Apply for our Ride Along Scheme
The Ride Along Scheme is the opportunity to observe police officers or staff for a single shift.
If you are thinking about a job working with the police or you have a general interest in the day to day work that we do, the Ride Along Scheme is an excellent way to find out more.
Who can apply?
Anyone living in the Avon and Somerset area can apply for the Ride Along Scheme.
Age restrictions apply if you are:
- Under 18: If you are aged 16 to 17 years old, you will not be able to apply for the Ride Along Scheme.
- Under 16: We do not offer the Ride Along Scheme to anyone under the age of 16. However, if you are interested in police work, you can apply to become a Police Cadet.
What would you like to observe?
- Communications Centre – Sit alongside our communications staff and see how they deal with over 2,000 calls a day. Ranging from general enquiries to life and death situations, every call is a member of the public needing our help. See how we deploy our staff to the scenes of these incidents using both Patrol and Neighbourhood officers as well as specialist resources when required. This department is where key decisions are made which set out how we respond to all our calls for service.
- Neighbourhood Policing Team – Join our Police Officers and Police Community Support Officers in the local community. The local Neighbourhood Policing Team will work alongside the local community to resolve any issues or concerns in an area. This includes problem solving within the community, safeguarding and dealing with anti-social behaviour.
- Response – Join our response officers as they are called to any number of jobs and incidents in a shift, including dealing with vulnerable people, sudden deaths, anti-social behaviour, missing people, and taking people into custody.
Unfortunately, not all our departments are able to offer a Ride Along experience. Our dog and mounted sections, serious crime investigation teams and crime scene investigators do not offer this scheme.
Confidentiality and Observer Briefing
All Ride Along experiences are risk-assessed to ensure your personal safety is not compromised. Participants in the scheme must read and agree to the Confidentiality Agreement and Observer Briefing Sheet.
Confidentiality Agreement
The Police Service is a very professional and caring organisation which 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 Avon and Somerset Constabulary Ride Along Scheme, you must observe strict confidentiality in respect of any information or 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.
Persons applying for the Ride Along Scheme will be subject to security checks.
Observer Briefing Sheet
On the day of your placement, 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, you must 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 and footwear 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. This is not an exhaustive list of medical conditions.
The health and 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.