By Sam Moir

With the New Year approaching, the majority of 16-18 year olds will have to start thinking about what they want to do when they finish education. The police force is a funny one because you’re always going to find people who think it’s ‘uncool’ to be a bobby but in contrast there is no shortage in applications.
    
If you’re thinking of joining the police, don’t think it’s easy.  You must be 18 and a half to apply. There are strict fitness rules – if you get out of breath running 50 metres then you’re going to have to get a lot fitter!  In recent years the standard of fitness has been lowered though to accommodate more applicants. Tattoos which could cause offense aren’t accepted. Obviously being a police officer isn’t a normal 9-5 job. You could come in at 8am and not leave until 10pm in the evening. There are perks of the job though. You’re looking at starting at £20,000 a year, and this increases the longer you’re in the force.
    
PC Burgin feels the pay levels are about right. “In the private sector, I wouldn’t get paid the money I get paid doing this in the public sector for police. And most of the time, it’s really enjoyable.” Don’t forget the feel good factor of actively improving the society you live in!
    
The first things that go through your mind, after having woken up at 6am is just what the day is going to be like. It’s great thinking you’re going to be busting drug smugglers, catching murderers and being the good guy just like in ‘The Bill’, but during my taxi ride to the very spy-like named ‘Operations Complex’, I was just hoping I’d get a siren call.
    
I was dispatched with two experienced bobbies, PC Nigel Heritage, who was approaching 25 years of service, and PC Adam Burgin, who had been in the force for seven years. Our first bit of action came literally as we were heading towards the city centre. A car had bumped into the back of a lorry and was stuck underneath.
    
Admittedly I got a bit excited, but it was all done and dusted within 15 minutes. As we drove off in search of criminals to catch I asked PC Heritage and Burgin about a ‘typical day’ in the police force. “We’ve got to deal with absolutely anything that could come our way. Secondly, we’re on the road so the idea is to try and keep the road a safer place,” says PC Heritage. He adds, “We do that by patrolling the roads visually, so the public can see a presence. Also basically reacting to anything we see, any dodgy vehicles, anything out of the ordinary.”
    
24 years of experience means you’re well equipped to tackle the road. As I sat in the back of the car I noticed a bit of excitement as they radio-ed in a car registration check of a bit of a banger. Then the signal I’d be waiting for… out stretched PC Heritage’s finger and the sirens came on to flash the car in front to pull over. I’d pulled the short straw as I had to wait outside the car whilst details were taken. Luckily, at the Operations Complex, I’d been equipped with my own high visibility jacket.
    
Whilst waiting outside I heard a “Oi, you!” At first I was a bit freaked out that a potential criminal was shouting me over but this turned out to be one of the most striking things about the day. The lad simply asked, “How long you been in the force then?” After saying I was just on placement, he soon said he wanted to join up too and was thinking about applying soon.
    
It’s not hard to find people who want to be in the police. Matt Willets, 19, is currently at the University of Wolverhampton and ultimately aims to be a policeman. “I want to become a policeman as it fits perfectly into my everyday life, it’s the type of job where something different happens every day. You wake up on a morning and haven’t got a clue where you are going to be by mid-day.” He adds, “It’s a rewarding job too because you can feel good about what you do and how much it helps people.”

There is the other side though. There’s the abuse whilst bobbies are patrolling the streets. After finishing up this case, waiting for the car to be collected as the driver’s licence had expired… three years ago! I asked PC Heritage and Burgin and the issue of respect. “Respect for police is going down, there’s no doubt about that, there’s a major decline”, says PC Burgin.
    
PC Heritage believes that the decline in bobbies on the street has had an impact. “There are too few police out there. I’m not saying I grew up frightened of the police but I grew up with a respect for the police. And I don’t think that’s built in the youths of today.”Then it was time for some real action. On the radio there had been reports of a car heading towards us. We were stuck at the bottom end of the city and decided that we’d stand a better chance of catching the car if we blasted the sirens. It was the most enjoyable thing about the day, and it only lasted two minutes.
    
For me, that was a once in a lifetime experience. For PC Heritage and PC Burgin, that was probably an everyday occurrence. I asked them if they had any memories from their time in the force.
    
Without hesitation, PC Burgin says, “In December last year there was a double fatal road collision and due to the weather, me and two colleagues had to perform CPR on two victims for 30 minutes until the first ambulance came. Neither survived and in seven years that’s been the most
impacting thing for me.”

For PC Heritage it was bit more difficult. “There’s far too many in nearly 25 years of service. I was at the Hillsborough disaster when that was happening and called in on operational support.” He adds, “That didn’t hit me until after it was over, I realised I was actually dealing with people who’d gone to watch a football match and then ended up being killed. That affected me quite deeply.”    
Spending the day in such a manner, after all in terms of eventfulness it wasn’t very busy (although I got my siren run!), made me realise the amount of dedication these people put into their job and just how difficult it can be. Being a police officer may seem just a job to me and you, but it’s a vital part of our society and I just hope there is always a demand for places.

“There’s certain things such as picking up the pieces of people who have jumped off bridges into cars and wagons and the aftermath it causes as a result, it’s incredibly selfish to go and throw yourself in front of someone’s vehicle.”

For information on how to join the police force, visit the West Midlands Police website:  www.west-midlands.police.uk or phone 0121 265 7007