British Police Officer needs help

[rachaelwales77]

It was a no here, good luck everyone!

Ah sorry to hear that mate, its the service that's stopped us... Keep an eye out on the south Australia site! Mates of ours who are in there say that the rumours are they will be over next year... Keeping everything crossed!

[wardy82]

For those who have the PEE get the books practice now and more practice now by Acer, these helped me massively! And remember the test is not multiple choice like the examples on the Internet

 

Good luck

[JADE86]

For those who have the PEE get the books practice now and more practice now by Acer, these helped me massively! And remember the test is not multiple choice like the examples on the Internet

 

Good luck

 

Thanks Wardy! I didnt know it was't multiple choice : /

Shall I assume the questions are pretty different to those on the website then?

Any idea what the pass mark is?

[wardy82]

Hi Jade, I have no idea what the pass mark is, although you're only marked on the questions you answer so don't waste time on questions that you can't answer quickly. The test is harder than the example questions they give you but don't stress too much if I pass it then I'm sure you can!! Seriously though get those books as they explain the math grid puzzles pretty well and learn your multiplication, long division and simple percentages. As long as you have prepared for it, like the fitness test then you'll be fine! Bit of advice, sit at the front of the hall when doing your test, I didn't and struggled to listen to the spelling part which is played on a cd, if you sit at the back it echos and makes it that bit harder.

[JADE86]

Hi Jade, I have no idea what the pass mark is, although you're only marked on the questions you answer so don't waste time on questions that you can't answer quickly. The test is harder than the example questions they give you but don't stress too much if I pass it then I'm sure you can!! Seriously though get those books as they explain the math grid puzzles pretty well and learn your multiplication, long division and simple percentages. As long as you have prepared for it, like the fitness test then you'll be fine! Bit of advice, sit at the front of the hall when doing your test, I didn't and struggled to listen to the spelling part which is played on a cd, if you sit at the back it echos and makes it that bit harder.

 

Thanks for all the advice Wardy! You're a star! If all the hard work pays off one day we'll have to get you a pint!

Wish us luck... : /

[bungeeman]

Hi All

 

its been a very long time since I've posted on here but a lot has happened since my wife and I moved to Perth with our son in May last year.

 

We came on my wife's visa as she's a chef, and I was a police officer in the UK.

 

Despite waiting years for another WA police international recruitment- it didn't happen so we opted to move out here and then for me to apply and join WAPol once we got settled. That didn't happen straight away as I had other opportunities. But now I am in the final stages of a 'lateral entry' application having passed all assessments I am just waiting on a start date.

 

firstly let me tell you that the wheels turn very slowly in WA. My application went in back in November 2012 and I'm only just heading towards a start date- which will likely be September or October.

 

For those who were unsuccessful, there may be a number of reasons. I know that there was over 600 applications for 250 positions so competition will be high. Anybody who has less than 3 years or more than 10 will most likely be unsuccessful as this is the target period of service they want to recruit for. Also if your application had any alterations, tipp-ex, mistakes or crossing out, you would most likely be unsuccessful. There are a whole range of things they could be critical of, but you will not be told.

 

Those who were successful, I would strongly recommend practising the agility test. Doesn't look like much, but has caught out a lot of people and a fair few failed on my physical assessment. When you turn up for the interview- be clean shaven as beards are a no-no in WA Police.

 

The assessment isn't overly taxing but the beep test is a real test of one's fitness. If you haven't taken one in a while I recommend practising and doing some training to improve on it. Bear in mind the WA bleep test is a 20 metre course as opposed to the UK standard 15 metre course- and believe me, that extra 5 metres makes a difference to the pace.

 

If you were unsuccessful, they may well be holding another international recruitment in the not too distant future as they are trying to increase numbers here with the rapid expanse of the metro area. As per the last recruitment they may well invite applicants to attend Perth for assessments (which can be done over 3 days) as opposed to WA Police coming to London for the testing. That way the expense is on you, but I met 2 guys on my physical who did just that!

 

If anyone has any questions on this I am happy to answer what I can from someone who has gone through it all.

 

Cheers

Bungee

 

UPDATE: - Start date with WAPOL is 30th September!! Very happy indeed!

Edited August 20, 2013 by bungeeman
Update info

[jenny20071]

Hi there, my husband has made it through to the interview stage in London for WA Police, and I was wondering, Bungee, if you could give any advice on the questions they might ask in the interviews? It's over two days, which I know includes the fitness test, any other information you can help with would be great!

Thank you

[bungeeman]

Hi there, my husband has made it through to the interview stage in London for WA Police, and I was wondering, Bungee, if you could give any advice on the questions they might ask in the interviews? It's over two days, which I know includes the fitness test, any other information you can help with would be great!

Thank you

 

Hi Jenny,

 

As I mentioned I moved here on my wife's Visa (chef) and applied from here, so the questions I faced may or may not be similar. But essentially in the panel interview they will be looking to draw on your husbands experience (particularly looking for answers relating to front line issues and how he would deal with them). One example I can think of is consider a scenario that a burglary has taken place at a shop in an area which has been subject to a lot of these crimes lately, one man has been caught, the other has run away- what are your next steps?

 

So in my experience it was practical working based questions but there wasn't that many to answer. They also sat me in a room on my own with just a desk and I had 15 minutes to write a mini biography about myself and had to mention competency based stuff and other personal skills and experience that I would be bringing to WAPol.

 

There will be a psychological interview where they may probe into some of the answers given on the psych test.

 

I will reiterate also that the fitness test can be the thing that catches a lot of people out. Firstly the shuttle run is over a 20 METRE course here as opposed to the 15 metre they use in the UK forces. However the main thing that catches people out is the agility test as like I did - people think 'it's just running in and out of some cones'. Which I agree it is, but there is a bit of technique to it which can save you valuable seconds when doing this run. All but one of the applicants on my test that failed on the fitness test, failed on the agility side of things. As I say it wasn't because they were unfit- on the contrary one of them was a marathon runner - the other ex military- it was just the technique failed them- so I would urge your husband to set up the course in a park and run it with someone timing him.

 

The other big piece of advice I can give - and forgive me as I don't know your personal circumstances - but research everything you can about moving here. Houses, areas, jobs, cars, prices of everything etc.

The police will provide your husband a job if successful on this side, but they don't pay moving fees (shipping, flights etc) so research is a real biggie and most of the answers can be found from the helpful folk on here. I know someone who fell foul when costing up the move as his wife struggled to get a job and the initial outlay in moving here can be expensive- we ourselves absolutely haemorrhaged money when we got here - and we both worked full time from the off. Cars, renting, deposits, travel, food and bills are all things to consider.

 

That said, it's a great place to be and your husband has already done well to get this far in the selection as the criteria is very competitive.

 

I wish you both good luck with it all and If I can help with anything else, give me a yell!

Edited August 20, 2013 by bungeeman

[jenny20071]

Hi Bungeeman,

 

Thank you for all this excellent advice!! It is much appreciated! Glad to hear you are enjoying it so much too, as one of our biggest worries is making the move and then not enjoying it! We spent 6 weeks in Australia last year and we loved it!

Thanks again, Jenny

[bungeeman]

Hi Bungeeman,

 

Thank you for all this excellent advice!! It is much appreciated! Glad to hear you are enjoying it so much too, as one of our biggest worries is making the move and then not enjoying it! We spent 6 weeks in Australia last year and we loved it!

Thanks again, Jenny

 

Yeah we love it here.

Did you reccy WA when you came to Australia? So you have an idea on where to live if you make the move? It's never the same working as it is holidaying and nothing can prepare you for the move in reality. All the prep and research and we still found things hard. But it's all been worthwhile in the long run and both my wife and I agree we would never return to the UK.

[jenny20071]

Unfortunately not! So we have no idea where to move to! But we have friends of the family who live there already and we will seek their advice too if he is successful. The lifestyle in Australia just seems to much more suited to us than the UK! I have told him we need to go down the park and practice his drills this weekend as you advised!! :biggrin:

What have you found hardest about moving over? Did you leave a lot of family behind?

What makes it so different to the UK?

Thanks, Jen

[bungeeman]

Unfortunately not! So we have no idea where to move to! But we have friends of the family who live there already and we will seek their advice too if he is successful. The lifestyle in Australia just seems to much more suited to us than the UK! I have told him we need to go down the park and practice his drills this weekend as you advised!! :biggrin:

What have you found hardest about moving over? Did you leave a lot of family behind?

What makes it so different to the UK?

Thanks, Jen

 

 

I guess the obvious things would be family, close friends etc. I personally haven't found it as hard as my wife did as she had a closer relationship with her family and 4 really close friends which I know she misses. That said- to put it all into perspective, being older, married with kids etc. it's not like they used to meet up that often anyway - even when they lived just an hour away.

No amount of preparation can get you ready for a complete life turn around- and you can't just take 30+ years of life you've built and plonk it on the other side of the planet and hope to continue- it doesn't work that way. You are literally starting all over again- relationships, friends, work colleagues, new jobs, new places, new homes. Which is also the exciting part, but it is also very daunting for most people.

 

I have been very lucky as I've wanted to move here since I was very very young, so for me I'm living the dream I've always had.

 

One of the biggest differences to the UK I would say is lifestyle. It can be a lot more sociable here - depending on your standard of socialising at the moment - but the weather certainly enables you to be more outdoorsy which was a massive selling point for us. Don't get me wrong, weather is no reason to up sticks and move alone- but I'm happier knowing that we're not inside every night watching the tv and my son will feel more inclined to play outside rather than playing playstation or similar.

They have a lot of parks and open spaces here and a lot of them have public barbecues overlooking some really beautiful spots including beaches. Christmas day last year was spent round a friends house relaxing drinking, eating and playing in the pool and all of our families loved it! It was a great day topped off with champagne on the beach at sunset!

 

People on the whole I would say are happier here. And we're better off both personally and financially but you really have to weigh it all up. It's not been an easy ride -not by a long shot and it's not all beaches, barbecues and surfing. That certainly exists, but you have to work hard as well.

 

The absolute biggest difference though is that here in Western Australia it really is work to live attitude as opposed to live to work that the UK seems to have adopted. Yes, you work hard, but most employers here that I have come across promote family life & a work/ life balance.

 

Another difference is distance. You cannot gauge the vast distances in this country until you're here. To put it into perspective, Australia will fit the whole of Western Europe and Britain into it, with room to spare. And WA is one third of the entire country. ITS HUGE!

[Rossmoyne]

I guess the obvious things would be family, close friends etc. I personally haven't found it as hard as my wife did as she had a closer relationship with her family and 4 really close friends which I know she misses. That said- to put it all into perspective, being older, married with kids etc. it's not like they used to meet up that often anyway - even when they lived just an hour away.

No amount of preparation can get you ready for a complete life turn around- and you can't just take 30+ years of life you've built and plonk it on the other side of the planet and hope to continue- it doesn't work that way. You are literally starting all over again- relationships, friends, work colleagues, new jobs, new places, new homes. Which is also the exciting part, but it is also very daunting for most people.

 

I have been very lucky as I've wanted to move here since I was very very young, so for me I'm living the dream I've always had.

 

One of the biggest differences to the UK I would say is lifestyle. It can be a lot more sociable here - depending on your standard of socialising at the moment - but the weather certainly enables you to be more outdoorsy which was a massive selling point for us. Don't get me wrong, weather is no reason to up sticks and move alone- but I'm happier knowing that we're not inside every night watching the tv and my son will feel more inclined to play outside rather than playing playstation or similar.

They have a lot of parks and open spaces here and a lot of them have public barbecues overlooking some really beautiful spots including beaches. Christmas day last year was spent round a friends house relaxing drinking, eating and playing in the pool and all of our families loved it! It was a great day topped off with champagne on the beach at sunset!

 

People on the whole I would say are happier here. And we're better off both personally and financially but you really have to weigh it all up. It's not been an easy ride -not by a long shot and it's not all beaches, barbecues and surfing. That certainly exists, but you have to work hard as well.

 

The absolute biggest difference though is that here in Western Australia it really is work to live attitude as opposed to live to work that the UK seems to have adopted. Yes, you work hard, but most employers here that I have come across promote family life & a work/ life balance.

 

Another difference is distance. You cannot gauge the vast distances in this country until you're here. To put it into perspective, Australia will fit the whole of Western Europe and Britain into it, with room to spare. And WA is one third of the entire country. ITS HUGE!

 

Bungeeman that is a very good post with some very valid and realistic comments. I think you summed up emigrating and living in WA very well. Great that it is working for you and your family.

[bungeeman]

Bungeeman that is a very good post with some very valid and realistic comments. I think you summed up emigrating and living in WA very well. Great that it is working for you and your family.

 

Thanks mate.

 

I try to be as down to earth with it all as I can be. As I said previously, I've always wanted to live in Australia since I was very young I knew that. I've spent many hours watching documentaries, relocation programmes, looking at realestate websites, online food shops like coles and woolies to guage prices and researched loads of jobs for an average wage figure for the industry I work in. I know a reasonable amount about the history of the country and have dedicated a lot of hours researching places, people facts and figures. I would almost say I was possible one of the best researched ex-pats to move to Oz (maybe) - certainly one of the most well informed.

 

And yet, even with all that preparation and planning- nothing really prepares you for living and working in a place, leaving all you know behind and starting afresh. It's hard enough to move between counties in the UK (which I did in my youth) let alone the other side of the earth. That said, it is only a 20 hour plane ride away!

[simonbournemouth2010]

Great thread, I am in the final stages of the 2013 recruitment push, I hope eveyone from last years intake is enjoying life in WA...

[Sect172]

Folks this is a really interesting and useful thread. WA Police are recruiting again and after 3 years of weighing it up I am in the process of applying. I've approaching 9 years service and am a sgt in Scotland. More than happy to go back to being the newbie though! Any advice, other folk in this round of applications etc feel free to say hi etc. if I'm lucky enough to move forwards in the process then it'd be good to see some people in the same boat. Jon.

[Guest TheArmChairDetective]

Folks this is a really interesting and useful thread. WA Police are recruiting again and after 3 years of weighing it up I am in the process of applying. I've approaching 9 years service and am a sgt in Scotland. More than happy to go back to being the newbie though! Any advice, other folk in this round of applications etc feel free to say hi etc. if I'm lucky enough to move forwards in the process then it'd be good to see some people in the same boat. Jon.

 

Welcome, go for it and good luck.

[Liznleigh]

Hi, my husband is due to have his interview and PEE for WAPOL in 9 days time, does anyone have any advice or tips, also does anyone know what visa we would have to apply for if successful? Thank you for any advice or information xx