AIBU to consider a career as a police detective

[NotInspectorPoirotYet]

I think it sounds like a interesting, rewarding and challenging job but I'm worried about whether it's really compatible with family life? Any detective's with primary school aged children out there? How do you find it?

At the moment I do a job that I find some what uninspiring but that is well paid and with a reasonable work life balance, 40 hours + commute but no real overtime or unsociable hours.

I wouldn't recommend anyone joining the police if they have a family. When I was in CID I had no kids and the hours were fucking brutal, as was the stress and the amount of risk I was expected to manage with zero resources/backing.

Also note if you join a force, most constables sign a contract saying they will work in any role in any location in their force area - there is uproar in the Met as DCs are being forcibly transferred from places like Sutton (commuting in from Surrey etc) to places like Enfield (so 2 hour commute each way) due to desperate staff shortages in CID.

I don't think you would get too much grief from existing DCs for being direct entry. They're too fucking busy. Some might just feel sorry for you being pitched in at the deep end with inadequate training and experience.

I'm a PS in GMP. We have DE inspectors and superintendents. I don't respect them. They may have good business experience elsewhere but they aren't cops. They haven't worked their time on the streets. They don't know how to talk to the people of Salford and earn their respect, even when they're arresting them. They can't talk down a 6ft 2 drunken bloke just by using their guts and instincts. They can't console the family of someone who has just jumped in front a train, after being the first person on scene and finding the body. I'm a graduate but that hasn't earned me the respect of my team. My 10 years hard work, and proving I'm not afraid to get stuck in and wouldn't ask my team do anything I wouldn't, is what's earned their respect. As bright as DE detectives might be, and as much as you might have other relevant skills, I would never respect you for it and neither would my hardworking, experienced PCs who have done their time, know the job inside and out, passed their exams and are sat in a queue waiting for a placement while DE take their places.

My DP has been a DC now for 6 years after being a PC for 4. There honestly isn't any difference between the shifts you're expected to do in and out of uniform. Obviously it depends on your force, but for us childcare is only manageable because I do the majority of DC ferrying and we are lucky enough to have a nursery who let us book individual days a month in advance rather than having the same days every week. In addition to his regular days (which are 10 hours in his force, either 8am-6pm and 12pm-10pm) he has to do 2/5 weekends and nights 2-3 times a year, plus bank hols etc. I would echo what a PP said about there being no such thing as finishing on time. In my job if I'm in the middle of something and have to leave to make pickup time, it's annoying and I have to log back in after DS is asleep. But DP physically cannot leave, and I'd say he does about 10 extended days a month on average, leaving anything from 1-6 hours later

I work in Safeguarding and we investigate rapes, sexual assault of children, deaths of children, serious assaults and DV, so I wouldn't say Safeguarding just deals with low level volume/minor offences.

I wish people would stop using promotion terms like 'moving up the ranks' to describe a sideways move to CID.
Becoming a DC is not a promotion, it is extra (specialist) training and an interest in (sometimes) complex investigation.

I work in a home counties force and there are currently 30 DCs from the Met about to transfer... No wonder the Met are taking DE DC recruits!

I have been a Bobby for 10 years and only just made the move. (In fact I have moved to this CID role whilst remaining a PC with a view to doing my DCs once I've got my feet under the table and know I like the role.) I don't actually think DE DCs would be much dissimilar to civvie Investigating Officers (in terms of starting the role with no policing experience) but they would be expected to deal with confrontation/violence/arrests etc the same as a DC with any length of uniform experience. It would be very hard to join with no experience and fit into the role. There's a reason PCs have a 2 year probation.

My department work a 3 week pattern of Earlies and Lates which are supposed to finish at 10 but being off late is routine. Several of my colleagues finished at 4am the other night.
DCs also have a rota of Nights every few months.
It's not at all childcare friendly but you can usually arrange flexi patterns to suit you slightly better.

CID and SIU are both drowning - too many crimes on their workloads but they're serious jobs that you can't just write off if you can't get round to it after a few weeks... and every day that you're in more crimes come in that you get assigned too.

The pay is rubbish to start and not great once you've been in for long either. It's better than many jobs but the risks and cons don't balance with the perks.

I still enjoy it now, but I'm not sure I'd actively recommend it to people.

I would recommend becoming a special as you'll get a massive taste of what the role will bring.
If you can't handle confrontation then there's very little point becoming a DC as the vast majority of people we deal with are brimming with sadness, hostility, fear and hatred.

Good luck if you do decide to go for it. You might be better off looking into private companies who pay more for people with amy transferable skills related to cybercrime/financial crime investigation. More money less fighting more family friendly hours.

My friend is a DI who did direct entry BUT a) she already worked in a civilian role in her police force and had done for years and b) she’d been a special for a decade as well, so had effectively ‘done her time’ as it were. She’s respected by her peers and the officers she’s responsible for; the other direct entrants aren’t. Tbh I can understand this - good policing, like good nursing, is something that can only be learnt at the coalface.

for all coppers, past and present. I can't begin to imagine the things you must have seen/heard on duty. Thanks

I work in Safeguarding and we investigate rapes, sexual assault of children, deaths of children, serious assaults and DV, so I wouldn't say Safeguarding just deals with low level volume/minor offences.

Yes, but those crimes aren't assigned to TDCs, DE or not where I work. It wouldn't be appropriate.

ok, firstly think about your commute, you could either live far from work and be safer, your children won't be targeted etc, or live closer to work and potentially police where you live.

Direct entry is not the route to becoming a good detective, you learn your primary investigation skills as a uniform cop. Consider NCA as they have direct entry.

You will be given more work than you can legitimately complete in the time given. yet you may also not be allowed to earn over time to complete it.

17 hour days are frequent.

you can apply and get into a role in a specialist department (unlikely as they are like rocking horse shit) but then a murder will happen and you will be moved to help.

you do not choose where you work, you will be a force resource and can be moved when ever and where ever they want you

that said i love my job

Ariadne, I wonder if that is the missing piece of the puzzle here. That the direct entry dectives will be trained for two years before they actually become qualified. Not that they will come in straight from their jobs as accountants etc and be detectives dealing with very serious crimes straight away.

Can I ask what shift pattern you work? There has been a lot of variation in responses. Which may just mean there is a lot of variation in different areas.

Someone said up thread that if I am asking about the hours I shouldn't be doing the job.

But really I am just interested in finding more details about the job as possible before deciding whether to apply. It's probably better if people do that than that they waste their time and those of the people interviewing them.

Haven’t RTFT but seen some of your posts mentioning your specialist skills. Have you looked at any NHS Counter Fraud positions? This seems like something that would fit your experience and the NHS can quite often offer flexibility in working hours if you need it. Just a thought.

1morerep thanks for your reply. Will definitely look at the NCA as well.

Interesting what you say about the area as well and staying safe. That is also something I had wondered.

Glad to hear you love your job though. I think sometimes the toughest jobs can be the most rewarding. But only obviously if you can do them without becoming too stressed or overwhelmed.

I always thought I’d join the police and then move into CID as quickly as I could. Now that I’m in, I absolutely love uniformed policing and can’t see myself wanting that sideways move (it is NOT a promotion 🙄 ) any time soon.

However I agree with those posting above, I just cannot see how someone could do the job without the vital skills they would learn as a PC. I think the OP sees it as some sort of safer option, or policing-lite, and it really isn’t. A CID sergeant in my force got stabbed in the leg a few weeks ago. They still get assaulted, still go into volatile situations, still deal with aggressive people. It’s not all white boards and photos joined with string!

If front-line/response policing isn’t for you then becoming a DC isn’t either.

It's daft to say that if you're asking about hours, you shouldn't do the job. It's only by asking that you come to your own conclusions!

You're currently in teaching with a big commute- me too! I'm usually out of the house from 6.30am- 5pm. I'm barely managing to juggle the childcare and this is with a nursery that does 8-5 and supportive grandparents. School will be much worse.

My DH works shifts in the police and loves it. He usually does 3 or 4 10-12 hour shifts and then has 2-4 rest days. The shifts are broadly 7am-3pm, 3-10pm, 9pm - 7am (these vary slightly). He usually finishes on time, maybe once a fortnight has to stay back for up to an hour.

He gets his rota a year in advance so it's easy to see where he might need to put in leave to cover childcare

Our force do a mixture of shifts. 7 days on, 4 days off, 7 days on, 3 days off. The shifts vary from 7am starts to night shifts. Even if you’re due to finish at a certain time you probably won’t. It’s been know for people to start at 7am and finish at 4am if something really bad comes in.

You also have to factor in your trials. As a DC you will have a lot to attend as OIC. The CPS/courts are supposed to look at your rest days etc but they don’t. Sometimes you will work a full set and then have your RD cancelled for a crown court trial. These will be reallocated for you (not by you with consultation as to when is best) to another time. This happens with uniform too, but (in my force at least) happens mostly with DCs due to the nature of the offences they investigate.

He gets his rota a year in advance so it's easy to see where he might need to put in leave to cover childcare

Does he not get his duties rereostered? TBH, he seems to be in an exceptional position if he's not getting off late on a regular basis. At no point and in no role was I ever able to rely on my duties roster, let alone a year in advance. It wa on the system, but it wasn't guaranteed and that was made incredibly clear to us by the Duties team whenever we moaned / begged / asked.

My last role was on Major Crime. Mon-Fri 0800-1600 for two weeks, then ten days of 0800-1600 Mon-the week Wed. On call for the Mon-Mon of that. Then 4 days off. The reality was 60 hrs a week on the 2 weeks you weren't on call, backing up the on call team, then usually more then that during your call out week depending on what came in and working your 4 days off dealing with whatever had happened. Murders don't stop being investigated when your days off come up.

CID in my force work long hours. The rota may say the shift is 8-4 but it's extremely unlikely you finish at 4, as per pp, when you're investigating a serious crime or you have someone in custody and their 24hr clock is running, as a DC you can't just leave, you have to stay until everything that can be done is done, there aren't enough DCs to hand it over to someone else (hence part of the reason they're desperate to direct entry people in) . We also have an overtime ban in our force (to try and manage the tight budgets) but it doesn't apply to CID as it quickly became very apparent that CID could not exist with officers working long hours.
Also some pp have said that the trainee DCs in their forces don't do the serious stuff while their training, again that doesn't apply in our force, you may not be the oic for very serious jobs but you'd definitely still be working on them.
As CID I still go on warrants and arrest suspects, I'm still in situations where people kick off and become violent, it's not a desk job by any means.
It is very rewarding, but it's very very stressful, the workload is high and your constantly worried about missing something.. it's a lot of pressure knowing that a victim is relying on you.

There will be big differences from force to force, I'd advise making contact with DC's at your local force and asking them questions about how things work there.

Hi op

The hours are very long. There is a lot of overtime.
And the cases CID take are usually complex.

I'm a uniform but many friends in CID and they have steered my away from it.

One pal is off sick and is just burnt out with very high blood pressure.

I'd like the type of jobs they get and I'm good on the investigation side but I just don't want the overtime and you can't really look at your watch and go home after a murder or rape.

It's a young persons game in my opinion.

I can't begin to imagine the things you must have seen/heard on duty.

I had a friend who was a (civilian) police photographer and a colleague who was a civilian SOCO. They both left the force because they could no longer handle some of the things they saw.

The photographer was so badly affected that he never worked again. He was haunted by the things and he'd seen, and this was in the pre-digital age, so he saw them over and over again when he printed every set of evidence pictures. It absolutely broke him.

Back then there was no support for civilian staff, either. Police officers in one horrific case were seeing counsellors, but he was offered nothing, even though he'd seen everything they had.

I take my hat off to anyone who works in a field where they see really distressing stuff day in, day out.

Hi

I am a DC of 12 years experience, plus a graduate. In fact I would say 70% of my team are graduates, makes no diffeeeence. My husband is also a D.C. no degree, one of the best ‘Tecs’ have have come across.

The realities of this job are long hours, you can’t just walk away from a job. However it’s manageable, we have two primary aged children and lots of us have Au pairs as there is no traditional childcare route that matches the hours.

I currently work in child abuse. It’s gritty, harrowing and one of the most humbling jobs in the police. The work is tough, accountable and full of risk, but he rewards when they come are high.

The job is 110% worth it, but it’s changed so much. Austerity has changed the nature of policing, the demands are so much higher but we have so much less. The pressures are immense and you must think about seeing and dealing with dark dark subject matter and how that will effect you. For example could you deal with a child rape victim, an abuser, a murderer, a violent drug user, then go home and leave the job at work.

Being a police officer is a life, it’s not a job. It effects everything. There is no OH support, if you have to spend 150hrs viewing and cataloguing sexual abuse footage, there’s not someone after it providing support on how to deal with the fall out of what you witnessed. You have to move onto the next job.

My only advice to anyone considering this as a career. Is think about missed bdays, Christmas, school plays, anniversary dinners. Think about wither you want this life, not just a job.

I would also say career opportunities are breathtaking shirt st the moment. 6 months ago I applied and was success in interview to move to the murder squad. 6 months later I am still waiting to move there, we don’t have enough detectives currently that allows me to leave child abuse. It’s the same in local CIDs

If you do then jump straight it, it’s a fantastic life and when you reach your CID the same old mantra exists if your DE/traditional route, volunteer and put your hand up to take ANY job, do that and an experienced D.C. will take you under their wing and guide you, be your mentor. Act arrogant or like someone who thinks minor crime is beneath them because they are a graduate or DE then you make your own bed.

Feel free to ask me any questions as long stand D.C. in a complex unit with two primary school ages children

Ps I was a response officer for 3 years before that. Response policing is the back bone of policing it’s were you learn the basics of your craft. How to make real-time split second risk assessments, how to deal with violence, how to deal with people you would absolutely never have come across before. The list is endless. Would absolutely recommend people do that first.

But DE is here, so if you do this take an opportunity within the CID environment to get out with the street police, see exactly what they do and why there role is critical to everything you will do as a detective.

Excuse typos, waking up from night shift.....

I agree with that last list 100%.

And - I'd say response policing is a very good place to look at all the options and careers within the police plus the place you learn everything about policing.

I've done response for 9 years and have only just now had enough of it.

I was looking at CID, I know I can do it but I'm 47. I just don't want 14 (or more!) hour days now. I enjoy my time off and the only way to deal with some of the worst bits of policing is leave it at work when you walk out.

I'm moving in a couple of weeks to another role but I decided to stay in uniform and not go to CID.
I also thought when I joined it's where I'd end up but I get stressed now with a few shoplifters and assaults on my crime list!

I know In CID at min detectives with 30 serious and complex cases (think serious assaults, rapes, robberies, burglaries) and no time to investigate them because every day they are given a new job .

Uniform (response) is where you learn how to speak to people, how to investigate, how to handle violence, it's where you see everything- the good and the bad.
It's also good to learn what others do .
I sometimes think detective sgts forget what happens in the real world , like when they are asking for scene sitters the day you got to work to find you've 3 staff and 4 prisoners...

(No disrespect meant to my lovely CID colleagues!) !

If it's something your interested in I'd definitely speak to people already working in CID to get a reality check and find out how that force works it.

The police are obviously seriously under resourced. I think working with child abuse sounds seriously tough.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences. If nothing else it gives an insight into the breadth of the work being done by the police.

I work for a force that has a direct entry scheme for DCs but they still have to do their two years probation in uniform as a response officer and then they go onto a more specialist department. There are PCs in my force with more than 2 years in who are doing the NIE and being told they don't have enough experience and so won't be backed by senior officers to become a DC, so I can absolutely understand resentment for DE DCs who do two years then automatically get to be a DC.

I'd also echo that being a graduate doesn't mean much in policing.

I think some life experience and common sense is much more useful.

During the 2 year probation period you do a qualification in policing.