Security and Protective Services

“We all have seen ourselves …….
En route to a mission of mercy
Sirens blasting! Lights flashing! …….”
(Jeremy Snyder, American writer, 1998)

If you work in this career area you might have to deal with emergencies every day:

• coastguards and firefighters help rescue people in dangerous situations


• police investigate crimes, find criminals, and bring them to court


• security staff make sure buildings and goods are safe, and deal with thieves and intruders


• traffic wardens and parking attendants deal with traffic and car parking


• civil servants in customs and immigration services control the entry of goods and people into the UK


• prison officers look after prisoners in jail and help with their rehabilitation.

There are 8 fire and rescue services in Scotland and 8 police forces.

The number of police officers in Scotland is now at a record high thanks to extra funding from the Scottish Government and some local councils.

This has allowed forces to recruit additional officers. In 2008-2009 Scottish police forces recruited 1,974 police officers, 5.8% more than in 2007/2008. There were 7,289 applicants, around 4 for each job. The total number of police officers in 2008-2009 was 17,375, of these 4343 (25%) were women.

Police cadet schemes for young people are run by Dumfries and Galloway, Grampian and Northern police forces. Entry to these schemes is also very competitive.

The current economic downturn and cuts to local authority budgets may mean that this level of recruitment cannot continue in the next few years.

In 2008/9, fire and rescue services in Scotland employed 4,418 full time firefighters, including around 120 women.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency employs around 700 coastguards in the whole of the UK, 123 of them are based in Scotland. There are five rescue co-ordination centres in Scotland - in Aberdeen, Crail, Greenock, Lerwick and Stornoway.

Most revenue and customs officers do not work in ports or airports, as you might think, but they visit companies and organisations throughout the country, checking taxes. Immigration officers mostly work in the south of England, although there is an office in Glasgow.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) owns 13 prisons in Scotland and in 2008/9 employed just over 4,000 prison officers, including almost 1,000 female officers. There is also a private prison at Kilmarnock, but even there prisoners are in the care of the SPS.

There is a growing private security industry in Scotland, providing CCTV surveillance, security patrols and other guarding services - as well as private investigation and intelligence services. This sector includes wheel clamping services, door supervisors and stewards.

The 2012 Olympic Games in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will create a demand for various different types of security staff, from stewards to security guards and door supervisors.

If you are going to work in the security and protective services, you need to be able to respond very quickly to emergencies. You should be quick thinking, assertive and not afraid of being in a dangerous situation yourself. You should be able to cope with distressing situations.

You can get into some of these jobs without qualifications, but it is helpful to have a good general education. For some jobs you need at least 2 Standard grades at general or credit level. There are entrance tests for the fire, police and prison services.

The jobs in this area are divided into 3 sectors:

• Emergency services


• Police and security work


• Prison work.

Sources

For detailed information about the following services visit their own websites at

Marine and Coastguard Agency (http://www.mcga.gov.uk/)
Fire Service Recruitment (http://www.fireservice.co.uk/recruitment/)
Revenue and Customs (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/)
Immigration Service (http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/)
Police in Scotland (http://www.scottish.police.uk/)
Scottish Prison Service (http://www.sps.gov.uk/)

Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland 2008/2009

Scottish Fire and Rescue Advisory Unit, 2009

Scottish Prison Service Annual Report 2008/09

Maritime and Coastguard Agency Annual Report 2008/09