What is Police Training Like? | Retired Police Interceptor

In this video, I talk all about Police Training and what it was actually like! I discuss the fitness test, how hard it was, how many people fail and of course, whether police training is really like the movies depict!
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[@BenPearson1965]

Hey Guys! All of my new videos will be going up a WEEK early on Patreon! www.patreon.com/benpearson Check me out there for exclusive content and AD FREE BABY! 👮🏻‍♂️😃 Hope you all had a great week! Ben x

[@ste9071]

Police academy 😂, we aren’t in the USA lol

[@ste9071]

I hope you and Millie are well Ben, looking good buddy x

[@residentelect]

@@ste9071 You say that Steve, but we had a kid on our intake who (quite deservedly) earned the nickname "Tackleberry" thanks to the amount of extra kit and equipment he'd bought. He even carried his own personal metal detector wand strapped to his belt 🤣

[@susancain9193]

What's your tatoo's of Ben ?

[@susancain9193]

Ben your a naughty man 😂 lol

[@rudy6165]

Honestly could sit and listen to Ben for hours

[@maxcullen3427]

Indeedy humour with interesting stories and simply have a laugh with crew 👮🏻‍♂️

[@brh9262]

He has his audio book now I'm really enjoying it And it does go on for hours, very good insight for those unfamiliar with the inner workings of policing

[@maxcullen3427]

@@brh9262 yes have great listening very interesting plus I’m too lazy & thick too read 👮🏻‍♂️

[@smallvileofpoison2362]

Thank you for your content Ben, it's very real and eye opening what the UK police go through

[@JONESSTI01]

Signing the guest form as your chief is absolutely hilarious 🤣 risky but excellent

[@Chris-go7ge]

Unarmed combat and cuffs is still two weeks! Split week 1 is unarmed bits and using cuffs, second week is baton PAVA and basic PSU movement

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Had to laugh when Ben talked about his Moobs and he just stares and says "what you laughing for" scary or what..... A great insight into what the Police Training sounds like, I remember a story my dad told me about his mate who decided to join the force in the 70's think it was at the police college in Tulliallen, he realised he had made a mistake joining the force, so one night he jumped the fence and went AWOL, I beleive he walked from Tulliallen near Grangemouth back to Edinburgh!

[@Stylishman3378]

Hey again brother....this one brought back so many memories. When I joined in 2000 we went to Bruche Police training centre in Warrington. Mixed blocks, marching, law, on the piss until 2 in the morning then turning up for 'class' falling asleep mid way through only to be yelled at by staff "wake up you wanker"! Brilliant days, thanks for the reminder Ben!

[@residentelect]

Our intake ended up at Akley Heads in Durham. It was 2003 and that "Undercover Policeman" documentary had come out several months prior to our intake starting. It was a post-war concrete monstrosity which hadn't seen a lick of paint in decades, but our Staff told us we should be thankful to be up north, as since the documentary had been released "National Police Training" had severely clamped down on Bruche, closing the bar, limiting the time you could congregate in each other's dorms, even more rigorous curfews, being sent back to force for relatively minor indiscretions etc. Plus there was a general feeling of paranoia which overshadowed the whole experience, ultimately leading to a rather grim 15 weeks 🙁

[@coops1964]

Bruche 1990 was nothing like that. Maybe the lax standards have had a detrimental effect on the various forces. No wonder the press are all over the cops these days.

[@skodakatie7341]

This was a really interesting insight into police training, I enjoyed listening to Ben’s memories❤️.

[@jamesblood6799]

I discovered your channel a couple of days ago and I've been binge watching all your videos I'm hooked, it's a huge eye opener to what the police have to go through, i just hope that you talking about your experiences opens the general publics eye and creates more respect for the police and what they have to deal with day after day, thank you for your service and God bless you and your family 👍👮

[@andyhillhouse9813]

Always a good day when Ben uploads a new video😁

[@ryantupman6703]

Loving the videos Ben. Im buzzing for you seeing the subs go up and up everyday! 👍

[@karensinstadt4330]

Another Brilliant video Ben and so funny. Describing your nights out during training reminds me of a brilliant concert tour i was on in 2001 in Holland with a youth orchestra when the supposed "Responsible" adults in the group-including myself managed to convince the tutors and conductors that as it was our last year and tour could we stay out later and we wouldn't get too drunk....!! We finally made our way back to our hotel at about 3 in the morning, had to get back in through a fire escape doors as they locked the front doors early and the hangovers we suffered were the worst ever and we had to play in a concert the next afternoon too!!!

[@sammyg6387]

Brilliant….loved this, so funny, you are now added to my list of perfect dinner guests!👍🏼

[@acrossthepond4792]

I worked for the Police as a civilian, Ben, and heard a lot of stories in my time there, some hilariously funny, which will stay with me forever. One of the very best times of my life. Working there was like being in a big family. I look forward to your videos. You're a great guy.

[@heidicash4772]

Thanks for another great vid Ben 😁👍

[@jibicusmaximus4827]

got me again, i am going to sit down for this one, i am about three minutes in, this is another good one mate!

[@Darr733]

Always brilliant listening to Ben

[@enkisdaughter4795]

G W Bailey, who played Lieutenant then Captain Harris in Police Academy, also played a police officer in the film Mannequin and, later on as Lieutenant Louis Provenza in The Closer (7 seasons) and the same character in Major Crimes (6 seasons), after The Closer finished. Oh and for three seasons he appeared as Staff Sergeant Luther Rizzo in M.A.S.H. He must really have loved uniforms!

[@davyarthurs]

I remember in 2001 there was a big drive by the Labour government to train up loads of new Police recruits. The Fire Service College had many police recruits training there as the government needed all the space they could get at the time.

[@residentelect]

Yep, I remember it well... The "Police: Could You?" recruitment campaign. There was the TV ads which featured a well known celebrity or sports personality talking about their job, then would follow it up with something like; "... but if I had to knock on a door in the early hours of the morning to tell a family member that their relative had been killed in an accident, I don't think I could?" Can you imagine seeing a police recruitment drive on national television these day? The world certainly has changed a lot since 2000...

[@lewi3_whufc]

Great video as always Ben, I remember the Ashford police training centre its now a activity centre for kids I worked there for 5 years and everything is still there pretty much from the police days even the blue oyster bar on site. Great name for that haha.

[@garywhitaker5540]

Brilliant description Ben . When i left the army i did a bit of work on the police college in Wakefield Used to watch the drill parades . Plenty of tick tock marching . And yes a lot stunk of ale when we talked to them . But we was same in training :)

[@PumpkinBecki]

As someone from Ashford, the Police training recruits were legendary 😆 Nice to hear you're part of that legend 😎👮‍♂️🍺

[@maxcullen3427]

Great love all your videos thanks Ben

[@frederickkinnell]

I joined in 1995. In Scotland, we all go to Tulliallan police college which is residential. We were never allowed out into the local town and had to remain in the college grounds at all times (no doubt some did manage to escape for a few beers) we had a pub in the loosest sense called the copper lounge which was open until 11pm if memory serves me. Dormitories were the best part however, it's all single rooms now with TV's!!. Fitness consisted of Forrest runs carrying gym benches and a special hill called 'rice Krispie hill' where you brought up your breakfast hence the name. All changed nowadays due to health and safety. Good times and character building.

[@jamieeedden777]

Nice to se You doing well Ben u seem a lot happier now :) I still sometimes forget that You left the force and expect to se you about when I visit family and pals in Yorkshire I know you had your reasons tho your continuation to the area in your serving time as a cop helped a lot of people and done slot of good please don’t ever forget that your one of the good guys

[@martinrichard542]

What Ben is forgetting to tell you is that in 2001 when he joined the fitness test was a one off test that you had to pass to get in. You only did an annual personal safety training but no fitness test. The annual fitness test wasn't compulsory until about 10 or so years ago. I joined in 1995 at a tender young age and was super fit but there were loads of overweight bobbies that had been in for years but did not need to do an annual Bleep test. I think the current test is to easy but at least you have to pass it every year and not just the once. Just thought I would high light the changes to give some context.

[@matthewfrench2343]

I never read books and I'm gonna read this one. Kudos ben

[@ashleygiles5849]

What a legend just got the first book needing to order the new one

[@jakeharper1356]

Mental to hear what joining the force was like back in 2001 compared to what it would be like now. Great to hear to be honest.

[@vickitaylor2065]

Another brilliant video! 🤣

[@Tashmina]

Just finished my initial training! It was cracking!

[@ThOnlyRDLZ]

Im starting tomorrow how did you find it?

[@susancain9193]

You really cheer me up, my uncle was a police officer and I never saw him smile when he was working I can say he was very po faced lol

[@dylansdad987]

I could listen to you for days Ben. I was laughing so hard when you were talking about your MOOBS, then when you said "What are you laughing at?" I thought you were talking to me 😂😂😂

[@danielmarshall4587]

I've just got your books they're glorious, big print small words.... though no pictures. But I'll dig deep and get into them cheers.

[@stuartbryce6892]

I'm starting basic training In 10 days can't wait 😁

[@richardgiles2484]

Definitely agree with you mate about getting hands to the scum bags. You need to fight fire with fire as the saying goes. The police and especially the courts, are way too soft today 😢

[@edwinleslie1330]

Your right. Police now are frightened of being sued. My dad was an old time copper in Battersea, London. Then you where a beat copper they knew the people on there patch good and bad. You sorted things out round the back of the pub as he use to say. When they put coppers in cars that was the end of policeing. Example... if there was a serious crime committed the plain clothes would always talk to the local copper cos he could give them information... When my dad died there were as many villains as coppers at his funeral and having a drink with each other.

[@a11csc]

nice one ben

[@sheenahughes1926]

I wash the shop manager at Greggs on Northgate & had many a good banter with cops on training courses in Wakefield. Made a lot of hangovers improve with a few steak bakes 😂 Also when we started with the shop watch where we were given radios, not one visiting cops left my store without a coffee & something to eat.

[@OscarGlassF1]

I would like to be part of the police when I am older dog unit to be infact and this is so educating. Thanks Ben!

[@jamia909]

Im in my Week 17!! Next week is my exam and then going to District for Mentoring for 10 weeks. Best decision in my life. Lol "DISHONESTLY Appropriates property. . . ." I will never forget this definition

[@Tangoenergy12]

Good lad keep it up!

[@armpitfuzz]

I wish you the very best of luck, stay safe.

[@residentelect]

Well done @Naeem, lad! Gotta respect you for stepping up and giving it a go nowadays, as both the recruitment process and the initial training appear to be far more complicated than they were twenty years ago! That definition will come in well handy for all those "Shoplifters detained" shouts you'll be dealing with during your tutoring! All the best mate, and stay safe 👍

[@jamia909]

@@residentelect Thank you so much for your lovely response. Has made my day! Yes it is very difficult to make it through the recruitment process nowadays.

[@garethhelliwell9736]

A carvery at training school🤣🤣. Last time I was at Carrgate the canteen was closed and the coffee machines were broken so it was choice of water or nothing.

[@bethanybrand262]

Ben u have been my imspration i watch u on police interceptors and.Ulimate police interceptors and many more . I want to be a police officer when im older . listening.To what u delt with as a police officer helped me learn that i can follow my dreams one day . And see u on tv makes me want to go on tv . I want to join nottighshire police force when im older. seeing what u do makes me proud of u dealing with guyes and ladys with bad attudied im sensible i bike safely by wearing my helmet wearing my seatbelt at all times . I had a few missies of people nearly hitting my bike on the way and back from school. i like that u never give up thamaking mistakes is good but improving it even better . One more thing . When u did do police interceptors . Who did u like working with. And wo will u want to see . My favriot police interceptor is CHRIS Spenner . Seeing on telly is so exciting .

[@minislayer2010]

Bleep test now is 5.4 Ben. I did mine in April

[@royjennison3916]

ha ha ledged , thank you ben for your service

[@danieltaylor9509]

I remember doing police cadets and one tonight this high ranking old copper came I was sitting myself and he was ages a decent guy but he would come right up to your face and look up and down and i use 2 marching but most of time police cadets was really good and I enjoy your videos Ben pearson really interested stuff

[@Neilgale1983]

Proper legend

[@UK_Sgt_7094]

Have to say love the police training stories as i joined the Army in 94' and no way you could get away now with what we did then! lol bleep test was level 10.8 for a basic pass with roughly 60 sit ups and 60 press ups to be done in 2 mins. running wise was 1.5 miles in under 10mins 30 secs (10mins for Airborne) after a half mile warm up. on the Officer Safety training (hand to hand) we did that also in the Army and it is the one thing that has got a lot tougher as time has progressed on. I initially trained as a public order expert for duties in Norther Ireland so we did 6 months beat up training and had to stay qualified during the tour as I was part of strike company in Belfast which meant more training and assessment. We spent a lot of time training on this and the training has improved significantly right up to when i left in 2012 and still has got better, for teeth arms soldiers that is. The Royal marines also get great training in this now.

[@KennethNicholson1972]

Thank you for your service sir

[@alexioannides777]

I’m joining the police later in the year. The bleep test is 5:4 and it’s ridiculously easy. That is the only part of the fitness test.

[@debpartin8737]

First question they use to ask in Denver Colorado was Have you ever smoked weed? The American marine in the Iranian embassy raid couldn't pass it

[@fishysquid1689]

damn... Ben looking kinda fire on that book cover. sheesh

[@BenPearson1965]

😳😊

[@glenmurray7699]

I went to Ryton for mine, all I can say is that you can see why they've stopped doing the residential centres and kept it in house haha it was shocking

[@boahnation9932]

Ben bro how do you feel being a police officer built your character? I imagine you're rather adept at handling people and situations in general

[@HeXeZgameR418]

live right next to ashford police station, who knows might’ve seen ben all those years back

[@adjwood]

I work at the Maccies in Eureka Park and while it obv wasn't there when Ben was, you still see them come in every morning around 4am haha

[@damionlee7658]

On a much more serious note than my other comment, the discussion about officers being trained in combat skills is one that I think is going to need to be had sooner rather than later. Over the past few decades there has been a seismic shift in the general public's perception of, and attitude towards the police. A big issue over recent years has been the public's opinion of physical intervention by police officers, and it is beginning to feel as though those at the higher levels of decision making are making reactionary changes; without really considering the real world effect that will have. There is a distinction to be made between appropriate use of force, and brutality. Unfortunately, for reasons I'm sure we are all aware of, people are more inclined to see any physical interaction involving police officers as brutality, rather than appropriate force. I'm inclined to agree with Ben's reasoning, that they are reducing training in a misguided attempt to reduce physical combat measures being used by officers. Surely however, this does not just put the officers at risk, but also the people they may interact with. If officers are trained well in combat techniques, how to implement them, and importantly which techniques are an appropriate response to a given situation level, that training will kick in when the officer is in a bad situation. If you reduce that training to a couple of hours of basic instruction, that same situation they could find themselves in will be handled more on unguided instinct than training. Being in a bad situation doesn't stop being scary and intimidating just because you have had good training, but it does provide more confidence that you are equipped to deal with what is happening. Take away that element that gives that bit of confidence, and people can start making very poor decisions. I would rather see our police officers given more training in combat skills, to help ensure a physical encounter can be brought to an end swiftly and with the minimal amount of force needed. As I see it, reducing that training is likely to lead to some incidents of panicked officers physically over reacting because they don't have the level of confidence they need to remain calm*. That will likely mean injuries to both parties, and quite probably a higher sense of adrenalin fuelled anger making the situation worse. Just my two pennies worth. * To be clear, remaining calm is somewhat relative in such scenarios. I am referring to an individual's ability to be calm enough make sensible decisions and react in an appropriate manner.

[@novaadventures5758]

Great story

[@martinrichard542]

Just to add. It sounds to me like all forces are different in there training because i finished my service in 2022 and up to then on the annual personal safety training we were still hands on scenarios dealing with people in padded suits wealding weapons and having to deal with them. It was full contact and the instructors were not holding back. This was for all operational officers and not a specialist roll. Would appear that the training up to then was not consistent nationwide.

[@jeffro86ap43]

Always been 5.4 on the bleep test. National standard been for years.

[@Joshywoshyngton]

I went through police training school a couple years ago, must say, since they made it non residential, the lack of fornication was noticeable

[@havadacadava9829]

4.51 mins in, I live close to the eureka park in ashford 🤣

[@MrSamgreenham]

When Ben said about the moon's how many of us looked down and coughed. 🤣 Be honest

[@scratchandwinuk1]

That would be eurika park one flashcards get places when I grew up there

[@Michael-Oh]

I'm slightly concerned that the bleep test for a police officer is only 5.4 now.

[@lisaburgess8730]

So, how many Westgate runs did you do then? 😂 I work literally 5mins walk from where Bishopgarth was (housing estate now) & was forever seeing recruits walking in & out of town at lunch.

[@lmcmaster66]

Police service Northern Ireland still uses a residential bases program

[@dj_paultuk7052]

Brought back memories of my training in the MoD. Cannot say what it was, but it was 4 Years, not 17 weeks. It was damn hard looking back, but the absolute best time of my life and i would do it all over again.

[@KennethNicholson1972]

Thank you for your service sir

[@aaronalienseeker801]

The low bleep test standards lol I was a level 14 beeper at age 16 lol, explains a lot of foot chases the young people give police haha it should be higher no doubt about it level 9's a light jog lol

[@armpitfuzz]

Ben has probably said, but if he did I missed it. How old was Ben when he signed up ? I recently clocked an episode of enforcers on channel 5. I couldn't tell you how old the episode was, but there was a young trainee gal on duty and the car she and the grown cop was in, was being pelted by kids with eggs. She flinched with every thud, I just CANNOT imagine her coping if she ever had to deal with a riot...... Or anything else, I'm guessing (as Ben says) down to lack of training, I don't know how lack of training is going to help trainees with their future mental health.

[@BenPearson1965]

25

[@armpitfuzz]

@@BenPearson1965 I'm thinking that is stinking young... Then I realise I was married with two kids at that age. Perhaps we grew up earlier back then !

[@ThOnlyRDLZ]

@@armpitfuzz I'm starting tomorrow at 19 as a pc. Age is just a number

[@PazPony]

Police training college sounds very similar to prison officer training college!

[@jonnyjet9579]

I live near the Ashford police training haha

[@damionlee7658]

"What are ya laughing for?" - Paranoia kicks up a gear... How did he know?? 😂

[@debpartin8737]

I seriously can't believe Jim Payne could have done this training But I know he did but from him on the show it's hard to believe he did much

[@debpartin8737]

I agree take them down no matter what

[@michaelpyro87]

Did agency work serving meals at Ashford police college, which Is now a holiday camp. He is not joking about jumping over a fence and being at the old M20 nightclub. Ben if you read these? Did you ever go drinking in Ashford Town?

[@BenPearson1965]

No never in Ashford, just the night clubs over the fence ha ha

[@michaelpyro87]

@@BenPearson1965 legend, thanks for the reply.

[@smith2781]

I can imagine you being Mahoney’s Yorkshire cousin in police academy lol 😂

[@jamia909]

5.4 Bleep Test nowadays. 9 must have been hard

[@johnennis4586]

5.4 a kid in my class could do better, and he only had one leg

[@Josh-ru4dm]

The military is 9.10 for RAF / Navy & 11.6 for Para's and Marines it starts off nice and easy after about level 7/8 it starts to get interesting. Even more so when you are hanging out from a night on the drink!

[@STEVIEBHOY]

Ben is it possible to get a signed copy?

[@armpitfuzz]

I'm gonna ask my husband for Ben's books for Christmas.... The signing would make my day xxxxxxxx It wouldn't bother ME if he had to pay a little extra.... LOL.

[@BLX187]

So he basicilly said there was bullying going on in there. intresting

[@Wickerrman]

If you ever wonder why policing has gone downhill over the last 20+ years, this video is a good reminder lol. Very interesting and honest watch, kudos.

[@brandonshaw8380]

Hmm

[@steuk6510]

I find police academy movies funny but did you play tricks on like there do with captain Harris

[@Mikey_13]

We love you ben we do We love you ben we do We love you ben We do Ohhhhhhhhhhh And he’s a g to

[@BenPearson1965]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@Mikey_13]

@@BenPearson1965 here every week

[@Mikey_13]

@@BenPearson1965 my brother

[@d8gty392]

Nowt wrong with a good hiding Ben!!! That’s whats up with the youth of today walking round with knives & fanny bags on…. They have never had a good smack

[@jeffro86ap43]

Now the training is a joke. You don’t need a degree to be a cop.

[@PeterWasfield]

He says going out drinking like that doesn’t happen anymore I can tell you it still dose in the navy and we have harder phase 1 and 2 training and higher levels of PT expected

[@jordanmitchell5728]

yawn

[@kevinjordan9855]

That was proper policing not the namby pamby bollocks you see nowadays cos of all the do gooders

[@maxcullen3427]

Guess now all too PC worried if get sued so respect the old school Bobby 👮🏻‍♂️ some of new 👮🏻 cops are just a shower of 💩 I life little village in Surrey still remember Bobby on push bike respected him as knew everyone parents and names also friendly just knew if pushed it you would never hear end of it from parents RESPECT WAS a bog thing back in day

[@26TM079]

should bring back these training centres. rather than this nonsense they have now.

[@carlrobson5745]

Shag fest by the sounds of it Bugger missed out now I’m too old to join

[@susancain9193]

Ñ

[@1979jon]

See why the police have gone down hill

[@Simon-ui6db]

The police need to be back to a force, not a service.