0
–cue rolling text on starry background-
I think I have been one of the unlucky ones when it comes to applying to the Specials. Applying in November 06 the process has taken over a year now. A brief timeline would look something like this;
Nov 06 – sent in the application form
March 07 – BTP acknowledged I had sent the application form
October 07 – Interview
November 07 – Fitness Test
Jan 08 – Medical
Over the last few months the whole recruitment process started moving really rather quickly, and late December I was told that I was to join the January training intake, which looks like excellent fun. I must admit that the whole timetable we were given is nearly entirely incomprehensible due it being littered with police TLAs, but it still looks entertaining.
Being a law student, I was originally actually quite worried that the “Law Training” was either going to be really boring and really embarrassing, either because I knew it all, or because I should have known it all. Fortunately, looking at the timetable its all stuff I won’t have covered, and probably won’t cover. It’s a strange common misconception that law students sit down with a big book called “The Law of England (and Wales)” and read it beginning to end, and somehow know everything there is to know about everything that’s known, and should be able to answer obscure questions about tax and employment law, or the provision of tap water in restaurants.
Disappointingly, that isn’t the case and it’s mostly principles, based on ancient cases involving mill shafts and goats, and I’ve not actually finished my degree anyhow.
Anyway, moving on, there was a “training briefing” on Wednesday, where we got fitted up in uniform. Reading around the forum it seems many people during a uniform fitting got to wear it and smile to themselves in a mirror. Unfortunately we didn’t get to do this, and all I can really say about the police uniform is that NATO jumpers are itchy and my brief encounter with a custodian, as much as I like them, has lead me to the conclusion that it’ll take some time to get used to have something so perilously perched upon my head. The rest of the “briefing” seemed to involve eating sandwiches, not that I’m complaining about free food.
There was an entirely bizarre situation where I and another member of this here forum were conversing, much to the amusement of SBG since we didn’t actually know it. Both of us had twigged something was up, since my long application sounded slightly too familiar to him, and his somewhat shorter application and sudden change to another area sounded slightly too familiar to me. That said, I didn’t really want to turn around and say “Hey, you’re that guy from that forum, aren’t you”, in case he wasn’t and laughed in my face.
The “real training” begins tomorrow, it seems, with us heading to Tadworth tonight. I’m now really rather excited in a really rather childish sort of way.
I think I have been one of the unlucky ones when it comes to applying to the Specials. Applying in November 06 the process has taken over a year now. A brief timeline would look something like this;
Nov 06 – sent in the application form
March 07 – BTP acknowledged I had sent the application form
October 07 – Interview
November 07 – Fitness Test
Jan 08 – Medical
Over the last few months the whole recruitment process started moving really rather quickly, and late December I was told that I was to join the January training intake, which looks like excellent fun. I must admit that the whole timetable we were given is nearly entirely incomprehensible due it being littered with police TLAs, but it still looks entertaining.
Being a law student, I was originally actually quite worried that the “Law Training” was either going to be really boring and really embarrassing, either because I knew it all, or because I should have known it all. Fortunately, looking at the timetable its all stuff I won’t have covered, and probably won’t cover. It’s a strange common misconception that law students sit down with a big book called “The Law of England (and Wales)” and read it beginning to end, and somehow know everything there is to know about everything that’s known, and should be able to answer obscure questions about tax and employment law, or the provision of tap water in restaurants.
Disappointingly, that isn’t the case and it’s mostly principles, based on ancient cases involving mill shafts and goats, and I’ve not actually finished my degree anyhow.Anyway, moving on, there was a “training briefing” on Wednesday, where we got fitted up in uniform. Reading around the forum it seems many people during a uniform fitting got to wear it and smile to themselves in a mirror. Unfortunately we didn’t get to do this, and all I can really say about the police uniform is that NATO jumpers are itchy and my brief encounter with a custodian, as much as I like them, has lead me to the conclusion that it’ll take some time to get used to have something so perilously perched upon my head. The rest of the “briefing” seemed to involve eating sandwiches, not that I’m complaining about free food.
There was an entirely bizarre situation where I and another member of this here forum were conversing, much to the amusement of SBG since we didn’t actually know it. Both of us had twigged something was up, since my long application sounded slightly too familiar to him, and his somewhat shorter application and sudden change to another area sounded slightly too familiar to me. That said, I didn’t really want to turn around and say “Hey, you’re that guy from that forum, aren’t you”, in case he wasn’t and laughed in my face.
The “real training” begins tomorrow, it seems, with us heading to Tadworth tonight. I’m now really rather excited in a really rather childish sort of way.
