With practical tips to help with written exercises, interview technique and role plays, this book clearly explains the new nationwide PCSO assessment system. Packed with advice, and including coverage of the National Competencies for the PCSO role, this manual guides the reader on how to succeed at every stage, from completing the application pack to preparing for and passing the written assessment exercises.

Every police force in England and Wales uses the same national application form and assessment centre. This book tells you not just about the process, but what you need to do to impress the assessors. Now in a revised new edition to reflect the recent changes in the six core skills by which all police applicants are assessed, it provides:

This practical and accessible book focuses on the Written Exercise, which forms a key part of the Police Recruit Assessment Process. The book starts with an overview of the principles of completing a written exercise. It gives clear information on issues of grammar, spelling and punctuation, with examples of common mistakes and questions to check understanding. Full written exercises, in the form of candidate′s instructions and the various associated documents, provide essential practice and the intentions of each are explained, identifying the core competencies being tested.

This book focuses on the Interactive Exercise, which forms a key part of the Police Recruit Assessment Process. The role play (as the exercise is often referred to) is traditionally the part of the recruitment test that candidates worry about most and find particularly difficult. The book clearly explains the role play process, making links to the Core Competencies and in particular examining issues of diversity. It offers a number of Interactive Exercises in the form of candidate and role player instructions and provides guidance on the completed exercises.

The role of the Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) is increasingly demanding and challenging, requiring constant learning and application of practical skills. This book is written as a practical guide for prospective or newly-recruited PCSOs, as well as established officers who want to refresh and develop their knowledge. Linked throughout to the National Occupational Standards, this book introduces the key, universal areas of competency for PCSOs and guides the reader through incidents typical of those PCSOs will encounter. Throughout, these scenarios are addressed with up-to-date policing methods, relevant procedure and legislation.

This review began on 1 October 2010 and the reviewer, Tom Winsor, was asked to ensure that police pay and conditions and the structures around them are the best they could be given the challenges currently facing the police service. Budget cuts will see forces being required to achieve more with less, but also need to be fair to officers and staff. The review is to report in two parts, covering short-term and long-term improvements. This is Part one and covers: the deployment of officers and staff (including shift allowances, overtime and assisting other police forces); post and performance related pay (including special priority payments, competence related threshold payments for constables and bonuses at all ranks) and how officers leave the police service. Mr Winsor says his recommendations will produce savings of £485m over three years. The recommendations if implemented will concentrate the highest pay on the front line and more demanding roles in the police service. He says police earn 10 to 15% more than other emergency workers and the armed forces and in some areas they are paid up to 60% more than average local earnings. It also recommends making savings of £60m a year in overtime and he also suggests suspending chief officer and superintendent bonuses. The independent review calls for an end to the £1,212 competence-related threshold payment, the Special Priority Payment of up to £5,000 and says no officers should move up the pay scale for two years. The government is planning to cut its funding for the police by 20% by 2014-15. The 43 forces in England and Wales currently employ about 244,000 people, comprising 143,000 police officers and 101,000 civilians.

Every year thousands of people compete for employment in the UK. Employability and the ability to demonstrate the skills, attributes and behaviours required in a full-time job have become integral to securing employment and developing a career. This book aims to offer a one-stop guide to becoming employable and to careers in the Criminal Justice Sector and beyond, exploring the key organizations and employers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, explaining how they operate and detailing how they are changing. Written in an engaging and accessible style by four experts on employability and the Criminal Justice Sector, this book combines useful hints on becoming employable with helpful insights from those working in specific sectors. The book covers careers in: probation, the police, prisons, the courts, prosecution services and advocacy, youth justice. Packed with hints and tips, advice from current students, useful web links and lists of recommended reading, this book provides a clear guide to the career decision-making and transition processes and covers the essential elements required to making the first step towards securing a job in the above sectors. It will be essential reading for those who want to forge a successful career in any area of the Criminal Justice Sector.