SIA License / Police Force Questions

[calum17]

Hi all, I am just considering some life options really whilst very bored at work today.
I'm 17 and have always liked the idea of being self employed - so if an option arises at any time i am likely to take it if the opportunities are good.
But if something doesnt come up then obviously i need other options, I am considering joining the police force, now i know you dont need many qualifications (i have 12 C or above GCSE's but nothing else) and i know you have to be 18 to apply and 18 and a half to join. so come november i might apply for that, and i'd like to specialise to be a bike cop after 2 years or possibly traffic cop. does anyone here have information about getting into the police force? fitness level - im fairly fit but do i need to train a bit more, advice or whatever?

the other thing i am considering is getting my SIA license (even if i do apply for the force i'll try and get this as i have 6 months before i could do police work anyway) - are these easy to get, what do i need to know? how much do they cost, is 18 the youngest i can get one? and how long do they last for? my idea behind this is i can then get a job working for a security company or doing some kind of security work if i dont get into the police force or decide i dont actually want to join (though the police force is something id love to be in and a job which has appealed to me for a few years)

any information, guidance and tips about the license or either jobs is appreciated if anyone knows anything about them - especially if you are in that line of work.

thanks
Calum.

[JonB]

Some pointers.

Life experience is the main thing the Police force look for. Get out there, do some travelling, do voluntary work, do a variety of small jobs and then when you are 22+ then think of joining.

Also to specialise i.e Bike cop, think you need about at least 5 years as a conventional plod before you can go higher.

Visit https://www.policecouldyou.co.uk/ for more info.
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[calum17]

thanks for that. i'll keep that in mind. its 2 years i before specalising..or atleast it was when i looked into it last time.

could always go into security THEN police force ... similar line of work and it might help me. and besides, no harm in applying anyway ..can always re-apply in a few years if they say no.

[darkcarnival]

Try this site..full of useful info from serving officers www.ukpoliceonline.co.uk

Might be worth getting yr SIA licence and working full time then considering becoming a special for a couple of years to get a feel for the job. You only have to commit to 20 hours a month(i think), but you'll know either way whether the police is the job for you. Its not as glamourous as you think, but very rewarding at times.

For info....I got my SIA(Doorstaff) licence 18 months ago. Dead easy to get, you just need to do a 4 day course, check with your local college. IIRC it cost approx £400 all in all, but its cheaper if you want to do the basic 2 day course(for security guards).

HTH
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[Itchy]

I did some tax work for somebody with an SIA , he jokes and called it just another tax.
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[calum17]

[MoshizZ]

I had the same idea of being a policeman.

I went to an open evening (This was before my 17th so i was 16) and a lot of questions were asked.

One kid, same age as me, asked when we could apply. He asked for his age and when he'd be 17 (It was a few weeks away) and he said 'You can apply now, due to the ammount of people that apply it could take 18 months and upto 2 years for us to review your application.'

I have an application form here, half of it is filled out and half of it is just essay's that you have to write on what would happen if. how would you respond if... etc...

Apply now, by the time your application is considered, you'll be 18, then its a further wait for you to start doing training, i think its mental training and then fitness.

Good luck
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[calum17]

ok thank you.
i think i will type a letter to the south wales police and ask them for an aplication form and if it woul dbe ok for me to apply now - that way they cant say anything about me applying to early cos i will have a response saying yes (or no of course) and if it does take that long - then i'll just go into the security line of work anyway as it is a similar field of work and might help me in my aplication.

[sagiliam]

Like Jon B said. The Police like life experience. You have a slim chance of being accpeted as a full time officer at the age of 18 unless you've travelled the globe, saved hundreds of starving children, re-introduced the dodo bird, and climbed everest whilst inventing a completely hydrogen powered car.
Nonetheless, its still worth a shot. Whats your cv like? Much on it? EVer done anything for your community, any voluntary work? If not, do some. Get some under your belt. The police will like that.
Id suggest joining the specials. If you dont get into the specials then you can pretty much say that you wouldn't get in full time. And if you do get into the specials, then it puts you in perfect stead to join properly.
HTH
Ls

[calum17]

thanks.
i havent really done any voluntary work, not that i can remember atleast.
what are the specials?

[RatBlack]

Get some life experience and apply at 21 or so. Other option is join the police as a PCSO and then apply for Police Officer role as it is common now for police forces to recruit internal applicants only. As for specialist role, well it took me 6 years to get into traffic and that was only because I managed to wangle the class 1 advanced driving course whilst still at division.
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[sagiliam]

[calum17]

thanks for that information. think i might leave it a year or two then possibly go for a special constable for a few months/year then do an internal application.

that being said, a lot could happen between now and say 2 years so i may not apply - could go self employed in that time or do something else

thanks for your help

now just need to look into the SIA licence a bit more and see if thats worth doing or not.

thanks.

[darkcarnival]

[freestyler_onli]

Although you need 2 years in to apply for a specialist posting, they will always go for the people with more experience as standard.

Give it at least 5 years.

[faddius]

Got to be 18 for your SIA. Expect them to loose all your ID and paperwork and send you a licence about 2 months late.

Security work, is in frank, bollocks. Boring work as you could be left standing round for ages doing nothing, you get left in awkward situations - rarely get someone covering your back because theyre all polish, dont speak english or bugger off at the first sign of danger.

Problem being, if you bugger off at the first sign of danger, it lays on your shoulders if something goes wrong, and liklihood is you will never get security work again.

To get the work you will probably have to subcontract, meaning someone accept the money for your work then pays you from it - long awkward process and often have trouble getting the money from your "boss".

Though there are some perks - some places pay a very very good wage, which you wont see untill you have built up a good record and have had a fair bit of experiance (2yrs+) then you can start looking at wages around the £15ph mark on doors and at gigs.

Girls love security guards - especially if your on a response team or something along those lines doing the interesting stuff. Coupled with a all expenses paid weekend at leeds fest, at the front of the main stage = shag.

Often get freebies from people, drinks, fags, food, alcohol off bands etc. Though you cant have it there and then, you can have it later on. Best ive had was 2 VIP tickets at leeds fest, was going to give them to some friends but they refused to pick up their phones so both went for £150.

Really it depends on alot of things, what contract you can get and where. Sometimes you have to travel a long way for not much work, thats why I view festivals as the best jobs, long hours, more pay and its good fun. But you do get the ones where its absolutely mind numbing work for 12 hours and by the end of it you want to throw yourself down the stairs. Also, it depends on what support you get when your on the job, you need people to watch your back and who will step in and help if necessary.

Being able to fight and protect yourself is a key necessity, you cant have any notion against throwing a punch or a kick. Being able to say you will do that is one thing, doing it when you have 4 drunken yobs in front of you with bottles is another thing.

Sometimes its fun, sometimes its not - but those are the experiances ive had from doing security work, other people love it and feel differently, but theyre all school drop outs or people on the dole, and im similar to your position, have full gcses and a couple of AS's, and often feel its not quite using my potential. All I can say is, if you want - go and do it, give it a try for a month or two and see how you feel. Especially now its coming into spring / summer, theres alot of jobs on like festivals.

But as I said, you need to be 18 to do security work, whether its SIA or not.

[calum17]

thank you. i have read all of that and taking it on board.
i was thinking about what you said about festiavls and that and i know one of the big managers at cardiff's millenium stadium - and so if i do decide to get my license and take on security work i might have a word with her and see if she knows anything about being on security at the millenium stadium - then generally pay very good wages. but, as im not 18 until november - something else may have come up and got in the way (such as different job)

thank you very muc for all of the replies

Calum.