever done this. The other aspect of the visit I found interesting was the presence of a large number of US Secret service vehicles in the UK which were used to escort the president and his convoy around London along with the Met Police, I could not help but notice that the President's car and many of the secret service vehicles had Blue and Red lights on in transit, I know our law and the lighting regulations state that you can only show red to the rear of …

I was just wondering how and who the 30 years maximum service applies to before they have to retire. Allow me to explain further... As a special, if I proceed to join the regulars later in life, will my X number of years as a special contribute to my 30 years service? And also can I only do 30 years maximum service as a special or does this only apply to regulars (who may or may not have been specials)? Ant

I had a thought last night and wondered if other users would be up for it. We do a charity prison break. We choose a police station in the centre of the country and then see how far we can escape from it with only what you have on you. You cannot use money or your mobile phone, but will have them on you in case of emergancy. We get sponcership for the event and raise sponcership to go to police charities or Help for Heros. Just an idea, who would be up for it?

Hi All, Hoping some of you serving Specials can enlighten me with regards shift allocation etc . I'm barely into my training to become a TVP Special, and so far am absolutely loving the experience. Due to my work / family commitments, I stated on my initial application form that i could be available Mon-Thurs, from 7pm until when ever required (within reason!). I have since had it suggested to me (by a serving Special) that my local station have basically dis-regarded existing Specials' wishes in terms of hours, and have been 'pushing' them towards Fri & Sat evenings......something I can do occasionally, but certainly not regularly. I've also been told that I hav…

Now, I'll start off by saying I don't necessarily have an issue with PS.com's policy on this but it does raise a wider issue I think would be useful to discuss. Do you think a MOP could spot a real and fake warrant card? I'm not even talking about realistic forgeries, I'm talking about whether MOPs know what a warrant card should look like. Every force is different and the range of ID and warrant cards is almost certainly variable. I'll be honest and say that I have no idea what a Met warrant card should look like. Should it have a hologram? I know some forces don't have any anti forgery devices. As long as someone presented me with a card that had a badge (for the…

Do you have to be 18 to issued a PND? What is the min age for a Sec 27?

I having been driving the length and breadth if the A55 and trunk roads recently and I am happy to say that almost every single motorcyclist has been sticking within the speed limit, not undertaking nor overtaking dangerously. This is contrary to my usual observations and expectations along that particular route. In fact, I even saw a large group of choppers cruising quite comfortably with cars overtaking them. It has been a pleasure to see so many responsible motorcyclists! I would like to commend any that read this and ask them to carry it on for your positive actions and apparent conscious defensive riding are making the roads that little bit less un-safe :whistle2: …