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.

As others have said, it sounds like you are being bullied. Do you have any support at all within the workplace? It would be a terrible shame to give up a job you love because of some of the people you work with ... and people like that turn up in other organisations so there's no guarantee that a change of career would make for an easier life.

Would counselling help you say "no" to being dumped on? Or stop "being made to feel" lazy/guilty/whatever?

I feel for you as it can be very draining to be under constant stress.

Right plan of action- start documenting everything your bunch of twats are saying which could be construed as bullying.
Ask your sets and insp to document an action plan for how you are going to deal with your enquiries and ask for protected time.
If they agree and you end up dealing with something document it.
It is THEIR responsibility to manage you effectively.

Document every time you ask for career development which is knocked back.

Time to play hardball.

It's bloody hard being a cop without this shit. Am really pissed off on your behalf

no support at all no.
ive stopped trying now. i no longer agree to social events and ive stopped attempting to people please out side of the work place. i go to work, i do my job and i go home.

its pointless looking for support or reassurance because its not there. ive realised that i can trust my instincts on most things and the less i say the better.

im just tired of the crap from all sides. i feel very isolated.

Hi,

I don't know your full situation but life is too short to stay in a role that you are stressed about and it does sound like you have unsupportive colleagues ... but before you leave you need more of a plan so that you don't just jump ship and go into another unhappy environment, especially in this job market.

-Look at your skills.
-Look at different roles.
-See what your skill match is on the open market.

• Then realistically assess anywhere else you would work.
• Think of the time it took you to get into the police and double it to try get in somewhere else.
• You really need to assess where your due diligence was wrong with this role to make sure you make the best informed decision to make a move elsewhere.

Very good post from LaCiccolina Mon 29-Oct-12 at 20:01:49 as are many other posts.

Good luck!

ive asked for protected time - my sgt had set aside last day shifts to deal with my workload and had told me to take nothing new on. i had told him i wanted to move as i was finding managing my crime list too stressful.
then he went off sick.
i asked for the same from the Acting sgt. told no. i have to manage and fit inquiries in between jobs.
yesterday, to put this into perspective, i was one of two active resources. like i was going to get any time to deal with inquiries!

when i say short staffed - i mean short staffed.

i have not seen hide nor hair of the insp since the Aps asked on my behalf for an attachment. he is off too.

yet im coughing up a lung and get the rolly eyes....ive got a confirmed chest infection and im having to use holiday leave. its shit.

Vicar, know what short staffed means trust me. However you've got to look after number one. It's down to the sgts, I should know..put it back onto them again.

I could ask why you are using annual leave instead of sickness but that wild be hypocritical as I've done the same myself in the past.

Vicar, have you thought about applying for a civvy job (if your force is recruiting) ? After I left as a PC I rejoined as a civilian and worked on front office and now in Witness Care. I remember how shit it is a relative newbie on section adn the pressure you are under. Alternatively are they recruiting any TDC posts/traffic/NPT type roles ? Anything to get off response...

I love the job I have now, had a wonderful letter from a rape victim thanking me for everything I have done for her - which has reminded me why I joined The Job to start with.

yeah sorry, im sure everyone of us knows what short staffed means at the moment. im just trying to save my arse on the leave front....i can honestly say that since joining ive been more ill than ive ever been. using annual is just easier.

Vicar, going to bed now so not ducking out on you. Keep posting, sometimes it's good just to write down the issues.
I know what you mean about a/l but its hiding the true picture. We are all guilty of it so I'm not having a go at you at all.

Ultimately if you could move delta would you be happy to stay in the police? If so you have your answer. If not then concentrate your efforts on finding something outised

Vicar, I could have written your 22:43 post myself 6 years ago. Much of what you wrote resonates with me (although when i was a probie status 2 workloadss in the high 20s were normal ). DH has never been able to understand why I hated it so. Looking back on it now I really, really wish I'd stuck it out rather than giving up.

Can you try and get a transfer to a different section ? Could you speak to one of the other inspectors ?

Alternatively look at what the other people on your section are doing to stay on top of their work. Are you taking too much time keeping on top of your victim contracts/writing up files etc ? See how they do things and copy them.

As for being a slave to the radio I will give you one of DHs pearls of wisdom for free. You can't get stuck on for not calling up for jobs. You will get stuck on for not keeping on top of your status 2s. I only wish he'd told me that before I got myself in the shit, not after......

Ohdearspare, that letter you received was high praise indeed for your efforts, It is nice that someone could contact you on a personal level. Well done you.

Time to play hardball.

This. Do you want to give up a job that you worked hard to get, enjoy and want to progress in just because of a few cro-magnon twats ? They won't give a shit if you leave - in fact they'll have won.

As for women hating custody sergeants who hate newbies... god, are they a UK wide issue ? There used to be one particular custody skipper in Eastbourne who was such a total, utter see you next tuesday that most people would try to avoid taking in a prisoner if he was on the bridge. He just loves to humiliate people in front of their prisoners. Hearing his name still makes a cold shiver go down my spine

Ohdear, yep I used to have20 odd crimes to manage too as a probationer.
Not decrying your situation Vicar as there are less staff now than when I was on response.

I think the main thing here is the lack of support you are getting

We've got a 9 month secondment for a witness care officer in our office here in sunny sussex. We're lovely , come down and work with me - we have cakes and a really tight office.

Women hating custody sgts- if they still exist WE need to stamp them out. They have no place in my working world and they shouldn't in yours either.

Quite. It's odd, custody still seems to mainly attract men despite there being plenty of female sgts in our force. I have only ever come across one female custody sgt in my entire police service - and she now lives in australia.

oh i just dont know.

right now ive got a mother of a head ache and a pain in the chest from coughing....

i think bastard custody sgts must be a hazard of the job then. i dont really want to admit defeat, no.
but the thought of going back to work brings me out in a cold sweat. if it was just one issue, i may feel i could tackle it but its not just one issue, it feels like a heap of issues that i cant resolve very easily.
its not like ive made a secret of the fact im not happy. ive told the sgt. ive told the acting sgt. they do try bless em, today aps rang me to say i must have done a good job of bracing someone up - truth is i couldnt brace someone up if i tried. im too much of a mother hen to bollock anyone. well - i do bollock people but in a rather motherly way....

i dont know what to do. ive tried looking for an attachment.
ive tried looking for a move.
none of its come off.

Would your skills translate into SW? You'd be brilliant as a SW in a children with disabilities team. Just IMO.

What about having a chat with your old PDO ? I've always had a really good relationship with mine and she was very helpful long after I flew her nest

whats a PDO ohdear? i think we all have different names for different things dont we!

friend rang me today with details of a fraud investigators job at her local council - looked spot on until i saw it was a fixed term contract of one yesr and it was 10k less a year....
bugger.

I really think that if you change who you are working with, you might feel completely different. I have had periods of hating my job and sometimes it can be just because of one person. There will be plenty of good teams and good offices to work in, you just need to find one.

I'm thinking that PDO is Probationer Development Officer, but we don't call them that either!

blimey - we dont even have them in my force. straight out of training, straight onto a duty group and you dont see hide nor hair of anyone until you get the handshake that means youre in 2 years later...

DH used to be a copper, and we still know a fair few. The only ones who have stuck it out to retirement are the ones that trfrd to specialist roles - of which Diplomatic Protection seems to have been by far the cushiest least stressful.

Jobs that would utilise many of the same skills (off the top of my head, thinking of where PC mates have moved onto) are:

• School Liaision
• Regional Manager for a charity
• Hospital mgmt
• Nursing Homes Inspector

BUT. DH left not because of the work and the stress, but because of the cliquey, bitchy atmosphere (including amongst the men) You were either 'in' the club, or you were tolerated. He was 'in' but hated all the two-faced stuff. For this very reason he steered clear of anything that might have involved similar 'politics' (eg working in schools, hospitals). He took a Prince2 course and temped as a project manager. That was followed by MBA and own business as a mgmt consultant. Strangely it utilises all the same skills - ability to communicate well, assess things quickly, talk plainly, negotiate with people without annoying them, and do all the rubbishy admin/documenting stuff as well. A Prince2 can be done in one week residential.

PS: Was sorry to see it was you who posted this: you come across on MN as a 'natural' and there should be more of you in the force, not less.

Hi Vicar, just from reading the thread I'd say three things:

• You are being bullied. Common enough, but highly stressful. Do not let the bullies force you to leave a job you worked hard for.

• You need to get an attachment. Keep up the pressure. Keep telling your line manager that you want and deserve and have a right to a development opportunity. My DH is a civil servant, was sick of his role especially once he got a new boss, and he did just that. He used his mentor as well to put pressure on HR to give him a new project.

• Finally, the job your friend mentioned - fraud investigator in a local council for one year fixed term - I'm afraid that's probably the best of what's out there at the moment. Permanent jobs just don't exist any more - they're all temporary or fixed term; so if your permanancy is important to you even more reason to stay where you are.

Sorry you're so poorly. I hope you feel better soon.