what could i do next? life after police?

[ThatVikRinA22]

soul searching time but i think i know the answer, i am just so unhappy and stressed.

there are absolutely no incentives to continue in the job - not one. i keep thinking i got in, i was lucky, i should stick it out, but im unhappy. Really i used to be quite happy go lucky, now im just miserable all the time.

the pay and conditions do not reflect the levels of risk and stress.
the stress is unbearable. (im not getting chance to do my day to day enquiries for my own crime list - so im just picking up more and more work and not managing to sort any of it)
even when i am doing my best and getting good results, im getting complaints from people who, despite the fact i update weekly, dont think things are going their way fast enough....im waiting for results from other departments like forensics....but its all just not good enough for some people.

im currently ill and awaiting some tests, but the people i work along side are just snippy and snide about it, im currently on ABs again for a chest infection and felt i had to use my Annual leave rather than sick leave and still, i know that something will be said when i go back....

i feel used, and abused.
there are not enough of us anymore - the workload is unrealistic and the risks are much more now as there is frequently no back up to jobs where violence has been used, knives being used, etc
from next year, even xmas day will not be worked for enhanced pay - im sure no one in the private sector works for the same rate of pay as normal on xmas day?even pubs charge more at xmas....
the pension is going up again, (i currently pay £200 per month to it) but wont be able to be claimed until im on my zimmer frame....i cant see how i could still be doing this job at 60, which is when the pension will pay out, and then because i joined very late in life it wont be worth anything to me anymore, particularly as the changes come in.

my pay - i lose £250 on petrol each month - it means that if i were to find a full time job up the road that paid minimum wage, i could more or less come out with the same
so weighing it all up, unless something drastically alters, i think i need to find something else.

but what? (dont say security!!).....i used to office based stuff, reception work, admin and spent 10 years as an optical assistant.....i dont want to go back to that though -

what could i do? i have a NVQ level 3 - in policing and sod all else....it makes me sad to think i put so much work in and im feeling very little satisfaction for any of it

ive spent the day searching the job centre site and there is nothing permanent, i would look at internal vacancies within the job but everything is based even further away from where i live.

not sure what to do if i go.
im feeling a bit maudlin as im coughing up a lung....but the over riding feeling i get now it that i want to leave, and that scares me.

no idea what next.

Hi, Vicar, really sorry it's still so bad (if not worse). IIRC I previously said that it sounded like you need a transfer, or to go over someone's head. But it is starting to sound like the whole job's a bit shit, really.

There are some good ideas on this thread. So really just to say, I'm thinking of you.

Have pm'd you.

How about a call handler for out of hours service?

If ever something needed to be read to Cameron and Osbourne it was this OP.

Do you definately feel like you couldn't ride this out? You are sick, and on a low ebb. But I'm guessing your colleagues are feeling similarly down.

I worked for one of the banks that nearly went pop in 2008. We were constantly under threat of redundancy, and it made colleagues who had been once friends very back-biting, bitchy and two-faced. I was lucky enough to be in a position financially and with the age of my DCs to take redundancy and get out. I have no doubt though, that if I'd stayed things would have eventually got better again.

A career seems to go through these peaks and troughs. Whether or not you stay depends on how much, deep down, you love the actual job. In a lot of your posts you do seem to. If that is the case, would it be worth trying to ride the austerity storm and see what's left at the end of it?

I expect the prison service would probably be just as stressful and the hours wouldn't be good. I always thought being a detective would be a really interesting job but I know nothing about it. Could you not get a transfer to a different job but stay in the Police force. Not sure how it works though.

Vicar, I was feeling like this a year ago about life on the front line of the nhs. I've since managed a sideways move and its a different life. I'd definitely see if you could transfer into a speciality.

My sil is a copper and I've never known her do a "proper" policing job in over ten years. She goes from one special project to another, it's all 9-5 office work without a criminal in sight. Not sure what she actually does!

Failing that how about ambulance service. Coppers are good at staying calm in a crisis, good people skills, communication skills. Once you've delt with your patient then you hand them over to a&e, and they're forgotten about as far as you're concerned.

Viva- can I have your SIL's job!

However Vicar there are loads of options within the police if you want to stay that aren't as stressful as response.

It's a bloody hard job and sounds like you aren't being supported. I didn't have mumsnet or anyone to vent to when I had your length of service but do remember having serious doubts about it. However I think you are similar age to me now, and i didn't have a family so you need to weigh up your options.

I have been to visit Fiona's grave today and it put things in perspective. Being 70% unhappy is not good enough for anyone. Your acting sgt should be a good starting point- put pressure on them. That's their job. And it's their job to sort out staffing and if you haven't got enough time for your enquiries they need to help prioritise them

ive thought about ambulance but ive no idea how to go about it.....

in my force you go into response policing first - fine, but now i feel like im stuck with it due to staffing - i hate response - its just not my thing at all - somethings i am brilliant at - some things - i went to a very very delicate situation the other day - went back to the the complainant to get a statement and she praised me to the high heavens - said i was exactly what was needed and thought i was brilliant...and that made me feel lovely for all of 5 mins until i got back to the shit that is the daily grind i have to wade through.

i feel a bit lost.

i feel like i know i have loads to give to this job - loads. But i cant find my niche - i feel intimidated by some of the hardened dinosaurs in the job who look down their noses at me because im different to them.
im sick of fending off comments and trying to justify everything i do because im not hard and cynical.
our custody suite is shite and the sgts in there seem to hate me.
i feel constantly intimidated. id rather deal with a knife carrying mental health patient than some colleagues and thats the reality.
and im tired of it.
maybe i need to chase that attachment a bit harder.i hate the job im in now.

i try to be firm with colleagues but i get snotty remark after snotty remark if i try to say ive got something to do - i went out of force area the other day to finalise something and got flack for that even though the sgt had said to do it.

the most vocal at critique are the laziest, but they make me feel lazy for not picking up all the workload.

im not good at this politics lark, in fact im crap at it and i think im easily bullied into taking work that isnt mine. one colleague is a bitch and constantly passes work to me saying its "develpmental" - in other words they cant be arsed with it.

i have the biggest crime load of the group and yet im made to feel the laziest and ive truly had enough of it.

i told my sgt that i hate resposne and want out - he said "tough" and then went off sick because he cant hack it either!

im lost.

x posts winegless (love the new name btw!)

i told my sgt.
i told my acting sgt.

his answer was i work for myself and i have to learn to manage my own workload.
i have said again and again i do not feel supported.
then i get slated for saying that. i should apparently be delighted with my crime list that is 3 x heavier than anyone elses and i should learn to manage it without support because im not in probation anymore.....

basically the message is loud and clear that im on my own with this

Vicar, is your shift a particularly bad one? Sounds like you have got a right load of twats tbh.

What's the your divisional/force protocol for recruiting for CID? I'll help you out if you decide to do it.
I can't remember which force you are in but it sounds like you are in the dark ages.

It almost sounds like you are being bullied ? Without giving too much away one of my friends as mentioned above was able to prove workplace bullying in the police and got a very large payout. She says that it was not worth it at all

Sounds like the police force you are in is a bit of a joke, could you not apply for a transfer to a different police force within the U.K. and retrain to their standards/objectives bringing with you the valuable experience you already have. Seems a shame to waste that wealth of experience that you have.

yes yes to all the above.

the attachment i wanted was with volume crime - the precursor to CID.

shift - very mixed bag. a couple of lovely people. mostly twats. i console myself with knowing it could be worse.

our custody have a terrible reputation for hating both women and newbies. it actually puts me off making arrests at times.

dark ages sums it up nicely.
we have no cars.
we have no computers.
and yes - mostly i work with twats. younger than me twats and im on a fairly well regarded group believe it or not.

Good grief, I joined 18 years ago and I really hoped things had changed since then. Thank god I work in an inner city force where we just get on with the work of fighting crem, protecting people and moaning about the big bosses and Theresa May of course ;)

Have you got enough for a grievance cos it sounds like it? Could you ask for a transfer nearer home- although tbh you don't want to work where you live it's a fecking nightmare bumping into people you've arrested when you are at the shops!

Vicar, ever considered joining the PSNI. They are well equipped and highly trained but you will have to carry a gun. Damn good police force though and not as restricted as mainland police.

Bureni- in what way are mainland police restricted compared to PSNI? Interested to know the difference

They have to abide by English law, they are poorly trained and do not have any equipment the recourse to deal with riots etc. The MET in particular are more of a tourist attraction than a police force.They all suffer with having their hands tied behind their backs which must be fustrating.

nor the recourse^

I was going to say that it sounds like a simple change of department could make all the difference. It really does make a difference who you work with and it just sounds like you've been unlucky with who you have been landed with.

We wade through lot of shit in our job (apologies, but it's true), what makes it bearable is the camaraderie with the people you work with. You are mssing that and I think you really need to push for a change. If the sergeants aren't helping, go to your inspector. Document everything by backing it up with an email.

Folks on here have clearly recognised what you have to offer and you would be a huge loss. Make sure you have exhausted all of the options before you jump ship.

what even is PSNI?

i have emailed my old inspector to ask if anyone fancied a swap - (he moved nearer to where i live)
he says i will have to put in an official request which i dont want to do unless i know i could get a station close to home.....i could end up further away than i am now.
so far - no reply.
he siad he would ask about across other shifts but ive heard nothing.

i keep looking at other forces to transfer but again - no one is recruiting.

PSNI is the Police Service of Northern Ireland - might be a bit of a commute!

Police service of Northern Ireland.

You say no one is recruiting but someone I know has just got a transfer to n wales.i would love to go there!

Yy to Viggle that your colleauges keep you going through the shit its a bloody hard job and if you are fighting them as well it's going to be doubly hard

Just move to N.I, least you will save a packet on council tax.

oh i see.
bit a commute i fear.
i cant get DD to move 4 miles up the road so not much chance of moving countries.....

when i say no other force is recruiting i mean near to me. i have to consider DH job, and DS who is at uni but requiring considerable support and DD who is flatly refusing to move anywhere at all....