Month: October 2025

Inside the Professional Policing Degree & Special Constabulary

Author Paul Williamson | Posted on

In this second blog of our series spotlighting the experiences of students on UWE Bristol’s Professional Policing Degree (PPD), we share the journey of Cece Delaney-Melville. From discovering an interest in policing during her A-levels to balancing her studies with volunteering as a Special Constable with Avon and Somerset Police, Cece offers a personal insight into the challenges, rewards, and opportunities of taking this path. Over to Cece…

Introduction to Policing

In A-levels I studied criminology, psychology, and law, this is what sparked my interest within policing.

I did not always know that I wanted to pursue a career in policing. My father was a firefighter, which first inspired my interest in a role that involved helping others, although I knew that path was not the right one for me. My interest in policing developed further once I began my studies, as I gained a deeper understanding of the various aspects of the role and the many ways in which officers support the community. Additionally, the variety and unpredictability of each day in policing have only strengthened my passion for pursuing this career.  It has widened my knowledge to the different thing policing is involved in and the many roles there are within policing.

Discovering the Special Constabulary

I was not aware of this opportunity at the start. Our Programme Leader Christian informed me within the first week of the PPD and highlighted the benefits of joining as a Special Constable. After learning more about it, I was immediately keen to apply.

What motivated me was the valuable experience I would gain and how this would complement my degree. Becoming a Special Constable allows me to apply the knowledge from my studies to real-life situations, as well as bring practical insights from policing back into my academic work. It also provides me with invaluable first-hand experience of the role, giving me a clear understanding of what to expect when I join the police full time.

Application and Recruitment Process

In relation to the UK National Sift process, I found this stage straightforward, it was easy to do, and you just answer the questions as you believe.

The online application was straightforward. However, the interview was slightly stressful, but this is normal like any other interview you go to you would be nervous. You are given a range of questions and topics you will discuss within the interview prior to the day. The best thing you can do is answer the questions as you would in the interviews and memorise your answers. On the day of the interview, you will be given 10-15 minutes to write down any notes you have on flashcards to jog your memory. For the health screening you will be asked to attend the HQ where they will take your fingerprints a hair sample to test for drugs and you will be weighed, measured and asked basic health questions. Additionally, you will do a hearing and an eye test. The ladies who did my health screening for me where lovely and helpful so do not worry! And finally, the bleep test! I was nervous about this due to the fact it was a pass or fail assessment however it is only 3.7, which is basically a light jog!

Training Experience

My training cohort had 16 people, and these weekends were really fun and informative. The training stretched across 7 weekends. The first was an introduction weekend where you received your uniform and laptop making it feel all a bit more real.  Then the rest of the weekends were grouped into learning the National Decision Model (NDM) and values of the force, legislation, first aid, policing roads, and PPST which is where you get to use your batons and learn take downs and other tactics. This is a really fun weekend, and I recommended you book to stay at the HQ! Then finally your graduation weekend!

The people I trained with were from many walks of life. I was one of the youngest and the only university student. However, other people had full time jobs such as a neuroscientist, comms operators, BT workers, paramedics and lots more.

There were different motivators for everyone. Some did it as they always wanted to be an officer but their career took them elsewhere so this was something they could do alongside working, however a lot of people used the specials as a stepping stone to join the police full time.

Support from the PPD Degree

The PPD has helped me a lot with being a special. The biggest thing is helping me understand the people I meet out on duty, the theories you will learn in this degree are extremely relevant.

The training provided by the force is short and sweet and you may feel like you’re not really ready to go out and start policing (I know I did) but that’s where the degree will help you. The in-depth discussions and teaching that is provided at university will help you feel more confident.

First Shifts and Challenges

I did not feel prepared on my first shift, and this is completely normal! You are doing something you’ve never done before. However, I feel as though I am quite a sociable person so felt like I would be prepared to speak with members of the public although I do not think anything will prepare you for your first rude or quite aggressive encounters you can have with the members of the public and how you deal with those in a professional manner. You must remember that sometimes you will deal with people who are having the worst day of their lives, and you must show a level of respect and empathy towards them even if they have not been pleasant to you.

Future Career Aspirations

I plan to do some travelling once I leave university and then join Hampshire Constabulary as its closer to home for me and therefore also me to save some money for the future. However, in the future I would like to transfer back to Avon and Somerset.

I am open to specialise in a particular area although not sure what yet. However, I am really enjoying being a response officer at the moment. In the police you also have the opportunity to do attachments with specific areas within the force. This is good as you can almost try before you buy. I am hoping to become a full-time officer.

Advice for Future Specials

My advice would be to do it!

You are only required to do 16 hours a month which isn’t a lot and trust me you will want to do more than this anyway! They are extremely flexible for students who go home for university, as long as you make up the minimum hours within the year it doesn’t matter. It can be quite a daunting experience and quite long winded through the application stages but as soon as you start you will love it. Additionally, there is such a big support system, and if you are struggling or need help with anything there a people there to help you! I smashed my phone on the first day of training and I had a new one the next week so don’t worry about anything.

The regulars welcome Special’s with open arms as they need every set of hands they can get so don’t be worried about that. And don’t worry if you make a mistake because YOU WILL and that’s okay, everyone is understanding and will help you every step of the way.

I have honestly gained a huge respect for the police and what they do, it can be an incredibly stressful and risky job at times but is extremely rewarding. They do so much and are there to help everyone.

We look forward to further insights from Trinni Dagger in the final blog of this series.

Anyone interested in applying for the PPD can find out more information here

If you are also interested in joining the Special Constabulary, you can find out more information here

Editorial Team

Paul Williamson (Editor-in-Chief); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Claire Bowers (Senior Lecturer); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer) and Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer).

If you would like to be a guest blogger, please contact Police.Blog@uwe.ac.uk

A New Blog Series from UWE Bristol: Inside the Professional Policing Degree & Special Constabulary

Author Paul Williamson | Posted on

Reflecting the diversity of the Policing Programmes on offer at UWE Bristol, in this new blog series we will hear from three professional policing students who have recently entered the final year of their degree programme. They reflect on their experiences studying on the Professional Policing Degree (PPD) and share their journeys through the successful application process to become Special Constables with Avon and Somerset Police (ASP).

They discuss what inspired them to join the PPD and take on the role of Special Constables, offering insights into each stage of the application process, from the online National Sift questionnaire to the medical assessments, fitness tests, vetting procedures, and the initial training delivered by ASP.

The students were also invited to compare their university education with the practical training provided by the force, exploring the relationship between academic theory and real-world policing practice. Finally, they share their individual reflections, and career aspirations for the future.

This blog series offers a personal and informative look into the student experience on the PPD and highlights the graduate outcomes that can emerge from the programme.

In this first of the series we hear from Harvey

Ever since I was young, I have always had an interest in the police and believe that there is no job better in the world. As soon as I found out there was a Professional Policing Degree Programme (PPD), there was no looking back. All throughout my childhood I have always wanted to join the firearms unit in the police and choosing the PPD programme was the first step to achieving that dream. The academic side of the course has been brilliant with helping my understanding of the police and when I am out responding to 999 calls as a Special Constable.

When I started my first year on the PPD course I didn’t even know the Special Constabulary existed! As soon as I found out I could do it alongside my academic learning at UWE I thought it would be a no brainer. I was being told stories about other people’s experiences with the Specials by others on the PPD course and thought it sounded amazing. When applying, one of the first stages to complete is the UK National Sift Process, which involves a Situational Judgement Test (SJT) and Behaviour Style Questions (BSQ), and is designed to assess whether applicants possess the core values and competencies required for policing. This stage was quite straightforward as the aim is to be as trueful to yourself as possible and to see whether you would be a great fit for the police.

After we completed this stage, we had a familiarisation event at Bridgwater Police Centre about the role we have applied for and what we can expect to happen next in the application process. We then had an interview with two police officers a few weeks after which were based on the core values of the police and examples of when we used the National Decision Model (NDM) and our real-life experiences. In my interview I mentioned that I was studying on the PPD programme, and they were really pleased to see young people having an interest in joining the police and agreed that doing it alongside my studies was a great idea. I then heard that I had passed my interview which then led me on to my health screening appointment, which is where I had my fingerprints taken, hair samples for drug testing and a few questions from the nurse at Occupational Health about my health and wellbeing. I then got invited to complete the bleep test which at the time was 5.2 but has now been decreased to 3.7. This was to test officer’s fitness levels which is a key part of the role when joining the police. After I had completed this, my application process had finished, and I was now ready to undertake my training.

The training was split up into 6 weekends (Saturday and Sunday every fortnight) which has now been increased up to 10 weekends. During our time at training school, we learnt key legislation in the classroom, Personal Protective Safety training (PPST) which is where we learn how to apply handcuffs, ASP and PAVA (pepper spray) correctly. We also had weekends where we were learning how to use all of our other kit such as airwave (radio), body worn camera and the key systems on our force laptop and phones and plenty of scenarios where we had to use our powers correctly which we had learnt over the 6 modules. A lot of this comes second nature to students on the PPD course which is brilliant as it also refreshed my memory with a lot of other key legislation.

Training school was great fun with a few evenings out to the pub as well as also practicing techniques we had learnt on our PPST weekends. Personally, my group was an amazing group and felt like a with very like-minded people who also had interests in joining the police alongside their full-time jobs. It was a great mix of students and young adults who were doing it alongside their university courses and their full-time jobs. Everyone had the same motivation to go out there and help protect the public and to improve the relationship between the public and the police with normal working people to help bridge the gap between.

The PPD programme has definitely given me a strong foundation for my role as a Special Constable especially if you want to get a feel for real life policing before applying to become a full-time police officer. The quality and depth of the university education and the in-force training by Avon and Somerset Police were both amazing, including many links to the College of Policing. I felt well prepared when talking around areas of stop and search and the powers involved as well as the custody process when taking a prisoner after they have been arrested. There are many areas where you learn quickly on the job which also can be the best times to learn as these were able to stick in my head.

Now I am going into my final year of the PPD I am looking at applying to become a full-time police officer in Avon and Somerset and have many areas of interest where I would like to specialise in such as Armed Response Unit or any of the Special Ops teams. Over the next few years, I would like to get to grounds with the job role and get as much experience as I can out on the front line before I look to specialise or go for a promotion as a sergeant.

My advice for other PPD students would be to sign up to become a Special Constable I feel like it was such a good decision to actually see whether I would actually like the job before I go full-time and feel it’s such a good way to try before you buy type of thing. It is also great for remembering legislation for uni assignments and being able to put real life scenarios down on paper. The experience of becoming a Special Constable has only made my desire to join the police even higher!

Our thanks to Harvey and we look forward to blogging further insights from Cece Delaney-Melville in the next of this series.

Anyone interested in applying for the PPD at UWE Bristol can find out more information here

If you are also interested in joining the Special Constabulary, you can find out more information here

Editorial Team

Paul Williamson (Editor-in-Chief); Claudia McCready (Lecturer); Claire Bowers (Senior Lecturer); Eve Smietanko (Joint Programme Leader & Senior Lecturer) and Ian Lowe (Senior Lecturer).

If you would like to be a guest blogger, please contact Police.Blog@uwe.ac.uk

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