Hi, Does anyone know if Police Officer trainees in the UK, namely London, are paid during training? - and what sort of wage are we talking? Be grateful if anyone has any info on this.
Hey @Craisin, welcome to the forum. I believe there are two routes to get into policing in the UK. One would be paid and subject to a probationary period of 2 years. The other is to become a 'Special Constable' which is essentially an unpaid police officer. They are trained the same way as regular police officers however aren't paid a wage. Starting salaries appear to be around the £21,000 per year mark according to this website : https://www.police-information.co.uk/policepay.htm#constables. It's important to consider as well that wages in London do tend to be a little higher so may be above the absolute minimum. The College of Policing would be a good place to check out for any more information - http://www.college.police.uk/Pages/Home.aspx Also got loads of notes on UK policing from my studies if you ever need any more help
Thanks. I've looked at those websites previously, but wasn't sure if the constables pay on commencing service was after or during training. Shbooblie would you happen to know why someone would go down the route of being Special Constable unpaid when they could do paid training instead? If not, no worries.
The main reason my lecturers said is that there was a big freeze on recruitment in policing and also large funding cutbacks. People become specials because there weren't any full time policing jobs available, if they've got that on their CV it is hoped that they might be in the front running to get a full time police job as soon as they were available. Also some people just want variety and new experiences.
Thanks so much! This is great. I looked at your Wordpress - you must be on here with your Criminology background! Good luck with your novel
I wanted to join the Police Service when I was young; I even studied a Level 3 Diploma in Uniformed Public Services at college, however quite correctly, Police jobs were falling and recruiting was very low. The Special Constabulary is indeed voluntary and would help potential recruits find a pathway into the regular Police Service, furthermore experience in this field of work is invaluable as you have more Police powers than a Community Support Officer. Unfortunately, the Special Constabulary is voluntary so you are not paid, however you may choose how many hours you wish to volunteer.
you must be handy on here. I meant, btw. Thanks for the confirmation, Nobel Pen, and the other info. Much appreciated!
