Certificate in Knowledge of Policing ( CKP )

Lloyd90

Well-Known Member
I know the Met police have this in place, South Wales have also implemented this, has your local authority implemented such a scheme ?

Essentially from what I can gather , you pay £1,100 to do a course about Policing, just so you can APPLY for a job in the force.

Personally I think it's just wrong, as people who are poor and from harsh backgrounds struggling to make ends meet can't even apply now, but someone who is well off and may be less suited for the job can
no.gif



Any opinions ?

(This thread isn't to bash the police as a whole, so lets be civil and not get it locked ey
good.gif
)
 
If it is, it must be something new.
When I joined I saw an advert and applied for the job.
I was then called forward and after a series of interviews was selected and then subject to passing through the Police Training School got the job.
The initial interviews were a bit unusual I must say.
I think one of them was specifically aimed at me as I had just been demobbed, the others were educational and life style type interviews during one of them I had to do a crossword within a certain time but wasn't told the time allowed.
It sounds a bit strange to pay money up front just to apply for a job.
 
Just come in within last few months. Mates been a PCSO and just accepted into next intake as a PC, luckily doesnt have to pay for it because he got accepted for the job before it was officially introduced, but still has to pass the course. The next intake has to pay for it.

Anyone wanting to apply for PC needs to have it , at the cost of £1,100. So essentially, we will only have well off Police Officers in the future. Just my opinion of course.
 
In Sussex you don't need the certificate if you are a special or PCSO. I suppose the government are arguing its a way of only getting 'dedicated' people to apply but in reality its just getting staff on the cheap (specials) or generating money for themselves through courses.

I don't agree with it but there are plenty of jobs in the private sector that you won't get a look in to unless you have various qualifications but this goes against what the police are supposed to look for in an officer, ie people from the community they police.

Seems to be the way things are going, just look at all the DSC1 threads about not being given deer on an FAC or permission to shoot unless you have the DSC1.
 
Not sure im with you on this Lloyd....

Ive paid out of my own pocket for CSCS, IPAF and Asbestos tickets making my application for a job favourable..

Theres lots of jobs out there that require certs of one kind or another..You dont see many adverts saying free certs on application..

What makes joining plod so diferent?
 
Not sure im with you on this Lloyd....

Ive paid out of my own pocket for CSCS, IPAF and Asbestos tickets making my application for a job favourable..

Theres lots of jobs out there that require certs of one kind or another..You dont see many adverts saying free certs on application..

What makes joining plod so diferent?

Precisely. Candidates will need to pass a medical and a fitness test as well. What's the problem?

http://www.college.police.uk/en/20024.htm
 
Not sure im with you on this Lloyd....

Ive paid out of my own pocket for CSCS, IPAF and Asbestos tickets making my application for a job favourable..

Theres lots of jobs out there that require certs of one kind or another..You dont see many adverts saying free certs on application..

What makes joining plod so diferent?

In an area when equal opportunities and fairness etc are so 'highly value'd', is it fair to effectively price certain elements of society out of the Police force ? EG, POSSIBLY people of lower class, single parents or just anyone living within a strict budget etc who may be stuggling to make ends meet.

That was my original question / thought really mate.
 
Last edited:
I would agree with you Lloyd. Are we now going to see a precident set and similar fees paid up front before you can enlist in the forces. Both the police service and the fire service have gone to great lengths to make themselves as representative as possible of the communities that they serve and I see this move as being counterproductive.

I would see these certificates as being quite different to the proffesional qualifications that Pheasant Stalker mentions.
 
Last edited:
Before I left 2 years ago there was talk of it being refunded to successful applicants- I don't know if that still stands?
 
I'm with pheasant sniper on this, if I totted up the value of all of my extra qualifications which are my 'unique selling point' it gets well up to around 10k, they are what makes me stand out from the crowd, there are people in my industry from all walks of life, by no means just the wealthy, this is not so different,
there is also an increasing shift towards having a college course in public services before joining, these cost also but aren't compulsary, but folk are still happy to do them....
 
I'm with pheasant sniper on this, if I totted up the value of all of my extra qualifications which are my 'unique selling point' it gets well up to around 10k, they are what makes me stand out from the crowd, there are people in my industry from all walks of life, by no means just the wealthy, this is not so different,
there is also an increasing shift towards having a college course in public services before joining, these cost also but aren't compulsary, but folk are still happy to do them....

Ah but higher education courses are atleast free, meaning anybody can essentially go and do one, nobody is restricted in that regard.

It's only my opinion at the end of the day, but I just think it's wrong that only those who can afford the course can then apply.
As stated by some, professional qualifications etc can set you out from the crowd ,HOWEVER, when applying for a job in the building trade, driving a fork lift, working a night club door etc ( Just some area's that normally require self funded qual's ) your not there to serve your community, as a public servant, representing the community that you come from etc.
 
"Ah but higher education courses are at least free, meaning anybody can essentially go and do one, nobody is restricted in that regard. "

Not quite Lloyd. Some years back the police changed the way that they trained their recruits. The Home Office closed many of the police training colleges e.g. Cwmbran that served Wales and the marches. South Wales then started sending their recruits to the University of Glamorgan on criminology courses. The University welcomed the extra income paid by the South Wales force from their budget. I think that several other forces may now be using these courses at the University but I haven't been there for some time now so can't say for certain.
 
One provider of these courses is offering a guarantee of passing or half the cost back.

Brilliant! So how valid is the course? The provider now has a financial incentive to pass as many applicants as possible and that's yet another 'certificate' in the marketplace that's not worth the paper it's printed on. I'm afraid it's just another money spinner for some and yet another lame effort by the police to be right-on, politically correct.(At this point please insert up to 500 words of your choice describing how useless our police are today. Referencing celebrity witch-hunts, inappropriate use of the PNC, inert leadership in the face of widespread civil unrest and/or the inability to effectively and consistently apply simple firearms legislation will score additional marks.)
 
Personally I think it's just wrong, as people who are poor and from harsh backgrounds struggling to make ends meet can't even apply now, but someone who is well off and may be less suited for the job can
no.gif



Have to agree with you Lloyd. £1100 may not sound a lot to many people, but as someone who never had even a thousand pounds in the bank for the first 55 of my 67 years, I feel for anyone from a modest background faced with that kind of obstacle to joining the police. I suppose if you're really strapped for cash but are sure the constabulary is your calling you'll beg, borrow, or - somehow find the necessary ! But I can't help thinking this requirement is saying, 'only the better off need apply.'
 
Last edited:
Most things worth having now come with an entry fee. Some university courses require a separate test (paid for by the applicant), e.g. Medicine, dentistry & law. There's a whole industry around preparing candidates for these courses. There are also a whole host of electrical and Corgi gas certificates that all have to be paid for.
Another way of extracting hard earned cash from you.
You even need a course to shoot & sell deer - whoever thought that would happen!!
 
Most things worth having now come with an entry fee. Some university courses require a separate test (paid for by the applicant), e.g. Medicine, dentistry & law. There's a whole industry around preparing candidates for these courses. There are also a whole host of electrical and Corgi gas certificates that all have to be paid for.
Another way of extracting hard earned cash from you.
You even need a course to shoot & sell deer - whoever thought that would happen!!

Not entirely correct, though some would have you believe it.
 
and BASC could start offering pre KoP (Knowledge of Policing) courses perhaps. :lol:
 
Back
Top