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 Rogers
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