Integrity, common sense and sound judgement are essential qualities of today’s modern police officer. They are vital to be able to build a trusting and caring relationship with the ordinary people. It also constructs a professional alliance between Police colleagues.
A prejudice Police constable is a bad one and misrepresents the whole force. If an officer is racist, fascist, homophobic, sexist or bias then he or she is incapable of suitably doing their job properly and professionally. An officer should able to do his/her job fairly and without favouritism.
Police constable may at some point be attacked, psychically or mentally, for whatever reason. An officer needs to know how to deal with this quickly and effectively in the most efficient way possible. New officers are trained in unarmed self-defence and handling difficult individuals so that they will be capable of protecting themselves and fulfilling their duties.
Issue nine of the Police Service’s SoCP&V is to reduce public fear. This is primarily a modern version of keeping the Queen’s Peace. Constables must ensure a sense of comfort, security and general safety for the public.
Finally, all officers need to be able to accept effective criticism towards themselves or the force in general from either their superiors or the public. This gives an officer to chance to correct his/her actions or procedures making them a better policeman or policewomen and therefore a more efficient member of the team.
The main roles of today’s Police Service are to deal with accidents and emergencies, work with the local community and perform anti-terrorist work. These tasks may have a variety of forms, whether they are minor (e.g. a small road traffic accident) or major (e.g. large-scale incidents such as hostage situation.
Dealing with accidents and emergencies is the process of officers responding to a call or radio transmission and attend as quickly as possible. The Police have different procedures depending on the incident and will act accordingly whether they are first on the scene or arrive towards the end of the event. The officers who arrive first will check the safety of the accident site, call paramedics if required, help casualties, appeal for witnesses, isolate the area if needed and many more tasks needed to keep the situation under control. An attending officer writes a report after the incident, which contains information on the event, actions taken and possible future changes to procedure. It is then kept filed for future reference.
Communication with the local public is an essential part of Police work. Community Police Officers deal with problems, complaints and enquiries in their resident area and build try to build up a connection the people who live there. They work closely with local establishments such as schools, religious centres and community centres in an attempt to gain knowledge of the resident citizens and area. They also give talk to young people warning them of dangers at that time, such as drugs, minor crime and domestic violence, so that hopefully, when they mature and become responsible adults themselves, the area will have a more pleasant, low crime rate, reputation.
Most anti-terrorist work is conducted by a department of the force know as Special Branch. Special Branch was formed in 1883 by the Metropolitan Police Force (London) to deal with Irish Fenians and works closely with other services including the military, MI5, MI6 and the Secret Service. It is also linked with other Police unit such as Firearms Unit and Armed Response. Anti-terrorist is becoming more important in today’s modern Police Force due to the British armed forces involvement in, what is being called, the Second Gulf War in Iraq, and its participation in the expulsion of the Northern Ireland terrorist group, the IRA. The Police’s job in anti-terrorism is to use all means possible (along with help from other forces), to prevent an attack on the British Isles similar to the al-Qaeda assault on the United States of America in September of 2001. A matching strike or a chemical attack on one of the United Kingdom’s main cities (mainly London) could cause a breakdown in the Country’s government, trade and moral. Therefore, the Government has invested large amount of capital into the Police’s budget to train for such events and raise awareness.
The Police Force has many responsibilities ranging from complying with the SoCP&V to meeting targets and deadlines. The Government has a responsibility to make sure each force is well funded and to ensure it is spent accordingly. Each force is set targets and should be able to improve their work and efficiency to comply with these. The work of each force, whether the targets are met or not, are compared to each other to see which force has improved or has fallen in standards and which is more serviceable with the size of the patrolled area and the budget given. These are known as performance indicators.
Recent work of the Police Service can be seen everywhere. Achievements vary from safer communities, sentenced criminals, the conviction of major regional drugs/illegal product suppliers (e.g. imported tobacco), to major incidents such as bomb threats or disasters such as the Selby Rail Disaster in 2001.
The Army, as well as other armed forces, is under the control of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). This Government department mission is to ensure the safety of the United Kingdom and its interests. There are British Army barracks and headquarters across the world. It is responsible for land warfare, including infantry and artillery, and works with other armed forces, such as the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, in defending Great Britain, its colonies (e.g. the Falkland Isles) and its allies (e.g. USA).
The Army has many groups including combat, engineering, information technology/communications (IT/Comms.) and logistics. These are yet again categorised into sub-groups.
The combat group includes infantry, artillery, air corps and cavalry. The average infantry soldier is usually always in the thick of the action and the first to arrive on a battle scene. The infantry are all trained as fighting soldiers but may have other skills useful on the battlefield, e.g. medic, chef, driver, electrician and more. These soldiers need to be psychically fit and well conditioned. The artillery section of this group uses large, vehicle-towed guns. These guns fire a range of ammunition from bullets to mortars to missiles and are a vital part of clearing large areas of enemy troops. The Air Corps use helicopters and small aircraft for a range of activities including: searching, delivering and attacking. Cavalry includes tracked and wheeled vehicles including tanks, recovery vehicles, bridgelayers, armoured people carriers (APC), jeeps, motorcycles, amphibious vehicles, scout and reconnaissance vehicles, self-propelled guns, tractors, trucks, military ambulances and more.
The engineering department of the Army includes vehicle technician, electricians, storemans and metalsmiths to name a few. Vehicle technicians repair and maintain a variety of land, sea and air vehicles including the cavalry’s equipment (named above), an assortment of boats and range of helicopters and small aeroplane. Electricians work on vehicles as well, but also work on buildings and electronic equipment (such as radar and communication devices). A storemans job is to care for Army equipment and make sure it is all there and is in safe working order. Metalsmiths build tools and equipment for use by the army. They also manufacture new vehicle bodywork and components for use in the field.
The IT/Comms segment deal with providing interaction between different troops and regiments. This group consists mainly of radio operators and technicians. Radio operators are trained in using specialist radio equipment to keep contact between soldiers. The radio technicians ensure the upkeep of this equipment.
Logistics use a range of trades-people incorporating chefs, drivers, clerks, petroleum operators and pioneers. Logistic soldiers ensure the day to day running of operations in the field. Chefs cook meals for hundreds of soldiers to make sure they are well nourished for performing their duties. Drivers can be used for driving tanks into war zones, running errands and deliveries between camps, and a range of more tasks. They are an essential and versatile part of the Army. Clerks tens not to work in the field but instead ensure soldier’s details and finances are trained in a number of computer applications. Petroleum operators deliver fuel to regiments with vehicles in need of it. They are trained in storage and transportation of fuel, constructing and dismantling pipelines, and fighting petrol fires. Pioneers work as engineers and builders and are trained in many skills including carpentry and bricklaying.
The Army’s recent work includes Iraq 2003-2004, in which they aided the US Army in the overpowering and capture of corrupt dictator Saddam Hussein. Another major example is The Falklands War 1982, in which the Army defended the British owned islands against Argentinian invaders. Other examples include deployment of troops in Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
Task B
• On a personal level, describe the positive and negative aspects of working in the uniformed
services.
Careers in the uniformed public services have a wide range of advantages and disadvantages due to the training and duties carried out by employees. Below indicates some of these points for the Police Service and British Army.
Task C
• Analyse and describe the implications of being in a public service.
In my personal opinion, there are many different aspects of the Police Service, but more good than bad. Police officers tolerate the negative factors in order to have the reward of the positive ones. Pay, benefits and pensions in the Police force are relatively good and rise with increased years of service. Salaries can range between £19,000 to £64,000 per annum depending on rank, years service and area. The table below shows an average of a typical police officers wage:
Constables have the opportunity to progress through the ranks in a variety of branches. These branches have a variety of different purpose and all work together in the solving of crime and the upholding of the law. The following information describes some of these departments and their purpose.
The Criminal Investigation Department (or CID) is a branch whose work consists of investigating serious crime such as burglaries, serious assaults and homicides. The CID may also be involved in the prevention and detection of large-scale organised crime. A CID detective works long hours and may toil over several months of investigation and paperwork before they are able to apprehend a criminal. Good memory, alertness and good character assessment are an asset when working in the CID.
The Drugs Squad is the department of a force, which deal with serious drug offences. This line of work involves surveillance of local drug dealers and raids on suspect’s property. The increase in drug crime over the past decade has made this department an even more significant part of the Police service.
The Fraud Squad was joint-established in 1946, by the Metropolitan and City of London Police forces. Since then, other forces have created their own Fraud Squad under the same or different title such as Commercial Branch. Fraud is described as the obtaining of money or goods by deception, and the Fraud Squad’s aim is to prevent and investigate this. Fraud has many forms, from false benefit claims to large counterfeit operations, all which are the Fraud Squad’s responsibility.
As mentioned earlier, Special Branch was formed in 1883, by the Metropolitan Police to deal with Irish Fenians. Today its role is to observe and if needed, apprehend any foreign national who may cause harm to the United Kingdom or the public. Major examples of Special Branch’s work include monitoring Lenin when he studied here and searching for potential spies during the world wars.
Firearms Branch officers deal with the legal and illegal possession of live guns, air guns, replica guns, crossbows and other related projectile weapons. Duties include investigation into suspected illegal possession, enquiries into the legality of firearm and shotgun certificates, and replying to armed response call-outs. A specialist team is thoroughly trained to handle a variety of situations and use weapons such as handguns, sub-machine guns, long-range rifles and smoke grenades.
They also get to meet a variety of different people from different countries, races, cultures and backgrounds, and with a selection of views and opinions. Officers are well disciplined and usually a respected part of a community.
On an opposing side, people who do not agree with the service or law may discriminate against police officers. They may encounter dangerous and violent people in their line of work and be involved in hazardous situations such as armed robberies and shootings. Disturbing situations can cause constables to have unwillingness towards work and lead to mental health problems such as depression. Permanent injury can cause an officer to be incapable of carrying out his/her tasks, and may result in him/her having to leave the force.
With all these factors taken into consideration, the Police Service is still a rewarding, challenging and essential part of law enforcement.
I believe that there are an equal number of reasons for and against joining the Army. These reasons may vary depending on the time and the current affairs happening in the world. For instance, the situation in Iraq or the increase in terrorism may put off many people signing up. An Army soldier has more chance has a greater chance of being killed, injured or mentally affected than any other public service employee.
Many people may join for the training or opportunities to gain qualifications such as driving licences or for the travel. The Army offers training in a vast array of trades and careers such as electricians, translators, engineers and builders. It also other recruits the chance to gain various driving licences at the age of seventeen. These include car, motorcycle, heavy goods vehicle (HGV) and tank
Even though they may be certain hesitations when joining the British Army, it is still an indispensable part of the armed forces and defence of Britain.
In conclusion, I believe that the Police service and the British Army are a valued and indispensable part of Great Britain and are well worth joining even though they do have a bad side. This bad side can be over come by the rewards of these careers and limitless job satisfaction.
