CivPol to RMP?

I am a 29 year old police officer from a home office police force. I joined the police whilst at the same time considering joining the RMP, obviously i decided to go CivPol but think I may have made a mistake. I have 2 mates who are ex-RMP, one who isn't a bobby but has enquired about re-joining RMP but may be too old. The other is a bobby and said he wished he never left but would not be re-joining.

My questions are:

1. Does anyone know of someone leaving CivPol and joining RMP?

2. Is 29 too old?

3. Would my civilian police qualifications come in handy/be of any benefit?

4. What opportunities would be available to me?

I am also considering the RMP TA route, however, I am aware there are some differences.

Any other information you think may help would be gratefully received.

 

Would he be allowed to bring a mate with him?

 

S-P no one but no one goes from Civpol to RMP (except on mobilisation) its just unheard of, infact the only people I have known leave civpol for the armed forces went to sandhurst.

just my thought


Trotsky

 

Trotsky, obviously you do not know all 1800 odd RMP personally, there are lots of ex-civ police in RMP, both officers and NCOs.

 

ok but in 15 years in the job i have only heard of it once....he left before I joined and was considered not to have hacked civillian policing ......

infact when I was at uni the RMP officer recuirter bloke said that if I had aspirations of nicking villans and putting people away i needed to join the Met as an RMP commission wasn't for me, a piece of advice I am very grateful for.

Trotsky

 

Excuse my French, but that's balls. There was a campaign, which was advertised in 'Police Review', to solicit old bill into the RMP, starting as full screws.

Perhaps, all ex/old bill should apply to be the next PM Army. Trotsky, you are well versed in policing. Having made the transition the other way, most of them, old bill, are not worthy of 'bin man' status. Unfortunately.

Having been in both, please feel free to PM me.

 

In answer to your questions:

Yes there are ex civilian police that have joined up as RMP - both as soldiers and officers. Lots have done well.

No 29 is not too old, however you would be older than your peers. Not sure on the exact average age of new joiners but would guess at about 20-21.

As far as your civilian quals go, it would depend what they were but generally, yes, RMP attend similar courses as civilian police at various training centres around the country. Certain quals/experience would be very welcome within RMP

What opportunities are open to you - I would say far more than any police force can offer you. Well it goes without saying that there is travel, apart from the usual Op tours we still have Cyprus, Canada, Gibralter, Belize, Brunei and Germany. Job wise there is normal uniform duties, SIB, CP and certain specialisations: Crime Reduction, child protection, forensics, logistics, communications, staff posts to name just a few. There are also 'out of corps' jobs open to you such as weapons intelligence and other specialist postings.

It's not all rosey and there are downsides to the job - frequency of Op tours is one and the poor standard of accommodation and housing in some areas is another. Apart from that, RMP has the usual moans you will hear in the civilian police. Pay is good though (despite what you read on here) and the actual full package is easily comparable to the civilian police if not much better.

Can't help you on the TA side!!!

 

Without even thinking too hard i know 4 NCOs and 3 Officers who went from civpol to RMP one even went Inf to Civpol to RMP.

If you dont have family commitments then it will make it easier. My opinion! but the transition the other way with a family may be harder personally but that is your call no one elses.

 

I'm in exactly the same position as you at the minute. I've been CivPol for just over 4 years now and have recently applied for the RMP. I think it's safe to say life in CivPol isn't what it cracked up to be. It's nothing like people think it is and it seems to be getting worse and worse in terms of political correctness, beurocracy and accountability.

I know every job has it's pros and cons and i'll be taking a pay cut if i am successful in joining the RMP but i've always wanted to join the Army and if i don't do it sooner rather than later i might end up regretting it.

 

It depends what you want out of life essentially. You could take a break from the OB and do a few years to see if you like it. If you do, stay on and if not, you've got something to return to.

I've only ever met a few ex OB in RMP, and they all seemed to like it. There's an ex Cumbria lad in the Branch who's a really good egg. A very clued up and popular individual who's not shy when it comes down to grafting. It was an absolute pleasure to work with him. He joined later on in life and his age never did him any disservice. In fact, his maturity and knowledge of the job was a bonus to the Det. No idea where he is now, but if someone reading this thread recognises who I'm talking about, they might be able to put you in contact with him and you can hear his views. I think he was OB for about 6 years before he joined RMP. He came over to the SIB after one posting within RMP I believe (that might not be wholly accurate, but it didn't take him long I know that much) and fitted straight in. I know he had some issues with getting substantive Sgt as he'd been promoted well ahead of what the regulations allowed. Acting Sgt inside 3 years of joining I believe.

If you fancy it mate, give it a whirl. You can always leave if it's not for you. You've got a lot to offer RMP. What about the commissioing route? I'm not sure what the age issue is there, but I'm certain that some of the posters here will be in a position to help.

 

It is something i have considered in applying to join as an officer. Unfortunately i'm a little bit short of the academic qualifications required as i only have AS Levels and not A2 Levels.

 

These days, your best bet is to talk to the local recruiting office; they will know the current situation and be able to advise on age limits and possible exemptions etc. Previous military service can count (if you are over age limits).

You may also want to try and organise a work experience type week with an RMP company to see what the job involves, and compare to what the OB do.

 

When I went through training in 2001 there was an ex civ-pol going for RMP in the ranks, they seemed to get on ok.

 

Ahh Scousebobby from the UKPoliceonline forum I presume?