The Student Room Group

Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship to PGDL (Barrister)

Hi everyone,
I'm currently at a major crossroads in my career path and would really value some insight.
I recently dropped out of an LLB Law program at the University of Kent. While I had initially planned to follow the traditional university route into law, 1 became increasingly concerned about the debt (around £45k over three years) and felt that the environment wasn't right for me.
Instead, l've decided to pursue the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA). It's a three-year, full-time program where l'll earn a BSc in Professional Policing Practice while working as a police officer. The salary is around £32,907 per year, and I'll gain a lot of practical experience in criminal law and public service.
Once I complete the PCDA, my goal is to pursue the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL) to get back on track toward becoming a barrister, focusing on criminal law or potentially a role within the CPS.
I'm wondering: 1.
Has anyone here taken a similar
non-law route (such as through an apprenticeship or a non-legal degree) and successfully transitioned to the Bar? 2. Do you think having a PCDA instead of a traditional law degree would put me at a disadvantage when applying for pupillage, especially at competitive chambers? 3. Are there any tips for leveraging non-law experience (e.g., policing) to stand out during the pupillage process?
I'd love to hear your thoughts or experiences, especially from anyone who's taken an unconventional path to becoming a barrister.

Thanks in advance!
There are quite a few former police officers in practice at the Bar, and the route you suggest sounds viable to me.

Every set of chambers is competitive. There are no easy routes to pupillage. But sets specialising in criminal law may be interested in a candidate with practical experience in law enforcement, and the CPS may also value police experience.

One note of caution: Criminal law in the books and criminal law in practice are quite different. You might find that you don't like criminal law in practice, and/or you might find that, when studying for the PGDL, you become interested in (for example) the law of contract, or another subject which is not criminal law. If you were then to seek a pupillage in a set of chambers doing civil work, your lack of an academic degree (in any subject) might tell against you. Civil sets don't usually care whether your first degree is in law or some other academic subject, but they do tend to care about academic profile in general.

I add that student debt is in reality a form of additional tax on graduates who do well. You only replay the debt once your income reaches a certain level, and the repayments are modest by reference to earnings. People hear scary tales of student debt from the USA, but in the UK things are different.

Staying with money, you are probaby already aware that criminal barristers don't earn a lot of money, especially when junior. Most of the criminal lawyers whom I know are not motivated by money, but some of them have private incomes and do not have to depend on their earnings from legal practice.

Once established, the money is OK (not great, but OK), but the work is very hard and can be very stressful. You probably know that, and are probably a fairly resilient person already if you are thinking of joining the police, where, as you know, you will require physical and mental robustness, and will face some very challenging situations which are emotionally and possibly physically harmful.

Good luck, whatever you decide.
Reply 2
This isn't the worst idea I've ever heard, but it also isn't the best.

1.

In house policing degrees are not of a very high standard. They just aren't. The academic level of them is mediocre at the absolute best. The scope of a policing degree in terms of law is very limited indeed and won't even cover what is taught in an LLB criminal law module.

2.

3-4 years as a police officer (which is the minimum you'd have to serve to come out with a degree) isn't going to give you very strong experience or make you a particularly attractive candidate. Most of that time will probably be spent trying to make nonsense domestic violence cases go away or sitting and watching people with serious mental health issues urinate on themselves in custody. You would have to have a strong plan and be willing to see it through - that would mean either at some point going down the detective route and getting strong case building experience - or getting into a police criminal justice unit and stay there for at least 5 years gaining experience - an absolute minimum of 8 years in total from joining.

In short, its not a short cut and you have no real guarantee of anything at the end. If you do some time as a detective or in CJU, you would probably be a reasonable fit for a CPS job, but by then who knows what their requirements will be.

Don't try and shortcut the system. You can do it the cheap way, or you can do it the short way, but there is no short, cheap way.

Quick Reply