The Student Room Group

Applying for Ministry of Defence Police

Ive always been interested in the MOD. More specifically the Royal Air Force.
Recently ive Been thinking about signing up... Weighing up the pros and cons, but theres just been one thing thats got in the way... my mother. Im all shes got... and shes all ive got, and now i totally understand why shes so against me signing the dotted line. ive taken that into consideration and ive decieded (with unfortunate regret) not to sign up and apply.

i guess its a shame... ive spent years dreaming of being in the RAF... did my research and even studied for the interviews!

Being in the position of where i didnt know what i wanted to do with my life is horrifiying!
i recently thought about the next best thing... MDP.
i dont know to much about being a civilian officer for the MOD.

So i would appreciate any words of advice about anything your willing to give withing the MOD... such as recruitment, potential career paths, positions, anything!

Also if anyone is/was part of MDP, let me know what its like, i.e. the lifestyle, training, recruitment process, all the ins/outs and tips and advice, witch isnt on there website!

Im going to try and get my Aplication form sent off as soon as i can!

thanks in advarnced
Reply 1
What were you planning on doing in the RAF? If you were planning on joining the RAFP, then I don't see any reason why you'd gaff that off for the MoD police as the roles are fairly similar.

If you were looking at another role, I'd think again. Your mum would probably feel bad in the end if she stops you doing the thing you've been aiming for your whole life, so it's worth thinking very carefully before you decide against it.

You don't want to be one of these bitter people in their 30s or 40s going on about what you wanted to do but didn't..
Reply 2
I have considered the MOD police in the past, theres a recruitment website if you havn't already seen it:

http://www.modpoliceofficers.co.uk/default.asp

they do a wide variety of roles such as protecting British nuclear/research facilities and escorting nuclear/top secret material. Really interesting stuff. They'll be more on that website though.
Reply 3
Wzz
What were you planning on doing in the RAF? If you were planning on joining the RAFP, then I don't see any reason why you'd gaff that off for the MoD police as the roles are fairly similar.

If you were looking at another role, I'd think again. Your mum would probably feel bad in the end if she stops you doing the thing you've been aiming for your whole life, so it's worth thinking very carefully before you decide against it.

You don't want to be one of these bitter people in their 30s or 40s going on about what you wanted to do but didn't..


i was planning on doing photography within the RAF.
The thought of combining my love of photography and the RAF is a dream.

Ive got a National Diploma in Photography, but i know the recruitment process would still be very hard.
Anything with RAF, im sure my mother would totally disaprove... along with the rest of my family. Shes got it in her head that as soon as i were to sign up, i would get sent straight to the front line and "shot to death".

My mother has said that she doesnt want to hold me back and that she doesnt want me to hold it against her. The problem is, i WILL be holding it against her, whether i want to or not. This is somthing i have wanted to do for so many years.

I dont think i will be going forward with this. maybe in the future i could do a transfer? is that possible?

As for the RAF Police ive been looking into it for a while... but the same problem keeps creeping up. Its the family issues(mainly my Mum).

You are right though Wzz i dont want to be one of "those" men. It makes me unhappy even thinking about it.

do you have any advice, as for the MODP?

I see your a Pilot for the RAF... I apreciate the advice from somone with some good knowledge of the MOD! thank you! Any other advice you may have, i would apreciate alot!
Reply 4
Tell your mum there aren't a lot of photographers out there on the front line. You're almost certainly not going to be anywhere near the front line; you'll probably go to some bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, but if the Prime Minister's safe there then you're not going to be in too much danger!

You couldn't transfer, you'd need to leave and join the RAF separately. I still maintain that you need to think about trying this outright; joining the RAF as a photographer is VERY different to joining the marines, so you need to research more and talk to your mum.
Reply 5
carboncopy
I have considered the MOD police in the past.

they do a wide variety of roles such as protecting British nuclear/research facilities and escorting nuclear/top secret material. Really interesting stuff. They'll be more on that website though.


Thanks, i have been looking at it for a good few weeks now. i just wanted to know if there was any advice anybody had!

Ive heard alot of bad things about them though.. such as "They carry guns but are lazy and no where near as good as normal police. Sitting in their cars reading books and papers, watching TV on duty"...

is that true? anybody know?
Sounds like you need to do some educating at home. How many photographers do you think we need on the front line? It's not exactly infantry work. Of course, in modern warfare, everyone is exposed to a certain degree of danger, but keep it in perspective.

Your mother can say she doesn't want to hold you back as much as she wants, but if she is....she is. You can look up the maximum age for joining the photog branch, it's probably quite old, but what are you waiting for, your Mum to die? Either that, or you are going to have to talk her round at some point, if you ever really want to do the job.

I think unless people are in the RAF Police, they probably don't come into contact much with the MoD police, so I'm not sure there is much first hand expereince to be offered. You might be able to write to someone to ask for a visit/work experience, probably via the Police rather than the RAF though.
Reply 7
Aaron1415
Ive heard alot of bad things about them though.. such as "They carry guns but are lazy and no where near as good as normal police. Sitting in their cars reading books and papers, watching TV on duty"...

is that true? anybody know?


Haha those are the same things I heard when initially enquiring, I don't know if any of that is true, but the job itself does seem really varied and pretty darn interesting.
Aaron1415


Ive heard alot of bad things about them though.. such as "They carry guns but are lazy and no where near as good as normal police. Sitting in their cars reading books and papers, watching TV on duty"...

is that true? anybody know?


That's kind of a stereotypical view of all police though. I guess as they are a specialist force, they don't have nearly the same level of daily petty crime to deal with, keeping busy chasing vandals, sorting out drunks etc. They have to wait for real big crime to happen, or for convoy moves etc.

And make sure when you ask people for info, that they understand the difference between the MoD Police and the MoD Guard Service, MGS - because they have a REALLY bad reputation. If people roll their eyes and barriers going up and down, they are probably thinking of MGS. In fact make sure you are clear, because the Police and the Guard Service are somehow linked/merged under one overall name even though the police are police and the guards are civilians.
Reply 9
threeportdrift
Sounds like you need to do some educating at home. How many photographers do you think we need on the front line?


Cheers guys... i do know that there isnt urgent need for Photog's in the RAF... infact i think it was around three people that actually got through and did the training as a photographer last year or the year before... but it is somthing i want to do.

I would be more then happy to Start my career as MODP and then maybe joining the RAF when im a little more mature and wiser.

I believe some RAF photographers dont even leave the country.. is that right? I even tried explaining that to her. She doesnt listen though.
She see's the army,royal navy and RAF as death traps. I have treid explaining that is isnt like that.
Reply 10
Wzz
If you were planning on joining the RAFP, then I don't see any reason why you'd gaff that off for the MoD police as the roles are fairly similar.


i would still have the problem with my mother... im going to talk to her about this though... see how it goes... hopefully this time she wont burst into histerics and act like somones died.

this is a silly question, but i were to join as RAFP would there be chances to move into other positions, such as Photographer?
Slim chance, probably not impossible, but not a sensible thing to plan on.
Aaron1415
Cheers guys... i do know that there isnt urgent need for Photog's in the RAF... infact i think it was around three people that actually got through and did the training as a photographer last year or the year before... but it is somthing i want to do.

I would be more then happy to Start my career as MODP and then maybe joining the RAF when im a little more mature and wiser.

I believe some RAF photographers dont even leave the country.. is that right? I even tried explaining that to her. She doesnt listen though.
She see's the army,royal navy and RAF as death traps. I have treid explaining that is isnt like that.


No offence but your mum clearly doesnt live in the real world. In 5 years 110 service men and women have died in Afghanistan, how many people are killed on the road in that time not to mention seriously injured.

Here are the facts between 2003 - 2007: 15,242 people have died on Britains roads a further 143,044 people have been seriously injured in this time, excluding deaths.

Are the forces really that dangerous?

Stats are found on the Department For Transport website, direct link:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/172974/173025/221412/221549/328723/tablesq3.xls
Reply 13
Aaron 1415,

I have to say that I agree with MV. And, his quote says it all:
Better to fight for something, than to live for nothing.

Do you mind me asking how old you are?
I understand that you are the only thing your mum has got, but whether you join the military or not, you cant be there all the time (unless you plan on never leaving home).

When I first started skydiving, my parents were upset as I spent every weekend at the dropzone, and with work it means they rarely see me, even though I live at home. But they coped, and they got used to it. They can see how happy I am doing what I do, and they are happy because of that.

You could chat to your mum every week on the phone, and pop in when your free. But, you cant plan your life around your mum.

I think that you really need to sit down and have a proper chat with her. Have it all planned out so that you dont miss bits.
*what would make you happy
*the amazing opportunities you would get with the military
*above statistics
*point out that she got on with her life, and left home
etc, etc

Hope you end up with a good outcome.
I know this thread is 10 years old, but in response, MOD police, RAF Police, RAF photographer etc etc, they all have a cut off age of 48. You can't be a bitter 30 or 40 something when the roles are still open to you. Maybe a bitter 50 or 60 something...
Original post by StephenM14
I know this thread is 10 years old, but in response, MOD police, RAF Police, RAF photographer etc etc, they all have a cut off age of 48. You can't be a bitter 30 or 40 something when the roles are still open to you. Maybe a bitter 50 or 60 something...

They do now. They didn't when it was originally written.
Reply 16
MOD Police don’t have a cut of age at all
Reply 17
MOD Police do not operate a cut off age