Police Scotland Employee Reviews

A very fast paced and demanding job however, comes with extremely high rewards and job satisfaction. Can be a difficult job when it comes to balancing work life and personal life.

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Full on job

Constable (Current Employee) - Glasgow, Glasgow - 23 August 2023

Very stressful job. Tiring shifts which can take its toll on you work life balance. Great support from colleagues but senior officers very detached from front line duties.

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Insights into Police Scotland

Based on 90 survey responses

What people like

Fair pay for job
Clear sense of purpose
Ability to learn new things

Areas for improvement

Energising work tasks
Time and location flexibility
Sense of belonging

Hard work

Custody Officer (Current Employee) - Glasgow, Glasgow - 21 August 2023

Challenges to face but with the right support a very rewarding workplace to be part of. Competitive rates of pay but can be a cliquey environment which comes with its own challenges.

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Great teamwork and friendships created

ICT Technician (Former Employee) - Glasgow, Glasgow - 20 August 2023

Enjoyable!Varied and part of a team, good public sector benefits and delivery of support. The management of most areas are really supportive and do what they say

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Not what it used to be.

Police Constable (Former Employee) - Glasgow, Glasgow - 14 August 2023

The upper hierarchy espouse values of integrity, fairness and respect bub when it comes to the crunch all they really care about are optics. The coal-face officers make the broken system work.

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Decent wage for cleaning

Cleaner (Current Employee) - Scotland - 14 August 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?For cleaners, it’s good having some flexibility with your shifts so you can work around appointments etcWhat is the most stressful part about working at the company?For cleaners, sometimes not being trained with machinery etc properly and expected to just do it What is the work environment and culture like at the company?For cleaners, it’s not too bad as you just go and do what needs to be done and depending on the time you go in there might not be anyone there so usually pretty good environment but on the off time there is that bitchyness/tension that you get anywhere What is a typical day like for you at the company?For cleaners, Wake up, go to work and do what needs doing so the toilets, rooms, empty bins etc

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Great career.

Police Officer (Former Employee) - Glasgow, Glasgow - 31 July 2023

Has changed a lot however still a fantastic job/career,loads of opportunities.If you really want to get on you can but you get out of it what you put in.

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Too many box tixkers.

Constable (Former Employee) - Glasgow, Glasgow - 28 July 2023

Worked as a front line officer for 17 years in some of the most challenging areas. There ws a visible decline in the quality of officers over that time. The organisatiion espouses the values of integrity, fairness and respect but only to pay lip service to current trends. This was most evident in their behaviour during Covid. The front line officers of some experience are generally great however the upper management are far too busy dealing in politics than actual policing, leaving their front line officers under-resourced, under appreciated and over-worked. If they concentrated less on "diversity" and more on tackling the real issues, there would be a chance of providing a more effective service.

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No work life balance and under appreciated

Police Officer (Current Employee) - Scotland - 24 July 2023

Difficult job made more difficult by the internal politics. The work itself never ends but that’s manageable with good colleagues and good lower level managers. Bosses higher up have no idea how bad things are and don’t seem to care. Days off aren’t even a guarantee. The organisation cancels days off at the drop of a hat leaving little to no work life balance.

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Not great

Police Constable (Current Employee) - Aberdeen, Aberdeen City - 22 July 2023

Worked to the bone, can only take holidays in your allocated block, LOTS of paperwork. Very frustrating job to be in - actively looking to leave. Shame, as it has the potential but senior management are just so out of touch with real policing

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Jobs at Police Scotland

Finance Business Partner

Scotland

30+ days ago

If you have no sense of humour- don’t join

Police Officer (Former Employee) - Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh - 7 July 2023

It’s mainly shift work and dealing with members of the public who are often in distress. If you have a problem with this, don’t do it, you’ll never change people.That said, there is a lot of satisfaction to be had from helping those that need it.Great opportunities to specialise and if you are flexible, adaptable and hard-working you could be very satisfied with your lot.After 30 years would I go back and do it all again, knowing what I know now and seeing through many changes? Absolutely yes.

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Hard long hours, little support and no work life balance

Police Constable (Current Employee) - Tayside Region - 27 June 2023

Worked hard, often go 10/12 hours with no break. Lots of paperwork and red tape. Not enough front line officers meaning paperwork stacks up. Do more mental health and social issues than crime as other agencies neglect their duties. Even on annual leave you wont be left along with court cases and work phoning you making it very hard to switch off. Burn out is real

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Great colleagues, poor leadership

Digital Content Officer (Former Employee) - Dalmarnock - 25 April 2023

A nice place to work because the majority of your colleagues are decent people and good at their job. However, they're not likely to last long in the organisation because incompetence is often rewarded with promotion and the majority of managers and senior figures are absolutely clueless.

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Excellent rewarding career

Police Officer (Former Employee) - Scotland - 16 April 2023

This job will not suit everyone. It can be long hours, days off can be cancelled at short notice. That said I had a wonderful career. Very rewarding especially when you have positive outcomes. Training is (and has to be) excellent.

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Job satisfaction

Police officer (Current Employee) - Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway - 8 April 2023

Supports people well and is a great organisation to work for. Huge satisfaction in helping people and good at helping staff. You have to have a thick skin in dealing with the public, but the support you get from colleagues and managers is second to none and teamwork is encouraged

Pros

Job satisfactio

Cons

Long hours

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Very challenging role can be stressful and very upsetting at times hard to do with a young family

Service advisor (Former Employee) - Edinburgh - 15 March 2023

Great people bug a very demanding and challenging job hard to walk away from at end of shift ! Hours are very unsociable and not great with a young family ! Money is ok but for what is expected could be better especially with shift patterns and shortage of staff Very fast changing environment with high expectations

Pros

Good benefits

Cons

Long unsociable shift patterns

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Under appreciated

Police Constable (Current Employee) - Glasgow, Glasgow - 15 March 2023

Not a great job. Overworked, understaffed, lack of finance. Scrutiny from all levels. People promoted outwith their competence levels and depth. Hard to get promoted within.

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A career like no other

Sergeant (Current Employee) - Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway - 9 February 2023

An amazing career if you are willing to work hard, be worked hard and actually care. Career progression is there for the taking, opportunity to learn something new everyday of life. Be in a position to make a change to someone's life of they want or need help.

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Rewarding and Life Changing

Police Officer (Former Employee) - Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire - 14 January 2023

I was a police officer for over 28 years. One of the countries biggest employers. Uniform and company car provided. Hectic pace of work but very exciting, rewarding and enjoyable. You will see the best and worst in people and experience things that very few others will.Literally anything can happen. After 3 years or so you are more likely to be able to change roles which normally advertised internally and go for promotion if you wish although there are so many varied roles, many don’t feel the need. Annual leave is decent, as is the pay. You need good time management and a calm head. You also need to be confident and brave enough to stand your ground in the face of danger sometimes. You get the chance to really make a difference and work with people who will mentor you.Cons - rest days are eaten up by repeated court citations and most of the time you don’t give evidence. Shift work although many roles are day shift once you progress. Management is hit and miss but the bad ones move on with frequency. Some members of the public won’t like you but they still call you when they need you.

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It is what you make it. Not easy, the odds are stacked against you but rewarding.

Police Officer (Former Employee) - Aberdeen - 11 January 2023

If you are looking for a comfortable Monday to Friday 9 to 5 job this will not be for you. Expect to work on public holidays regularly and be kept on after your shift is over. Policing is a vocation not an occupation with shift work, low staffing levels and you have to work within stringent rules whilst still managing to be flexible.No two days are the same. You could be dealing with a street brawl one minute and then delivering a death message the next, executing warrants, dealing with a sudden death or just trying to find a missing person. All that whilst juggling ridiculous amounts of paperwork with unforgiving time constraints.Management and work culture can be a mixed lottery. If you get a good team with good management it's amazing. If not things start to crumble very quickly.Progression, specialisation and promotion are all there for the taking but you will have to work hard for it.Workloads are through the roof and you must have the ability to 'switch off' when on rest days.No point in lying. It can be hard going but also very rewarding.

Pros

Very rarely boring and run of the mill, If you have a good team then support is there.

Cons

Not for the faint hearted, long shifts, paperwork!

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Excellent

Superintendent National Project Manger (Former Employee) - Scotland - 4 January 2023

Hard working but rewarding work not for everyone but exciting Many opportunities for advancement highly recommend if you’re prepared to commit time and effort