Work, volunteering and career planning

Key Resources

Prospects Law enforcement and security

Job profiles

• Border Force Officer (Prospects)
• Detective (Prospects)
• Police Officer (Prospects)
• Police Officer (TARGETjobs)
• Prison Officer (Prospects)
• Probation Officer (TARGETjobs)
• Scenes of Crime Officer (TARGETjobs)
• Trading Standards Officer (Prospects)

See the following links for information about:

• Forensic psychology
• Magistrate
• Prison and Probation Jobs (Government website) profiles and training info for prison officer, youth custody prison officer, probation officer, probation services officer (lower risk clients, degree not essential)
• Train to be a probation officer (HM Prison and Probation Service)
• Prison education
• Rehabilitation of offenders (NACRO)
• Trading standards (Chartered Trading Standards Institute)
• Victim support
• Youth Custody Service
• Youth Offending Teams (Youth Justice Board)
• Work with offenders - news and information, and a list of possible career roles in the sector

Keep up with news and developments by reading

• The Guardian criminal justice section
• News articles from professional organisations
  
  • College of Policing
  • NAPO (Probation and Family Courts)
  • Prison Officers Association
  • Association of Youth Offending Team Managers

You are likely to need some or all of the following skills and attributes for work in this sector:

• Communication skills (written and spoken)
• Ability to assimilate and communicate information (eg legislation, data)
• Empathy and non-judgmental approach
• Negotiation and motivational skills
• Ability to stay calm under pressure
• Resilience
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Planning/organisation
• Problem solving
• Project management
• Investigation and observation
• Community and customer focus

Look for work experience to help you develop the skills, and demonstrate the personal qualities, needed for a career in this sector.  Work experience, paid or voluntary, with vulnerable groups or those with challenging behaviour will be particularly valuable.

• Police UK Volunteering in policing
• What can I do? (PDF , 1,943kb) guide to volunteering in the criminal justice system
• Citizens Advice - Volunteering with the Witness Service
• Support through Court volunteering
• Volunteer to check standards in prison
• See the What can I do at York? section below for more suggestions.

Graduate schemes

• Unlocked two year graduate programme for UK prison service
• Police Now two year graduate leadership programme

Jobs sites

• All Police Jobs - police officer and support staff vacancies
• Civil Service Jobs
• Crown Prosecution Service
• Local Government Jobs

Recruitment agencies

• Red Snapper Recruitment police and criminal justice jobs
• Sanctuary Criminal Justice Jobs

Find out more about applying for jobs and the recruitment process.

• Make the most of any chances to build relevant skills - getting involved in college life, societies or part-time work will give you opportunities to use communication skills, team building, negotiation and planning skills for example.
• Volunteer with Careers and Placements volunteering projects.  Think about the groups you might work with in your future job and get experience with them - projects related to young people, the elderly, and mental health will all help.
• City of York Council advertise for volunteers, including Appropriate Adults (occasional demand) and volunteers for the Youth Offending Team
• YUSU Nightsafe scheme (usually recruits in March for the following academic year, and offers comprehensive training; register your interest on their web page)
• You could also consider volunteering in victim support or with the police.
• Use York profiles and mentors - find police profiles in "Armed forces and emergency services" sector

Connect with York graduates on York Profiles and Mentors

• CSI supervisor
• Independent domestic violence adviser
• Citizens in policing - service delivery adviser
• Senior scientific officer
• Police Chief Inspector
• Police constable
• Prison officer with Unlocked graduate scheme

Find the full list of graduate profiles on York Profiles and Mentors.

Other profiles

• Police Now participants' stories
  • National Graduate Leadership Programme 
  • National Detective Programme
• Probation Service employee stories
• Unlocked (prison service) - participants' stories

Social media accounts

• @CTSI_UK (trading standards)
• @Nacro (rehabilitation of offenders)
• @PRTuk (prison reform)
• @UnlockedGrads (prison service)

Podcasts

Keep up to date with the sector and learn about types of jobs available with this podcast:

• Ross Gehnich: On the beat
• Prison officer (Unlocked graduate scheme)

Other news and blogs

• Police Now