police investigator

police officer

researcher

trainer

administrator

Cleveland-Police

Starting in 2020 probably wasn’t the best time to join the police. However, even if it wasn’t for the Covid Pandemic I would say the outcome would be exactly the same which is poor support and terrible training. 

The initial training (18 weeks) of classroom based learning teaches you nothing and does not prepare you for the real job. The tutor phase is the best part to learn what the job is like however, I feel like it is too short (10 weeks). Then you’re left to your own devices by yourself panicking. Every officer said the same. 

Working in response for Cleveland is horrendous as you’re expected to respond to jobs whilst also doing mass amounts of paperwork. I expected paperwork, however, the level is just extreme and not realistic/possible. Having to complete full case files and the standard paperwork whilst being run off your feet going job to job to job is ridiculous. Whilst also interviewing and everything else. The amount of burnt out officers they send out to an emergency is frightening. 

I have never experienced such a horrible time in my life whilst working for a company that simply doesn’t care about your true well-being and thinks of you as just a number. 


There is no time for work life balance, you literally have no social time and any plans made you most likely have to cancel. 


I do not recommend working for this force. 

The one good thing I would say is the teams as they do help any way they can and are there for you to complete any paperwork. 



I currently work within the Prisoner Handling Team department as a Police officer within Cleveland Police.

My day to day routine is to interview suspects, process them, and dispose of them via, various different methods including charging them to court, cautions and other forms of restorative justice.  I then complete case files for the Crown Prosecution Service for committal at whatever courts they are charged to.

I regularly liaise with CPS lawyers and colleagues from various departments.

I work with in a team supervised by a Sergeant and regularly assist with complex cases within the team.  We are also expected to work independently and make our own decisions on a day to day basis.  I also regularly take on the role as Acting Sgt and manage a team with regards the duties and cases of the team.

This role is also IT intensive as most of the case files are done electronically.  I am competent and efficient with IT and quickly pick up any new program/ technology that become available.
The hardest part of the job is working long hours on long protracted complex cases, such as large public order incidents or drugs cases, however when these get charged and convicted at court it is extremely rewarding.

During my time at Cleveland Police, I struggled very much and received very minimal support from supervisors and the training/development team to actually achieve the goals I needed to, despite explaining several times of the struggles I was having, and having a very difficult home life at the time which was unfortunately impacting my work. Workload was completely unmanageable for most and there is a complete lack of understanding and organisation. I felt like I was more of a problem to my supervision team. So much so, to the point where a supervisor actively pursued a number of malicious allegations against me to get rid of me during my 2 year probationary period. Statistically, this is one of the worst Police forces in the country and this will not change unless they support their staff and stop being so risk adverse to the point of sacking someone maliciously for something where there was no evidence and anyone with a bit of common sense would have seen the truth.

Underpaid 
Understaffed
Underfunded 
Underappreciated 

One of the highest crime rates with one of the lowest funding. If you want to make a difference and have confidence in your employer choose another force. 
So much red tape it isn't even policing, it's a game of politics. More supervision than actual boots on the ground.
If your face fits and you don't mind k**sing a**e, if you are good at hiding under the radar and doing absolutely nothing, then craic on it's the place for you.
Training,  if you can call it that, is never up to date.
Bosses who have never done the ground work giving out unrealistic demands whilst complaining that you're flooded in paperwork, yet you're not given time to complete it so you end up doing it in your own free time.
Struggle to get your overtime pay and/or time off.
Uniform is unfit for the job.
Vehicles are hard to come by and when you do get one it's fallen to pieces.
All about public perception, which is understandable to a degree but the weighing scales have gone the opposite direction of preventing crime and protecting people.
Overall. Would not recommend.

The amount of staff either going sick, being placed on restricted duties or actively seeking employment in other police forces is staggering.
Supervision can vary from exceptional to awful - Mine were the latter. Having worked in management for a number of years prior, I was shocked.
They'd happily see front-line officers work nearly 50 hours in a 4 day shift pattern with roughly 30 minutes break over the same period.
Certain front-line officers would happily refuse to go to jobs due to the specific nature of it. They would also wait a few weeks before making contact with the victim of a crime in the hope that they weren't wishing to pursue the complaint anymore, because, ''That job's a crock of s&*t''.
I decided that my mental health and integrity were much more important than working for incompetence.
Don't get me wrong there are some fantastic individuals that work there whom genuinely care for the job, and if it's what you've always wanted to do then go for it.

A majority of people work incredibly hard here. The salaries do not reflect the effort and personal investment first line staff and officers put into their day to day business. Unfortunately the constantly rotating executive leadership team seem impotent and powerless to effect change and continuously allow themselves to be hobbled by an utterly incompetent HR department and a Corporate Service team that wields far too much deciding power and far too little capability. It’s embarrassing to see experienced senior officers utterly castrated by a layer of self-serving, flip-flop, bureaucratic corporate dimwits who have never undertaken a single minute of front line policing activity. Executive officers regularly make decisions which HR and Corporate Service civilian staff then neutralise and undermine.

Responding to emergency calls, assisting public in resolving emergency circumstances, utilise police and Microsoft computer systems, excellent communication skills enabling interactions with individuals in a calm, coherent manner regardless of the audience being addressed. Attitude and behaviour combining to project a professional image. Response policing of a very demanding district involves dealing with diverse community providing both equality of service and quality of service. Self motivated undertaking large amounts of personal study gaining OSPRE exams and Open University Certificate. Meticulous time management skills due to constant time restraints. Personally develop by continually updating of skills relevant to role.

Working for the police is a position of trust an honour. It is expected to be hated by a lot of the public in this role. However not by your colleagues. I joined this job to help people, but the way the police is formatted these days with bureaucracy and red tape and the sheer volume of workload makes that almost impossible. 

Not only that, the in house (office) environment is unbelievably toxic. The promotion scheme promotes you to try and one up you colleagues and throw them under the bus wherever possible to try and make yourself look good and stand out above the rest. It is no longer a job designed to help the public, it is a rat race to higher ranks.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working with good people and developing lasting relationships. Varied workload with the fulfilment of helping people from all backgrounds and cultures 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
High workload, poor management, no appreciation of your efforts by senior management, not enough time given to complete tasks properly, low morale, 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very stressful with a toxic culture, staff treated poorly by the internal complaints department 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Very busy and stressful mainly due to poor management and lack strategic organisation

There was never a typical day at work as your day could change hourly. Learned many things from dealing and working with people from different cultures. Learned law ,how to apply it and how to do it using common sense. I was quite lucky in that in the main I had good sergeants and inspectors dealing with daily management and had good senior officers at a higher level. The most enjoyable part of the job was working with other officers and the variety of jobs and the challenging nature of the job. Work life balance was differcult as you rarely finished on time and the paperwork was heavy.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Police investigator 1 salary reported	£40,826 per year
Police officer 1 salary reported	£149,799 per year
Researcher 2 salaries reported	£30,203 per year
Trainer 2 salaries reported	£34,970 per year
Administrator 3 salaries reported	£26,416 per year

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