local rafp

[Lethal]

Are most RAFP units quite receptive to wannabes coming along for a chat?

I am a serving civvy police officer , only two years mind. But I have seriously considered the change to RAFP.

does anyone know of any local RAFP to me that I could perhaps go along and have a chat with?
Im in the Peterborough area and so am close to the likes of wyton/brampton and the lincolnshire stations.

Thanks in advance

Lethal

 

[chiprafp]

Hi mate,

Any unit will normally be more than happy to host you for a visit, I would say the best option is to ring the unit and ask to speak to the Flight Sergeant or failing the the Officer Commanding the Police Flight. Speak with them and arrange a visit that way. Brampton/Wyton are good units, my sirst posting although probably not one of the busier units we have so maybe a lincolnshire unit would be better.

 

[Lethal]

thanks chip, its just to get a general feel for what the ladies/gents get upto. will try and get hold of some numbers,and pop along.

 

[chiprafp]

Yeah mate best to talk to the people at the coal face. If you have any problems getting numbers give me a shout I will see what I can do.

 

[Gibson VC]

Lethal, why do want leave the BTP. Although the RAFP have ditched most of their control of entries duties, you will not have the variety of police work or indeed the powers to deal with things.

 

[chiprafp]

Gibson which powers do we not have to deal with things please do tell?


I was going to wait for your informative answer but tbh couldnt be ar$ed. I have all the powers I need, to deal with servicemen within any of the 3 services. Thanks for the input though it was very insightful.

 

[chiprafp]

Infact scratch that. lethal if you check out all posts by Gibson you will see he only appears when he wants to spout rubbish about the RAFP. As I have said in another thread generally most people are decent enough but every trade has its wankers

 

[Lethal]

thanks chip. just as an insight for those of what my duties could and has been. Being single crewed covering about 100 miles with the nearest back up being in London which could be upto 170 miles away. discretion has gone within many forces. In my post I can have days where there are no calls at all, so I go out and make work for myself , If I cant do that then its crack on with what ever needs doing. even if it means driving about and doing more of the security related checks, it all needs doing.Its not good fun when the **** hits the fan and you are on your own.

there is obviously a purpose for the rafp otherwise it wouldnt exist. I am a great believer that everyone should have served in the armed forces at some point in their life, unfortunately for me I am not technically minded at all , and I have only ever dealt with people i n confrontational situations.
Every job has its ups and downs. and civ pol has more cons for me at the moment. It isnt about the amount of powers I have , or whether I can race about with blue lights on.

Chip a question for you , would you say there is job satisfaction for you? and can you , if you dont mmind of course, justify your answer?

 

[Mickwreay]

Infact scratch that. lethal if you check out all posts by Gibson you will see he only appears when he wants to spout rubbish about the RAFP. As I have said in another thread generally most people are decent enough but every trade has its wankers

Hi lads, I am not in the RAFP but have respect for the job they do. Only caught me once in 24 years though!

That aside, take a long look at your current pension benefits etc. My cousin & her husband work in the Sheffield area & she was telling me recently how much her hubby will get when he leaves the force, let’s just say it’s over twice the lump sum we get and what about your final pension as well?

I agree military life has a great side to it, but we all get old & benefits have to be a big consideration.

At least in the military police you will always get you own table in the mess 

 

[Lethal]

thanks , but btp do not have a police pension , they operate with a railway pension. I have only paid for two years worth, the reason there is a big difference between police and raf pensions, i believe is the amount of time. currently you have to serve 35 years in the police. thanks for your input though, I will look at the RAF pension

 

[chiprafp]

Lethal,

I have served for 11 years now so have worked during the transition from a Control of Entry orientated to core policing orientated RAFP. I am under no illusions that we are not civ pol, but only so far as that we do not deal with the sheer large numbers of incidents on a daily basis. We do however now receive much better training, continuation training and equipment and we also deal with the same type of incidents depending on the location we serve.

I am currently in a NATO post overseas so dont actually work for a living anymore My last unit however was a very busy training unit with the highest population of male 17-24 year olds in the Air Force, just add alcohol It was an extrememly busy unit for me and I got a great deal of job satisfaction. I will be honest and tell you that I am going to be getting out of the RAF in the near future but this is mainly due to the current climate of Out of Area commitments and their frequency, I have reached my limit of doing more than my fair share and having to cover for the twisted sock brigade.

This job is all about the people in my humble opinion, both those I work with and those in the wider RAF community. I have made many friends from different trades and they truly are what make the RAF what it is, they are also the people who will get you through a tough deployment.

I would definately look into what Mick has said because to be honest its not something that had sprung into my mind when you asked.

Hope this helps mate.

 

[Lethal]

not being as busy isnt always a bad thing. It gives more time to deal with the job at hand, well that is what I personally find.

Thank you everyone for your input and being receptive to what I have stated / asked. This forum , and this thread has thrown some valid points and food for thought.

I do not by any means think it is all going to be good fun , I will update if/when I decide for definite to make the transition.

 

[Gibson VC]

Gibson which powers do we not have to deal with things please do tell?

Really Chipster. Can you breathalyse drink drivers under Service law? Er...no.
Lots of 17-24 alcohol fuel nutters eh on camp. Could you give £80 fixed penalty notices. Er..no. Full access to PNC...er....no. I could go on mate but won't. Can't be arsed etc

Any civvy police that join RAFP would be in for a rude awakening. ( Yes some units still have control of entry don't they chippy??)
Then again you've bailing out yourself so nuff said.

Lethal, get some sound finanicial advice on the pension situation. Most ex services who go civvy bill love it but sorry the job is not for you.

 

[chiprafp]

No I cant breathalyse in the UK, but hey civ pol and MOD plod can and if needs be I can arrest for impaired driving. Why do I need fixed penalty fines? They get nicked and they pay the price down the line. PNC? Yes thanks I ring the Ops Desk, but again why would I need to I can use the service database, because as I stated before thats who we deal with servicemen!!

Please dont refer to me as mate your clearly an ar$e with a huge problem towards the RAFP but I wont lower myself to your level because I really dont need to defend myself or my trade to you. As I said I have more than enough powers to deal with servicemen.

Gibson is very brave as he has been asked before what trade he is but chose to ignore that question because its easier to hide that way, you have to love people who think they know other peoples jobs though

 

[pan-trash]

Lethal,
I am under no illusions that we are not civ pol, but only so far as that we do not deal with the sheer large numbers of incidents on a daily basis. We do however now receive much better training, continuation training and equipment and we also deal with the same type of incidents depending on the location we serve.

Excuse me if I'm wrong, but are you saying that you receive better training and equipment than CivPol, or just that it's better than it used to be?

 

[chiprafp]

Better than it used to be mate

 

[Talk Wrench]

Sorry to interrupt, but I find it very bizarre that Gibson vc has reared his head after a three year absence and then gives out grief!!!!!!


TW

 

[pan-trash]

Got ya...

I thought that was quite a bold statement, (no offence to RAFP, never had a problem with them personally.)

 

[chiprafp]

Its only ever on copper threads TW, his posts tell a lot about him and his full knowledge of the current trade. Hence why I trreat his posts with the disdain they deserve Hopefully another 3 years will pass until we see him again.

 

[chiprafp]

No worries Pan, the training these days is 22 weeks long so length and content are similar but Civ Pol have moved more towards on the Job training and thats always going to be a lot better.