- Dog Section
- Mounted Section
- Traffic
- Air Support Unit
- Specialist Search
- Recovery Team
- Criminal Investigation Department
The police force offers many different career choices all of which would be rewarding and beneficial.
Task B, Merit criteria
Training
Police officers deal with every aspect of crime whether it is big or small. All police officers carry out an extensive and highly professional training program, known as the Initial Police Learning and Development Program (IPLDP), this is completed during the first two years of service. It joins formal training, closely tutored patrol, and assessment during independent patrol, and during the IPLDP all student officers work towards an NVQ Level 3 in Policing & an NVQ Level 4 in Policing.
Task C, Merit criteria Progression
Theses are just some of the specialist units in the police force.
mounted branch allows police officer to carry out High-visibility policing this deters criminal activity and reassures the public as it is easier for the public to approach the officer compared to if they were in a vehicle due to the slower nature of this patrolling. It is thought that his improves the relationship between the police and public.
Another role connected with the use of police horses are large events such as policing major sports events as it is easier to manage a large crowd. Police horses are also used for missing or wanted persons searches as the police officer is able to cover a lot more ground on horse back rather than on foot, and has more accessibility to fields than cars do
Police searches.
Marine support, are able to provide 24-hour waterborne response to incidents, they investigate marine-related crime whilst providing core policing support on water and in waterfront areas to territorial divisions, gathering and collating maritime intelligence, searching for and recovering missing people and evidence at the same time as offering high visibility patrols, public reassurance, crime prevention initiatives, carrying out multi-agency initiatives, specialist advice, counterterrorism searches.
Dog support The core functions carried out by the Dog Branch include:
- crowd management at major sporting events searching
- buildings and open ground for missing and wanted people
- searching for evidence
- drugs detection and explosive detection
- tracking suspects
- victim recovery dogs
- tactical firearms operations
- supporting community-based initiatives
- public order response
- high-profile, proactive, intelligence-led patrols
Air support
Most forces have or share full time air support. Helicopters are mostly used but planes are also. They have technology including thermal imaging cameras which work by following heat sources and which transmit pictures to ground commanders. They often assist with serious traffic incidents.
Specialist operations department
They deal with tasks such as intelligence, security, protecting politicians, embassies and royalty. They also investigate some categories of serious crimes like racial and violent crime and terrorism.
This department is responsible for making the airports and the surrounding area a hostile environment for criminal and terrorist activity by patrolling inside and outside the four terminal buildings and the local area.
They must maintain an effective response to terrorist activity, working with partners and wider airport communities to gather intelligence, detect and prevent crime and dismantle organised criminal networks
Human resources directorate
They make sure that the police officers and staff are working at the highest possible standards. They recruit, train and develop all staff helping them to develop their careers.
Commissioner’s private office
This is a fairly small department but very important providing professional and support function for the commissioner and deputy commissioner.
Task B, Distinction criteria
Training
During training many candidates pull out there are many reasons for this the simplest of them all is the inability to keep up with training, whether the fitness aspect is too much or the candidate attends an extremely horrific scene and believes that they are not cut out for the job mentally or physically. This is linked in with the next very common reason unexpected duties entailed in the job, for instance many candidates are surprised with the amount of paper work involved with being a police office and have joined with the dilution that the job is all action and no office work. Loss of friendship or family due to joining, many people find that when they join the police they find out who their friends are as many of them will stop talking to them all together, through either their dislike foe the police force or the fear of their friend getting them in to trouble using their new authority, for instance if a candidate has a friend who uses private DVD’s they may find that their friend stops talking to them through fear of the candidate handing them in, many criminals are related due to up bringing if a child is brought up by a criminal, they may be more expecting of criminal actions and think nothing of them, some candidates find that some of their family will disown them for this reason. Life outside of the force can be reason for a student to leave, such as the death of their spouse, or relative. Personal injury is also a reason for people leaving in the initial training. Students can also be kicked out of the force for incorrect behaviour such as the student shows abnormal amounts of violence and lashes out in a training session. Bullying is also a reason for people to leave if they are getting bullied either by police officers or other students.
These are just some of the reasons the list goes on and on and the reason is different for each case.
Task C, Distinction criteria
Progression
With promotion there are advantages and disadvantages.
One advantage is salary increase and leave entitlement as indicated below.
“Police Constable pay scales and leave entitlement: (for those joining after 1st September 2007)
Sergeants earn between £33,810 and £37,998*
Inspectors earn between £43,320 and £46,989*
Chief Inspectors earn between £47,949 and £49,923*
* Officers who have been at this point for more than a year will be entitled to access a competency related threshold payment of £1,222 per year.”
( (Accessed 03.03.08))
A disadvantage would be the added responsibility they could go from being responsible for theirs and their partners actions to responsible for a whole force of officers, also the amount of paper work would increase with promotion.
An advantage is extra training which would improve standards of work they are able to carry out and therefore open more career options. Also the higher their pay the higher their pension will be.
The amount the disadvantages and advantages will effect someone is based on their personal ability and whether they deem the advantages to out do the disadvantages or by reverser.
The police force has a very thorough selection process, training programme and a very diverse path of progression.