Joining the Police Force

[muttonchops]

I was thinking about the possibility of joining the police force in Victoria. I have checked out the website and it is pretty good with info.

But what i am after is people experiences either as policeman or the recruiting and training process. Any info from peoples experiences would be appreciated.

 

[Karl Pilkington]

It will help if you are female or ethnic, put it that way. Prepare to be brainwashed and poorly trained as well as underpaid and underresourced.

 

[afl genius]

I no you have to be 21 to join, because they want mature people, thats about it, unless you have completed a course relating to the field then age doesn't matter, but even still they are reluctant to take you on, this was bout 2-3 years ago though so maybe its changed a bit

 

[The Dukes Brian]

First of all, best of luck to you - its one of the hardest things to get into. You must always remember, the process to becoming a policeman is not to accept, but to knock out. The Police need to make sure they get the best and their process does that.

I am currently going thru said process. I sat the exam last Saturday, and may I tell you, its not easy. Make sure you sit the 'Preparation to the Police Entrance Exam' at your nearest TAFE. It prepares you for what is in the exam. Those that take the exam without doing the course, generally fail. It is hard and as I said, designed to weed people out.

If you aren't fit, then start now. I have been with a personal trainer 2 days a week for the past 10 weks plus my own stuff in between. Even tho there are fat-as-all-buggery coppers out there now, they expect you to be a machine when you enter. So get running.

Thats about it really. The exam is your first point and you need to study for that. And the fitness is the key. The rest is just if you're good enough in their eyes.

If you know anyone who is a copper, ask them some questions, if not, go down to your local station and talk to them there. They'll generally be happy to chat to you about it.

Best of luck to you. I hope for your sake you do well. But at the same time I dont as it is very competative and I want in.

 

[Black Flag]

So if one wanted to get into specialist areas of law enforcement (forensics, IT etc) and already has a degree related to that specialty, does one have to start out as a beat cop? OR can you move straight into your field of choice?

 

[superfraser]

TDB, I sat the test a couple of years ago.

Hung over and lacking sleep.

I rushed my way through it.

Infact, during the last section of the test, I dashed to the toilet to perform my After Grog Bog.

I passed pretty solidly.

Never did any preparation whatsoever.

Spelling. Comprehension. Maths.

I forget what else. But it really wasn't difficult.

 

[jonoman89]

TDB, I sat the test a couple of years ago.

Hung over and lacking sleep.

I rushed my way through it.

Infact, during the last section of the test, I dashed to the toilet to perform my After Grog Bog.

I passed pretty solidly.

Never did any preparation whatsoever.

Spelling. Comprehension. Maths.

I forget what else. But it really wasn't difficult.

Good to hear...

 

[Beamdogg]

What sort of fitness tests do they put you through?

 

[Colin D'Cops]

Probably the beep test, pretty tough. You'd need to be nice & fit for that plus need to be mentally strong to push you through the pain when you start getting a little tired. If you need to get over 9 or something, should be easy as. When you start getting over ten, that's when your mental strength and gut running capabilities come into play.

 

[Beamdogg]

Probably the beep test, pretty tough. You'd need to be nice & fit for that plus need to be mentally strong to push you through the pain when you start getting a little tired. If you need to get over 9 or something, should be easy as. When you start getting over ten, that's when your mental strength and gut running capabilities come into play.

So if you rocked up and got 14 on the beep.

Could do 100 push ups ect this would help you get the edge in getting into the force providing you did well on the writing exams?

 

[hamG]

They aint the SAS.

The preliminary academic stuff will affect how quickly you get in. My mate missed the next 'round' of applicants because he got ranked in the 70s or something and had to wait a few extra months.

Once you are in you only need to pass the physical tests, not excell at them. Good po po work is using your brain first, second and third then physical force as a last resort.

 

[RustyHawk]

If your thinking of joining VicPol check this website out for useful info:


upholdtheright. Its run by actual serving front line police officers.

http://www.upholdtheright.com/

 

[Colin D'Cops]

So if you rocked up and got 14 on the beep.

Could do 100 push ups ect this would help you get the edge?

Would certainly help.

 

[magpie stormer]

is there a police academy in melbourne that i can join?

and is it me or are young fem constables like really hot

 

[Karl Pilkington]

If your thinking of joining VicPol check this website out for useful info:


upholdtheright. Its run by actual serving front line police officers.

http://www.upholdtheright.com/

Sweet, I am going to troll the s**t out of that.

 

[The Cranium]

is there a police academy in melbourne that i can join?

and is it me or are young fem constables like really hot

Oh FFS...


A very difficult career path....I could think of nothing worse than having to attend to pissed knob jockeys all the time....Bring out the baton.

 

[RustyHawk]

Sweet, I am going to troll the s**t out of that.

Wouldn't expect anything else RJ.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

TDB, I sat the test a couple of years ago.

Hung over and lacking sleep.

I rushed my way through it.

Infact, during the last section of the test, I dashed to the toilet to perform my After Grog Bog.

I passed pretty solidly.

Never did any preparation whatsoever.

Spelling. Comprehension. Maths.

I forget what else. But it really wasn't difficult.

Do you mean your bog was solid when you passed it or that you passed the test solidly?

 

[superfraser]

both

 

[Beamdogg]

both

Lol thats quality. That day you could have even sat the Special Operations test with a sh*t like that.

 

[GoGoGadget]

I was thinking about the possibility of joining the police force in Victoria. I have checked out the website and it is pretty good with info.

But what i am after is people experiences either as policeman or the recruiting and training process. Any info from peoples experiences would be appreciated.

Ok,first of all, best of luck if you decide to do it.

First thing you do is sit the entrance exam. The higher the score, the more beneficial, its not just a matter of pass or fail. You will get your results in the mail about two weeks later.

After that, you have to have an interview at your local station with a Senior Sergent. He will make recommendations based on your showing there. He will forward your application onto recruitment who will run all the background tests (i.e. driving record, criminal record) and either move you onto the next stage or turn you down.

If you make it through, the next stage is the fitness test. Its been a while since I did it but there are 3 components.
1. Multi-stage fitness test (beep test) - required score was roughly 8.6
2. Agility test - Running around cones a few times over a distance of approx 20m. Total test is 80m (from memory) and the time to do it is approx 18sec for males.
3. Hand strength test (Dynometer) - Basically you squeeze an instrument that gives a reading. Its not hard if you are of average strength.

From there you go to a psychiatric test. They ask you the same questions a number of ways to see if you are in a stable frame of mind and don't get excited sexually when things catch fire and other tell tale signs your a weird unit.

If you pass the fitness and psych tests you are scheduled from a panel interview which involves sitting infront of a panel of 4 higher ups (usually a couple of S.Sergents and an Inspector, occasionally a Superintendent, although this is rare).

If the results of your panel are good, you will go onto the Order of Merit which is a list of applicants who are at the same stage you are. The list is from most suitable to least suitable, the higher up on the list, the more likely you will be to get in. You can inprove your chances by having a formal qualification (i.e. Batchelor of Criminology) or by speaking another language.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[magic_johnson!]

Why is it harder for a male to become a police officer then it is for a female?
Surly they do the same job...

 

[Damon_3388]

Why is it harder for a male to become a police officer then it is for a female?
Surly they do the same job...

Maybe it's because there probably isn't as many female officers compared to males, so they might make it easier for them so as to encourage more females to join the force. I don't know for certain, that's just a theory.

 

[magic_johnson!]

Maybe it's because there probably isn't as many female officers compared to males, so they might make it easier for them so as to encourage more females to join the force. I don't know for certain, that's just a theory.

If i had to rely on a female who got 5.3 on a beep test and made the force to chance down a guy who has just bashed me in instead of a male who got 8.4 on a beep test who didn't make it i'd be fair pissed if the culpret is not caught.

 

[GoGoGadget]

Why is it harder for a male to become a police officer then it is for a female?
Surly they do the same job...

Two words - Equal Opportunity

How can you test two different things using the one benchmark? Females are slower and weaker physically than males. Fact, not sexist. Do you make it very easy for males to join or very hard for females? or do you have two separate benchmarks making it equally fair on both parties?

As for the case of the runaway offender, what if a physically fit male can't catch him? Would you be happier that the male tried and failed or still just as angry because the result was the same?