Hi guys, I am currently a special in cleveland where I have been for 3 years.
I am about to start a new job in london and will be living in huntingdon. I have looked at my options and feel a transfer to cambridgeshire would be best option. I have spoke to recruitment and I am currently waiting on the relevant people contacting me.
Just wandering if anyone can help with the following...
Is their a specific night specials must attend as I work shifts so this is not always possible.
What is the work like around huntingdon area, currently I deal with mainly domestics and burgalry early week, night time economy toward the end of the week.
Do you get a fair mixture of npt, response and the option of the occasional attachment? (To date I have not been out with traffic although it does interest me just is not a high priority, I have spent time with dogs not through choice but did enjoy it and have not flown in the helicoptor but have spent time at the base) Not trying to say I want lots of attchments but I do find it nice to have an overview of the whole job.
What are the teams like, do people generally mix well or do groups form? How do the specials fit in with regulars? Currently I often work with a certain relief due to then knowing my limits and thrm often pushing my limits and helping develop me.
How often does mandatory training comd around and does the force offer support to those that do not have 9-5 mon-fri jobs?
What is the turnover of specials like, are their a fair few who have a good few years behind them or do most jojn to progress to regs?
And finally, driving permits....
I have both car and van, I tend to only drive when asked, as a transfer would the option of having a permit when fairley new be there ad I feel it is a usefull toom on the belt when people need it unexpectedly. Currently regs ask me to share driving to reduce fatigue.
Hope you can help, martin.
Transfer....
Started by
maybe_idontknow
, Oct 12 2010 07:50 PM
15 replies to this topic
#2
Posted 13 October 2010 - 08:01 AM
I'll attempt to answer some of the questions, but I'm positive others will offer more and better advice.
Training for new Specials is currently held on Wednesday nights and all day Sunday. However as a transferee I suspect you'd not need to attend all of that training. HR could tell you more, though, or maybe any other recent transferees.
As for mix of NPT, reactive etc, I *believe* the official mix is intended to be 70% NPT, 30% reactive as a national standard... I believe. As an officer in another division I'm almost 90-95% NPT but I try to get the odd reactive shift to boost the experience (as you bounce from job to job to job). I can't comment on how things work in Huntingdon area.
I know you can apply to go out with the Air Support Unit; I know a bunch of Specials who have done so more than once, in fact. I haven't had the time just yet because it's quite a way off for me to get to. I know that new Specials in some divisions also get a single shift with dogs, CSI and prisoner handling as a taster.
As for how Specials and Regs mix, I can only comment from personal experience. For the most part I have had no trouble with Regs and have in fact had some excellent shifts with them. You're always going to get a few officers who don't like Specials, god knows I've met quite a few, but most will still go out on a shift with you. I haven't had to refuse a shift yet, although I've personally asked not to work with one particular reg. I know officers who really like him though so most likely it's me rather than him, or a personality conflict or something.
Turnover of Specials again will be different by division and even station I suspect. Of my intake of 21, three or four have quit, one has gone on medical grounds and a couple have just done a few shifts and now drifted off. I would say about two thirds are still active. I haven't seen many Specials quit yet (outside of my intake) but I know they do.
As for driving this is something else I would suspect would be specific to a station; I recently passed my grade 5 for cars and vans but haven't had to drive yet simply because it's not been necessary. On shifts though I would suspect I would get to do some DP transfer or NPT patrols.
Hope that answers some of your questions, and if you do transfer to Cambs then I hope to see you out there.
Training for new Specials is currently held on Wednesday nights and all day Sunday. However as a transferee I suspect you'd not need to attend all of that training. HR could tell you more, though, or maybe any other recent transferees.
As for mix of NPT, reactive etc, I *believe* the official mix is intended to be 70% NPT, 30% reactive as a national standard... I believe. As an officer in another division I'm almost 90-95% NPT but I try to get the odd reactive shift to boost the experience (as you bounce from job to job to job). I can't comment on how things work in Huntingdon area.
I know you can apply to go out with the Air Support Unit; I know a bunch of Specials who have done so more than once, in fact. I haven't had the time just yet because it's quite a way off for me to get to. I know that new Specials in some divisions also get a single shift with dogs, CSI and prisoner handling as a taster.
As for how Specials and Regs mix, I can only comment from personal experience. For the most part I have had no trouble with Regs and have in fact had some excellent shifts with them. You're always going to get a few officers who don't like Specials, god knows I've met quite a few, but most will still go out on a shift with you. I haven't had to refuse a shift yet, although I've personally asked not to work with one particular reg. I know officers who really like him though so most likely it's me rather than him, or a personality conflict or something.
Turnover of Specials again will be different by division and even station I suspect. Of my intake of 21, three or four have quit, one has gone on medical grounds and a couple have just done a few shifts and now drifted off. I would say about two thirds are still active. I haven't seen many Specials quit yet (outside of my intake) but I know they do.
As for driving this is something else I would suspect would be specific to a station; I recently passed my grade 5 for cars and vans but haven't had to drive yet simply because it's not been necessary. On shifts though I would suspect I would get to do some DP transfer or NPT patrols.
Hope that answers some of your questions, and if you do transfer to Cambs then I hope to see you out there.
Edited by harvb, 13 October 2010 - 08:02 AM.
#3
DouggyMc
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Posted 13 October 2010 - 01:02 PM
Go harv with your big answers! 
Welcome to Cambs! I am based as a special out of Huntingdon station so can give you a bit of info and help if you want, pm me if you have any specific questions!
And in the Huntingdon area it is mainly domestics, fights in the local towns really.
Hope it helps mate!
Doug
Welcome to Cambs! I am based as a special out of Huntingdon station so can give you a bit of info and help if you want, pm me if you have any specific questions!
And in the Huntingdon area it is mainly domestics, fights in the local towns really.
Hope it helps mate!
Doug
#4
Posted 13 October 2010 - 06:10 PM
Specials at Huntingdon are 99.9% on reactive with regular officers mate. This is due to Huntingdon NPT officers only ever really being on until 2am. There are also not many independant specials at this moment in time so we tend to just crew with reactive.
As for the other stations in the district...there are more independant specials so they do more NPT patrol. They do however come over to Huntingdon occasionally and come out with reactive.
As for regular/special relationships at Huntingdon I would say they are a very good...aslong as you pull your weight and do a good job of course! I only know of one anti special reg that would refuse to crew with us full stop. Fair play to him...I'm sure he has his reasons.
There are no constraints as to when you come in to perfrom duties...just aslong as you let the Special Inspector know so they can inform the regular supervisors. Reactive shift pattern at Huntingdon is Earlies 06:00 - 1600 Lates 15:00 - 23:00/01:00 and Nights 20:00/22:00 - 06:00. Not sure about NPT...I'm sure Det could enlighten us all!
If you want to know any more, feel free to drop me a PM
As for the other stations in the district...there are more independant specials so they do more NPT patrol. They do however come over to Huntingdon occasionally and come out with reactive.
As for regular/special relationships at Huntingdon I would say they are a very good...aslong as you pull your weight and do a good job of course! I only know of one anti special reg that would refuse to crew with us full stop. Fair play to him...I'm sure he has his reasons.
There are no constraints as to when you come in to perfrom duties...just aslong as you let the Special Inspector know so they can inform the regular supervisors. Reactive shift pattern at Huntingdon is Earlies 06:00 - 1600 Lates 15:00 - 23:00/01:00 and Nights 20:00/22:00 - 06:00. Not sure about NPT...I'm sure Det could enlighten us all!
If you want to know any more, feel free to drop me a PM
#5
Posted 14 October 2010 - 02:53 PM
Afternoon all... I haven't been on here for a while!
Adam1234 is right. Huntingdon Specials are largely on Reactive the majority of the time. I myself try and get over to Huntingdon once every 2 weeks, just so you get that experience of bouncing from job to job, and getting a comprehensive overview of both NPT and Reactive. The Reactive shifts are a realy friendly lot and are always happy to see Specials turn up to briefing. It also means that most of the mobiles are double crewed which makes everyone feel a little bit safer, if not just for the company at 4 or 5 in the morning
.
As mentioned, as long as you are willing to try your hand at everything and pull your weight, I think you will find that you will definitely get on with 99.9% of people. As harvb said, we all find on the odd occasion that we struggle to build a rapport with a certain person, but its like that in every walk of life, so for it not to happen in Policing would be fairly unusual.
The NPT teams in Central Division are all top people and many are perfectly placed to help you develop in the role, I'm not overly familiar with the Huntingdon team but I have worked with a couple of them elsewhere and they are all good guys. From personal experience the teams surrounding Huntingdon are very good, proactive and very helpful to Specials.
From what you said it sounds like your Indepedent and probably quite capable with 3 years Specialing under your belt. In Central Div especially, having your Grade 5 Permit is extremely useful bearing in mind that parts of Cambridgeshire are deep in the rural and it can be a long haul between the major towns. Also its not essential but occasionally you may encounter logistical problems and having an extra person who can drive is very handy both on NPT and Reactive.
All teams are very flexible in what hours you would like to do and are very accomodating. As Adam and harv mentioned, have a word with your Special Sergeant/Inspector who can sort shifts for you/or alternatively they will tell you which Sergeants to contact on Shift and NPT.
In terms of attachments and training, we have recently had our annual meeting with the ACC and Specials Chief Constable and there is plenty on offer at the moment. The ASU is always happy to have insight shifts, and from experience I can tell you its really worth doing (especially if you have good weather). I believe Central Specials are also able to go out with Traffic now and there is the opportunity to do attachments with CID and the Dog Handlers. In all honesty if you fancy doing something, raise it with your Inspector or send an email to the relevant department and I'm sure (with certain exceptions) they will try and accomodate you. I can tell you that in Cambs we are moving forward quite quickly.
Hope to see you around!
Adam1234 is right. Huntingdon Specials are largely on Reactive the majority of the time. I myself try and get over to Huntingdon once every 2 weeks, just so you get that experience of bouncing from job to job, and getting a comprehensive overview of both NPT and Reactive. The Reactive shifts are a realy friendly lot and are always happy to see Specials turn up to briefing. It also means that most of the mobiles are double crewed which makes everyone feel a little bit safer, if not just for the company at 4 or 5 in the morning
. As mentioned, as long as you are willing to try your hand at everything and pull your weight, I think you will find that you will definitely get on with 99.9% of people. As harvb said, we all find on the odd occasion that we struggle to build a rapport with a certain person, but its like that in every walk of life, so for it not to happen in Policing would be fairly unusual.
The NPT teams in Central Division are all top people and many are perfectly placed to help you develop in the role, I'm not overly familiar with the Huntingdon team but I have worked with a couple of them elsewhere and they are all good guys. From personal experience the teams surrounding Huntingdon are very good, proactive and very helpful to Specials.
From what you said it sounds like your Indepedent and probably quite capable with 3 years Specialing under your belt. In Central Div especially, having your Grade 5 Permit is extremely useful bearing in mind that parts of Cambridgeshire are deep in the rural and it can be a long haul between the major towns. Also its not essential but occasionally you may encounter logistical problems and having an extra person who can drive is very handy both on NPT and Reactive.
All teams are very flexible in what hours you would like to do and are very accomodating. As Adam and harv mentioned, have a word with your Special Sergeant/Inspector who can sort shifts for you/or alternatively they will tell you which Sergeants to contact on Shift and NPT.
In terms of attachments and training, we have recently had our annual meeting with the ACC and Specials Chief Constable and there is plenty on offer at the moment. The ASU is always happy to have insight shifts, and from experience I can tell you its really worth doing (especially if you have good weather). I believe Central Specials are also able to go out with Traffic now and there is the opportunity to do attachments with CID and the Dog Handlers. In all honesty if you fancy doing something, raise it with your Inspector or send an email to the relevant department and I'm sure (with certain exceptions) they will try and accomodate you. I can tell you that in Cambs we are moving forward quite quickly.
Hope to see you around!
#6
wannabeblue
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Posted 14 October 2010 - 06:52 PM
Maybe_idontknow. Hello mate. I am PC at Huntingdon, Previously a special down south. On my relief, we are quite welcoming to most officers. There are a few of course, specials and regs alike who have got themselves a bad name, for one reason or another.
If you pull your weight, and are prepared to get stuck in (with the paperwork as well as the rucks) then you'll be fine.
Follow adams lead and you should do well here mate.
If you pull your weight, and are prepared to get stuck in (with the paperwork as well as the rucks) then you'll be fine.
Follow adams lead and you should do well here mate.
#7
Posted 16 October 2010 - 11:43 AM
NPT will always be happy to help you out. on paper we only work till about 02;00 on our weekends but this can change at very short notice. we do a lot of warrants so if your about in the week always glad of the help...
where I am we do a lot of plain clothes stuff and intel building so it's not all blues and twos which tends to put some specials off.
specials have helped out on days of action with traffic etc so the chance to work with other depts is on the cards.
where I am we do a lot of plain clothes stuff and intel building so it's not all blues and twos which tends to put some specials off.
specials have helped out on days of action with traffic etc so the chance to work with other depts is on the cards.
Edited by Detritus, 16 October 2010 - 11:44 AM.
#8
maybe_idontknow
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Posted 21 October 2010 - 06:24 AM
Thanks for thw replys, looks good! I've spoke to recruitment, been pushed from one side to the other between canbridge and cleveland but have got things moving. Just trying to arrange a suitable interview date and waiting to see what ny training nees are. Been told there is a course running in january but I have offered to do restrictee duties in order to get me on the books sooner. Been told to keep up to date with pst in cleveland in the mean time. Ill be in huntingdon in a couple of weeks so would be interested in popping in one night when people are on duty.
#9
Posted 21 October 2010 - 01:32 PM
There are usually a group of Specials at Huntingdon Friday and Saturday nights for the night turn. Usually Huntingdon, St. Neots or St. Ives boys and girls.
If you fancied meeting the Huntingdon Special Sergeant/Inspector I'm sure there may be a couple of people on here who could sort something out for you! If you don't have any luck pm me and I will pass on your details to the Sarge. Maybe you could go along to their next Section meeting or something.
If you fancied meeting the Huntingdon Special Sergeant/Inspector I'm sure there may be a couple of people on here who could sort something out for you! If you don't have any luck pm me and I will pass on your details to the Sarge. Maybe you could go along to their next Section meeting or something.
Edited by SCTomka, 21 October 2010 - 01:33 PM.
#10
DouggyMc
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Posted 21 October 2010 - 06:13 PM
Good stuff Martin!
Huntingdon specials have a section meeting on the 19th of November, so if you would like to attend let me know and i will give our special seargeant a bell!
Doug
Huntingdon specials have a section meeting on the 19th of November, so if you would like to attend let me know and i will give our special seargeant a bell!
Doug
#11
maybe_idontknow
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Posted 29 October 2010 - 11:34 AM
Thank you all for the replies. I will take you up on the offer for attending the section meeting, I will be in touch seperatly when near a computer instead of mobile. I have a selection interview on Monday so hopefully all will go well, just got to get my training records sent over.
#15
maybe_idontknow
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Posted 07 February 2011 - 05:14 PM
Hey sorry i havent replied in so long,... meeting went well i should have been sworn in, early jan but due to problems getting access to my medical records from my old drs i was delayed in getting medical history in. That is with my new dr and due in next 7 days, my vetting forms were in before christmas so hopefully all thats left is fitness test and oc health.
I have kept in touch with the relevant person concerning this and as i have not had anything back can only assume vetting etc has been fine so far.
Im still interested in meeting supervision etc at huntingdon and things have settled at work a bit now in the sence i actually have free time so if anyone knows how i would go about this i would appriciate it!
Sorry for going silent on topic after so many decent replies from yourselfs i just literally havent had the time to sit and get back on here.
I have kept in touch with the relevant person concerning this and as i have not had anything back can only assume vetting etc has been fine so far.
Im still interested in meeting supervision etc at huntingdon and things have settled at work a bit now in the sence i actually have free time so if anyone knows how i would go about this i would appriciate it!
Sorry for going silent on topic after so many decent replies from yourselfs i just literally havent had the time to sit and get back on here.
#16
DouggyMc
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Posted 07 February 2011 - 06:21 PM
Hey sorry i havent replied in so long,... meeting went well i should have been sworn in, early jan but due to problems getting access to my medical records from my old drs i was delayed in getting medical history in. That is with my new dr and due in next 7 days, my vetting forms were in before christmas so hopefully all thats left is fitness test and oc health.
I have kept in touch with the relevant person concerning this and as i have not had anything back can only assume vetting etc has been fine so far.
Im still interested in meeting supervision etc at huntingdon and things have settled at work a bit now in the sence i actually have free time so if anyone knows how i would go about this i would appriciate it!
Sorry for going silent on topic after so many decent replies from yourselfs i just literally havent had the time to sit and get back on here.
I'll PM you mate!
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