police force

[therubster]

hi all,

why is it that if you have a ccj or bad credit history you are not allowed to join the regular police force, however, you are allowed to become a special constable.

i thought that specials had the same powers as a regular officer i;e access to financial details etc and if so, should it realy matter what their credit history is like, it how they do the job that would count. also, why do you get turned down if a family member has a criminal record, after all its the individual who wants to join the police force, not their family.

why should someone who wants to work to make the community a better place be punished for their past.

if these restrictions were lifted there would be a lot more people joining the police force.

what are your thoughts.

[bednobs]

specials do not have the same powers as plice officers - if they did they would get paid the same amount and there wouldn't be any difference.

As regards to finances and criminal records in the family, i can only presume that these things make one vulnerable to blackmail, or vulnerabe to being nobbled (ie "if you dont drop the charges, i'll tell X about Y")

[Emz26]

Special Constables have exactly the same powers as regular constables and carry exactly the same equipment but do so on a 'volunteer' basis. Not to be confused with PCSO's........

[uno.who]

Emz is right, although the checks for Specials and regulars used to be exactly the same. I know that many forces are now into the dubious game of pushing entrants into applying to be a Special or PCSO before getting into the "real" police.

[zbearspirit]

Hi The Police do risk assessments on all personnel who join the police force and the reasoning is if some one has bad debts or credit history they could be temptation to steal if given access to high value vulnerable places. ie You attend the scene of a burglary, you attend the house and have access to all the property. The police believe that someone in debt could be tempted to steal. I know that in this day and age that should not be the case, but that is the way it is.

[auntsallyann]

does the same rule apply for probation workers, social workers incl bankruptcy

[carver99]

Specials are voluntary police reservists, they carry warrant cards and have the same legal powers as a regular police officer, they undergo the same home office checks as do their immediate relatives. The reason for refusal in the case of financial discrepancy is simply that there is a greater possibility of the applicant being open to financial inducement and even blackmail which could lead to them perverting the course of justice or comitting some more serious offence. If restrictions were lifted would you want an officer you didn't trust dealing with your personal information?

[exmetpolice]

A special constable (A warranted but voluntary police officer) has the same checks as a regular officer. CCJs etc are checked because recruits may be put under pressure to be open to monetary bribe or blackmail to release confidential information.

At the same time, family members with criminal records can exempt your application for the reason that they may put pressure on you to commit various offences or obtain certain records and other confidential files.

It may not be fair, but in the interests of national security, it is better to be safe than sorry.