About police officers
As a police officer, your job will be to reduce crime and the fear of crime. You will promote confidence amongst local people and deal with the issues that matter most to them.
You will have a key role in supporting and providing reassurance to victims and witnesses of crime. Many people will look to you for guidance and protection from such experiences. You will need to be able to see things from their perspective, tailoring your approach to address their particular needs and fears.
You must be a person who thrives on challenges, and willing to work hard to learn the skills necessary for this difficult but critical role.
This can be a tough and unpredictable job, but it is also an extremely rewarding position. Every day you will be making life safer and more secure for your friends and neighbours, and making your community a better place to live.
Is policing right for you?
Starting a career in the police can be one of the best things you’ll ever do. You’ll be able to make a real difference in your community, reducing crimes and making people safer. But being a police officer isn’t for everyone – it’s one of the most challenging careers you can choose, being physically, mentally and emotionally demanding.
You should consider whether you can:
- deal with the complex and sensitive cases, requiring clear reasoning and evidence gathering
- think on your feet – problem solving and responding to new challenges
- develop new skills as data and technology become ever more important to policing
- work well with colleagues as part of an effective team
- have great people skills, remaining calm and patient with members of the public, particularly in stressful or volatile situations
- handle traumatic situations and be able to communicate information sensitively
- be decisive and use your police powers appropriately
- give clear and accurate evidence in court
- work shifts, nights and weekends (including public holidays)
- be flexible about where you work - you might not work in your preferred location
You’ll receive training and support throughout your career to help you manage the demands of policing, but it’s important to be sure that becoming a police officer is right for you.
Take the quiz on the Joining the Police website
Valuing diversity in our recruitment
We value people from all backgrounds and we are working hard to improve the diversity of our workforce.
See more on our committment to diversity in our recruitment
More help and support
Find out more is available on the Joining the Police website
or contact the Resource and Succession Planning Team:
Lincolnshire Police Headquarters
PO Box 999
Lincoln
LN5 7PH
Tel: 01522 558235
Email: [email protected]
I'm PC 125 Mark Barr. I'm the Community Beat Manager covering the Grantham Rural North, Grantham Rural South and Grantham West area.
I initially joined as a PCSO and in July 2014 I became a police constable.
I'm now a CBM (Community Beat Manager) [which] I've been doing for just over two years.
It's been thoroughly enjoyable. There are moments when you see harrowing things and you see funny things, bizarre things but I've enjoyed every day of it.
The best part of the job is just the diversity of the job. You could be dealing with anything from a drugs warrant to a scam talk with the Women's Institute.
I often find myself dealing with incidents and I'll say to myself 'my wife isn't going to believe what I've just dealt with today.'
When I booked on duty at nine o'clock this morning my sergeant made me aware of an incident that had been called in last night where a member of the public had come across a package in the bushes and I was asked to attend and collect the package because it may have potentially been drugs. Whilst on route back to the station I've got another call to say that was some loose sheep in one of the villages nearby to the police station so I went out and helped one of my colleagues get the sheep back into the field and that was all in the space of 20 minutes - a drugs package ad herding sheep!
I'd say the challenging parts of the job are managing people's expectations. With my role as a CBM, people ask 'I want this to be done' or 'I don't want this to be done' and you have to be realistic with the general public and that can be challenging at times.
If I had a message for someone that wanted to join the police I would say 'join'. It's the best job in the world. It's challenging at times. No two days are the same. As I said, you could be doing anything between a drugs warrant a scam talk with the WI, but I would say join straightaway - best job in the world.