Ride Along scheme
The Ride Along Scheme is the opportunity to follow police staff for a single shift and it is open to Wiltshire residents over 18 years.
Whether you are considering a career with the police or just interested in what we do, our Ride Along scheme is an excellent way to find out.
Before taking part you will need read and understand our Confidentiality Agreement and Observer Briefing
Departments taking part
Ride Alongs are available in these three departments:
Community Policing Team
The CPT is at the heart of the local police service and is generally considered the 'front line'.
From immediate calls for assistance to long term neighbourhood solutions the officers working from our CPT hubs are at the forefront of the service. The teams are made up of Police Officers, Community Support Officers and Local Crime Investigators and together they form the local side of policing.
Communications Centre
If you're interested to see what life is like on the other side of a 999 or 101 call, why not join a two-hour tour of the Crime and Communications Centre?
Every day the CCC deals with on average over 1000 calls a day. These vary from general calls for help to calls involving life and death situations. See how officers are deployed to scenes and how we call on specialist resources when required. This department is where key decisions are made that set out how we respond to all our calls for service.
Wiltshire Police Dog Section
Come and visit Wiltshire Police HQ at Devizes where our police dogs are trained.
Due to the nature of Police Dog work it will not be possible for you to 'ride along' with an active patrol unit. However, we do encourage those who may be particularly interested in the work of the Dog Section to attend HQ in Devizes during a training day as an observer. Training is undertaken on a regular basis and you will be offered an appropriate time and date for your experience. The timescales of the visit will vary according to the type of training being undertaken on the day.
Eligibility
You need to be over 18 and a resident of Wiltshire to take part in a Ride Along with us. Persons between ages 16-18 will be considered by exception and will require additional measures such as parental authority, additional risk assessment.
All applicants will be subject to criminal and intelligence checks. Having an offence on record will not automatically exclude you from taking part, and each applicant will be treated on a case by case basis.
Wiltshire Police reserves the right to refuse participation in this scheme and to terminate the Ride Along, if it is necessary for the officer or member of staff to carry out their work effectively, efficiently and safely.
Applications
Applicants will be contacted by a member of staff from one of our teams who will arrange the Ride Along directly with you. Due to demand, we can only accept one Ride Along Application per person within any 12 month period, and it can take up to 3 months from application to your Ride Along taking place although we aim to provide an opportunity much sooner.
Confidentiality and observer briefing
All Ride Along experiences are risk-assessed to ensure that your personal safety is not compromised. Participants in the scheme must read and agree to the Confidentiality Agreement and Observer Briefing Sheet.
Confidentiality agreement
Before you spend some time with the Police on the Ride Along Scheme you should read this notice carefully.
The Police Service is a very professional and caring organisation that places great emphasis on confidentiality. Our success in reducing crime, bringing offenders to justice and developing trust and confidence amongst all sections of the community depends on our reputation for confidentiality.
This means that any information about individuals and operations MUST remain inside the constabulary.
To gain maximum benefit from their placement, Ride Along Scheme observers need to be as close as possible to the activity they are watching. This means they may become aware of sensitive information.
Therefore, as a participant in the Wiltshire Police Ride Along Scheme, you must observe strict confidentiality in respect of any information/documentation which you see, hear or read. For the purposes of this agreement information includes but is not limited to: Spoken word, including radio communications, written and printed material, computer systems and confidential waste.
Discussion or further disclosure of such information or retention of any documentation received during the Ride Along Scheme is a breach of the Data Protection Act and the Constabulary Information Security Policy. Such improper use may also constitute an offence under the Data Protection Act, the Official Secrets Act and the Computer Misuse Act.
To ensure that we can maintain operational security whilst we take you on patrol, basic background checks will be conducted on each applicant against the Police National Computer, Police National Database and Niche, (our local Record Management System).
Wiltshire Police reserve the right to refuse an application based on the outcome of those checks. The data you provide to Wiltshire Police in order to participate in this scheme will be retained for a period of 6 years or in the case of unsuccessful applicants, then 1 year.
Observer briefing sheet
On the day of your placement, please bring with you a form of photo identification.
You are to comply strictly with all instructions given by the member of staff you are observing.
When attending operational incidents please remain in the vehicle at all times, until the Escorting Officer directs otherwise. If the Escorting Officer directs you to a place of safety, please comply fully with their instructions.
You must wear appropriate clothing & footwear that is suitable to the task you are observing.
If observing the work of operational staff you will be provided with a high-visibility jacket marked "Observer". Please wear this when requested by the Escorting Officer - for example if you attend a road traffic collision or other incident in a public place.
You must declare to the member of staff you are observing any illness or injury (including mental illness) which they may need to be aware of and which may place you at any additional risk of harm and affect your participation in the scheme. For example, you must say if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, suffer from epilepsy or diabetes or have a back/neck injury. However, this is not an exhaustive list of medical conditions.
The Health & Safety of ride along scheme observers is important to us and observers will not volunteer or be directed to get involved in any police operatives or services.
You can now apply to take part in our ride along scheme online