Policing (1 Viewer)

[Dod0]

I've been leaning to a career in policing for some time and I was wondering what the quickest way to becoming a Police Officer would be, I have seen a few Courses but am not entirely sure >.>

 

[gracie007]

Just go straight to the NSW Police College in Gouburn for the ADPP. This means you will get the Associate Degree instead of going to Uni for 3 years to get a Bachelor's.

Here is some more info:
http://www.csu.edu.au/student/police/course_structure.htm

btw its 2 x 14 week sessions plus a break in the middle, then you go thru the application process for NSW Police and either get accepted or not

 

[Dod0]

Thank you for the quick reply ;D

 

[Brontecat]

you can also complete a majority of the course by correspondence, if need be - if you do this you only need to attend the actual campus for a very short time c. 3 weeks

if you have any more questions send me a visitor message (by clicking on my picture) i should be able to answer them because both of my parents are in the police force as inspector, csu policing marker and senior constable.

good luck

 

[o0o_chris_o0o]

But going to university is sooo much more fun!

 

[Thunderbolt]

Thank you for the quick reply ;D

G'day mate. I highly recommend you consider your options.

There are two ways into the New South Wales Police Force at time of writing: that is what has been suggested, the Associate Degree in Policing Practice (only administered at the NSW Police College in Goulburn, as far as I'm aware) and the Bachelor Degree which is the Bachelor of Justice Studies (Policing) which is administered at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst and University of Western Sydney (unsure of the exact suburb).

The Associate Degree is straight into the college for formal police procedural training. You must fill out and complete the application and be assessed by Charles Sturt University (academically) and NSW Police (medically and professionally) before being accepted. With the Bachelor of Justice Studies (Policing) degree, you start and complete your application while studying at university. So if you find that things aren't going to work out, you can transfer into the Bachelor of Social Science (Criminal Justice) without penalty and back when things do work out. You can also look at the Australian Federal Police with the Social Science (Criminal Justice) degree.

I use the phrase "procedural policing" to differ between the two courses. I'm currently a second year Policing student at CSU Bathurst and undertaking the Bachelor Degree. I came into this degree straight from high school.

If you look at each course, you'll notice that the Bachelor's degree is much more thorough in the way that one has to do more study to achieve the same goal: attesting as a police officer. This is not all bad and there is a very good reason for this.

The Associate Degree in Policing Practice is just that, getting a degree in how to operate procedurally as a police officer, or by the book. This is fine for those with a bit of life experience and those who can look at the "bigger picture", but in my opinion, it's not for everyone. The course really doesn't give you a grounding in why things happen and for what reason, or what makes people and society itself tick. This really isn't ideal (in my opinion) for someone who has just graduated from high school.

The way that the Bachelor of Justice Studies (Policing) is designed is to give you a background in how to use your head, not your hands; so to speak. You're given foundations in sociology (how society works), criminology (how we got to where we are in Criminal Justice), psychology (why people think the way they do), law (legal stuff) and other things that are really designed to make you take a step back and consider the underlying factors in why people do the things that we see on the news every night.

For example, a teenager has broken into a local corner store and stolen a few items (namely food). You'd think it's as simple as some kid stealing for the sake of stealing. The Bachelor degree is trying to teach you that the kid didn't steal for the sake of stealing, that there are factors that contributed to the teenagers behaviour: he's from a poor family, is struggling to survive and has to resort to stealing to survive. This also helps you to problem solve better. Charging and releasing isn't really going to fix the problem, as procedural policing would dictate, the child has to eat and can't afford food.

Prospects for police officers who hold a Bachelor degree are (from what we have been told) much higher. Better pay and better prospects of promotion.

It's up to you, but getting all of the information first is a good idea. What subjects are you currently undertaking? I suggest Legal Studies as that will be really useful to you in either degree.

Feel free to ask me any questions, good luck with your studies.

Oh and as Chris has said: Uni is much more fun. The Police College at Goulburn is going to be extremely tough on you.

 

[katie tully]

.

 

[Dod0]

It's really a toss up for me I guess. I have a fairly long time to weigh out my options but say for studying at Bathurst is it hard as you have to like get a job there and stuff. Uni life seems alot more fun then just 16 weeks of rigorous study or whatever it is haha

 

[Matt Samson]

Another good thing about doing the Bachelor of Justice Studies is that if you get sick of policing (we all get sick of our careers at some stage), you're able to use it to move into another career within the justice system or further.

 

[P_Sabbo]

I'm currently doing the ADPP at Goulburn, and I've found it to be a really good course.

You can either do it full time (2 x 14 week sessions), or via Distance Education (DE) (2 x 14 week sessions from home + 1 x 14 week session on campus in Goulburn). If you do the course via DE you complete 4 x residential schools in Goulburn in the first two sessions, then join in with the full-time students for the final session (which is by far the most intense). Between the first two (distance) sessions you'll spend a couple of weeks at a police station observing, and that can be a lot of fun. It also gets you used to the idea of shift work if that's unfamiliar.

It's a fairly full on course, with lots of sections of legislation and various laws to memorise, as well as plenty of content on communication; procedures (as someone else has already pointed out); and a lot of the practical side of policing (the 'fun' stuff, like driving; shooting; weaponless control etc).

It's got a fairly high drop out rate, and that's often from people who don't take the academic side of the program seriously. There are also fairly high fitness standards while you're on campus, so if you can get that side of things organised nice and early you'll be on top of things. If you put in the hard yards you'll get through, the staff are there to help you, but you're certainly not spoonfed anything. You have to learn on your own initiative, and it takes a lot of personal study outside the scheduled lessons, but if you work hard, the staff will usually go out of their way to assist you at every step.

There are quite a few things you need to get organised while you're studying (a first aid course; a swimming certificate; a typing certificate), so if you can get all that sorted out before you arrive that will save you a lot of time. If you're not comfortable with writing essays and assignments then you'll need to put in a lot of work. Again - get ahead of the game as best you can.

You're constantly being assessed while you're studying, in an academic sense, and also in a 'professional suitability' capacity. As you can imagine, there is a significant focus on ethics and honesty, and that will determine much of your career. If you make a mistake, own up straight away, and tell them how you're planning to fix it. They'll work with you to put strategies into place, to help you succeed. If you try to cover things up (dodgy driving record etc), you'll eventually come unstuck, and you'll be dismissed almost immediately.

You need a driver's licence (P2), and a fairly clean driving record for the past 12 months, but speak to recruiting, and they'll let you know if you're eligible.

If you're straight out of high school, the Bachelor's course might be great. If you've got a few years' work under your belt then jump straight into the ADPP course. Either way, it's a great course, and (from what I've seen) a great career.

Good luck.

 

[Brontecat]

Another good thing about doing the degree straight out of school is that it buys you some time. I don't think you can become an officer until you're 19, so if you want to do a year or two of uni until you're old enough ...

you can begin training before your 19 but you cant be sworn into until you're 19

 

[katie tully]

.