Which uni for Dc's

[Icovellauna]

Hi all
This is my first post despite being a lurker for some time.
I have twins who are just taking their AS levels so our thoughts are now turning to Uni courses.
One twin wants to be a police officer so is looking at criminology degrees with a policing pathway.
He likes the look of the criminology course at Nottingham Trent.
I have no idea which uni's are the best for this course so I am wondering if any Mnetters have any views.
Is this uni any good?
Where would you say is 'the best' uni for this course?
Thanks!

I would look for universities in the top half of the league tables for the subject, in a location that is suitable (not too close to home, not too far), campus or city, depending on your Dc's preference then visit and get a gut feel of whether they would be happy. It is a very personal choice; the "best" course will not be best for everyone.

Hi
I teach on a course which would be suitable for your son.

Some tips when looking at courses:

Several universities now offer Policing degrees, so these might be worth a look.
Make sure he can complete an accredited Certificate in Knowledge of Policing (CKP) as part of his course. This is a new qualification that has been introduced by the College of Policing and is becoming a requirement to apply to join the police (almost like a ticket to enter the recruitment process). Various places offer this qualification, but make sure the CKP being offered is accredited by the College of Policing, otherwise it won't be recognised.
Policing is quite a vocational career, so look at the careers of the lecturers teaching the course - have a good number of them been practitioners? Courses run by academics who've never been anything other than academics tend not to be so good.

Another thing that would be really helpful to him if he wants a career in policing is to consider becoming a special constable or police volunteer.

Sorry for the epic post, feel free to pm me if I can help further

Thank you. I will start by looking at courses which offer the CKP and go from there.
Will let you know how we get on.

Thank you. I will start by looking at courses which offer the CKP and go from there.
Will let you know how we get on.

Don't know how that posted twice, sorry about that.
Do you think it would be better to do a criminology degree with a policing pathway or a policing degree?
I didn't even know there were policing degrees until today, thanks Igivein.

The Police Force is now extremely difficult to get into. Everyone applying has criminology degrees and it can take years to get a job. The Policing Degree sounds better. Volunteering is a must. University open days are this month and September so you need to start looking.

Sorry I didn't respond sooner - I've been Mumsnet avoiding because I have a pile of marking to do that's taller than me!
Yes, I think a policing degree would be better for him, as he will learn vocationally useful skills as well as some criminological theory, law, psychology and other bits and bobs.
A policing degree wouldn't limit him to a career as a police officer either, I've had graduates go into crime scene investigation, MI5, MI6, military police, police intelligence - lots of jobs.
But it really boils down to looking at the course content and him deciding what he'd enjoy.

Go on to push.co.uk and you can filter choices by all sorts of things. It's a really useful site.

my friends in the police are quite often ex-army -has that route closed off now?

No, I think ex army people, especially senior NCOs will always be valued, but they'll have to go through the recruitment process the same as everyone else and they'll have to get the CKP.
It's already been suggested that they can spend some of their resettlement grant on the CKP.