Police Scotland Shifts vary according to where you are based around the country and which department the Officer works in. In this article, we will primarily look at response officers and their shifts. Generally, shifts are 9-10 hours long, excluding any overtime, with 3-6 days of work in a row. Officers are able to apply for variations to their shifts under the flexible work policy. Shifts include nights, weekends and public holidays.
Police Scotland Response Shifts
Generally, response Officers undertake the 2-2-2 shift pattern, which is made up of 2 early shifts, 2 late shifts, and 2-night shifts and followed by 4 days off. The times of the shifts change slightly if it falls over the weekend to ensure there is sufficient cover for busier periods. Officers seem to prefer this shift pattern as they get 4 days off in a row and periods off between shifts are good, such as the late shift finishing at midnight and not having to work until the following night at 2200 hours. Here is an example shift pattern, E (early), L(late), N(night) and O(off).
Edinburgh Response Police Shifts
Edinburgh Response Policing currently uses the 3 on, 2 off, 4 on, 2 off shift pattern, though there are ongoing talks to change this to the 2-2-2 shift pattern.
Edinburgh shift pattern starts with 4-night shifts, which are 2200-0700 hours during weekdays and 2100-0700 hours on a Friday and Saturday Night. This is followed by 3 days off. 3 backshifts follow, which are 1400-0000 hours during weekdays and 1600-0200 hours on a Friday and Saturday night. There are 2 days off before 4 early shifts of 0700-1600 hours. This proceeds 2 days off followed by 3-night shifts and so forth.
This is a 5-week shift pattern, where you work 3/5 of the weekends, but the benefits are long periods off between shifts, for example finishing the last night shift on Thursday and you are not back to work until Monday afternoon. Here is the shift pattern
How Many Hours Do Police Officers Work in Scotland?
A full-time Police Officer works a 40 hour week, spread over a shift pattern, excluding overtime. This is made up of nights, weekends and public holidays. Overtime can stack up quickly with the demands of the job and quite often officers work longer then 40 hours per week.
When are the Police shift change times
Generally, shift change times in the morning are 7am, for the back shift it is 2pm and nightshift starts at 10pm. These times can differ depending on the weekends or operational needs.
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