True that! RCMP makes 80-$100,000 a year , and they are the ones who have dealing's with your FBI, and deal with major anti-drug operation's, counter terrorism and the such

i can agree with you on small-town cops.. i currently live in dublin.. 3 hours south of atlanta ( i lived in atlanta until the age of 12).. this small town i live in.. 90% of the cops are complete dicks.. except the sheriffs.. but local PD, State Troopers, and H.E.A.T are all complete dicks.. and sadly some of them are pretty corrupt and dont follow protocol.. such as unlawful searches. Anyways i mostly corrupt on answering the questions

the PD in my city are pretty good for the most part, but they slip up sometimes, just last month an HRP officer crashed his cruiser while driving under the influence of prescribed narcotic's, i had an officer once ask me if was 12 cause i asked him if he could turn his light's on for me :D (i was pretty tanked)

Edited February 17, 201214 yr by Slimory

Visit www.officer.com There are tons of post over there about this. You can post over there in the state forum for GA and I bet someone over there can answer all your questions!

http://forums.officer.com/

If you are truley serious perhaps you should ask real law enforcement officers? Do some research? Possibly contact your local PD. The link above is to a forum full of verified police officers. There is an "ask a cop" section.

I am going to school so I can become a police officer. Most departments require a highschool diploma and 60 college credits. You must have a clean background and be professional. Some departments have their own academies they will pay to send you to. Other departments may require you to self sonspor yourself through an academy similiar to paying your way through college.

It all varies. The first thing you need to do is consider what your getting yourself into. You will be spending a lot of time and money into getting a degree (criminal justice is useless). Find somethin that interests you so if you don't become a cop you can still have a useful degree. Understand that LCPDFR, TV shows, and anything else you have ever seen does not show what it is like to be a police officer.

An officer's job is not a glorious one. There are many movies out there that make people believe that a cop's job is cool because they get a car, a gun, and a badge. High speed chases and busting down doors as SWAT. Well the reality is that it is not a glorious job. An officer can see worse things than what can be found on a battlefield. Car accidents, suicides, homicides, drunk drivers, ect. Also with everything they do there is a ton of paper work involved. If an officer has to use their weapon because someone threatened their life they are at risk of losing their job because people have time to chip away bit by bit what they see on camera footage.

Becoming a police officer is a rewarding job. You may work long hours, drown in paper work, be in extreme heat or cold weather, but in the end you are doing a job that many others would not do. You need to ask yourself. Are you there for the people who rely on you or the paycheck (badge, gun, car, pursuits, SWAT, TVstuff)? If you say paycheck becoming a police officer is not for you. We already have enough paycheck officers.

Good luck

Edited February 17, 201214 yr by HolyOrangeJuice

thanks everyone..

Edited February 17, 201214 yr by schoendd

For what it's worth, I'm a sheriff's deputy at a large agency in Florida. Before I address some of the original poster's questions from my perspective, I'd like to make a comment regarding those in this thread who call "all" or "90%" of cops "dicks", arrogant, or that we possess attitude problems. First, unless you have met all or 90% of law enforcement officers then your argument is flawed, but more importantly, you are likely basing your opinion off one or a few isolated incidents. What people should realize is that we are human beings; no different than anybody else in any other career. However, we are and should be held to a higher standard as government employees, but there comes a time in all of our lives where we act in a manner that is not consistent with our normal behavior. I agree that there are officers out there who give all of us a bad reputation, but I caution you not to make sweeping accusations. With that said, I'm proud to be one of those officers who will still respond as quickly as I can to assist anyone who calls for my help... including someone who mother-F'd me all the way to the jail two days ago. I'll be the first to admit that I have treated people with disrespect who did little to deserve it, but it is not something that I do on a consistent basis. There are some shifts out there where I've been punched in the face and spit on by some dirtbag, then respond to a child who has been abused, then resolve a domestic between husband and wife, then respond to the scene of a murder, then attempt to locate a missing child.... then when you are with your buddies doing donuts in the parking lot, you can maybe see why I'm not as inclined to approach you with a smile on my face ready to kindly handle whatever reason you will spew for violating laws in my presence. I simply ask that you put yourself in my/our shoes before you state such insensitive remarks regarding myself and my brothers/sisters in my profession.

To the original poster:

Many of those who posted before me have provided correct advice regarding your questions. Typically, law enforcement departments/agencies are regulated by the state within which they reside. There will also be differences among and between the various agencies within that state. You should do some research into the agencies that you are going to apply to, especially because the agency is going to question you in the application process regarding your motivation for becoming an officer as well as why you want to work for their specific agency. You need to have a well formulated answer for them that sets you apart from other applicants. Education and physical requirements (remember these are minimums!) of course will vary by agency. Don't concern yourself with 10 codes or signal codes until you've been hired with an agency or you are in an academy because those vary by agency and you will have plenty of time and opportunity to learn them at that point.

Due to my immense pride in my career, I love to see people wishing to do what I do and enjoy helping them do so. My advice for anyone considering a career in law enforcement is to become as informed with the details of the career as you can. This job is certainly not for everyone and there are many people who wash out or resign even after getting released to the streets because they really don't realize the elements of this job until it is too late. I urge you to do ride-alongs and really pick the officer's brain. Don't just sit in the seat and be a silent observer. Ask questions and make that officer explain things to you so you have a complete understanding of what is going on.

From that point you must assess your qualities and abilities. Most people understand that this career is incredibly dangerous and stressful, and everyone knows we carry a gun on our belt, etc... Tough guys will always say they would have no problem doing what we sometimes have to do, but I always ask people one question and I tell them they cannot answer it to me. They must think about it and only answer the question to themselves. If the situation arises, can you take a life? This career is becoming more and more dangerous as time goes on, especially due to the economic situation in our country and other factors such as drug use and felons having easy access to weapons. I'm only 22 years old and I've already had to shoot and kill a suspect. That is not something that anyone can take lightly and I hope I never have to do it again, but I can also promise you I will do it again if needed, without hesitation. These are things that people know, but don't fully comprehend until they get handed their gun/badge and get put into the fire. I see many new officers resign for these very reasons.

Side note to those earlier in this thread who said we're all jerks: The situation I mentioned in the previous paragraph regarding my deadly force response to a suspect occurred when I observed 3 teenagers in a county park after dusk. The park was closed and we had consistent problems with kids going back into the park area to do drugs and drink alcohol. One may see this as a very low risk scenario, possibly a scenario not too different from your negative experiences with a cop who didn't act as you would expect. I approached these three kids to simply tell them to leave the park, and one of them who I later realized had a felony warrant for grand theft decided he wanted to pull a switchblade knife on me and proceed to lunge at me. You can fill in the rest. Apply that to the thousands of other situations where a cop who doesn't know you is approaching your vehicle because you were speeding, or loitering in a parking lot, etc... How does he know you are innocent kids or wanted felons? I would hope the cop doesn't let his guard down and talk to you like he is your best friend, because it may not be you and it might be that wanted felon. If my guard wasn't up, can you imagine what may have happened if I wasn't ready to defend against the knife? It's food for thought next time you wonder why cops aren't extremely nice all of the time.

I don't say any of this to scare you, but I say it so you understand what you are going to be getting yourself into. As long as you are able to do what we do in this job, then you will have no problems and I wish you the best of luck. Don't let anyone discourage you, including the very people in this thread who share such negative opinions of law enforcement officers. I'm always available via PM for questions.

(Sorry for my rant, I just get irked when people try to paint law enforcement with such a broad stroke.)

Good luck to you!

It's hard to speak to people of our age group (I'm 23) around here intelligently about the role of a police officer in society because most people don't understand it. In fact I doubt a lot of them want to hear it.

You raised a very good point about taking a life earlier, Bailey. On my first ride along the F.T.O. I rode with asked me a very similar question. "Are you prepared to have somebody die in your arms?" He told me that he had responded to a recent car accident (which indeed was in the paper about a week before I went on the ride along) on a commonly used highway in New Hampshire, Route 101. An SUV with a sleeping male driver crossed over the median and plowed head-on into a woman going to work on the other side of the highway.

He was the first on scene, but could do nothing because she was trapped in the twisted metal and he could not pull her out. He had to hold her bloody hand and watch her die while he waited for the ambulance. Needless to say, it came too late. There was nothing he could do. He said that those are things that you'd have to deal with frequently, and that it can be a lot of mental stress. You need to prepare yourself for that.

Absolutely, and I would add that the average citizen is going to deal with an intense situation (car accident, death of a family member, observing a violent crime) maybe only a handful of times or even once in their life. Police officers deal with these situations every single day, multiple times per day. It is a crushing experience to watch innocent people hurt or killed by thoughtless individuals.

On the other side of the token, and going back to my situation, can you also imagine what it must have been like to be the deputy who had to go to the young man's home and explain to his mother that his fellow zone partner had killed her son? That's another element of my job because typically death notifications must always be done in person except in extenuating circumstances.

These are just all things to consider the next time an officer isn't as polite as one would expect. Every single person we come in contact with we are scanning their person for weapons and assessing the situation to determine if they are a threat or not. This is not a mentality that civilians understand unless they become more familiar with law enforcement besides what is seen on TV. It only takes one minor mistake for an officer to be killed. For me personally, I'm not going to give anybody the slightest opportunity to get the advantage over me.

I'm reading some interesting thoughts and experiences here. I'm 21 and like Unr3eal said, not everyone on this forum is willing or able to debate about such things. During my first week with the federal police, I've already experienced moments where I asked myself "Is this really what I would want to do for the rest of my life?". Last week for example, during my internship, a detective accompanied me to the forensic lab and I got a full tour. I saw body parts and heard some harsh stories, got to know the hard parts of life. For example, she talked about arriving at a crime scene were a man shot himself to the head in his bed. However, upon lifting the bed sheets, she discovered his 3 daughters lying next to him, also shot to the head. Those are things you have to be able to deal with when choosing a law enforcement career. You can't just walk away from situations like that.

Even my supervisor already lost 3 partners during his career.

Personally, after being confronted with real experiences, I am still as motivated as I was in high school. Like Bailey said, doing ride-alongs or interships are the best way of making sure you are up for it. There are a lot of people who think they are but not everyone really is.

@Bailey: thanks for sharing that story btw. It's harsh experiences like yours that really show the mental capacity you need in order to be able to deal with police work.

That's something I see as well with many applicants. They are in perfect physical shape but lack the mental shape however to be able to deal with very stressfull situations.

My experiences are nothing compared to yours of course but they did confront me with the reality of what police work is really like. Your case clearly shows that you do not only need the mental capacity of being able to kill a human being when absolutely needed, but the mental capacity of coping with your actions later on as well. I'm sure though the stress team or a psychiater did a good job in helping you with that process. Know that I have the greatest respect for people like you who fight the war on the street every day :thumbsup:

I'm reading some interesting thoughts and experiences here. I'm 21 and like Unr3eal said, not everyone on this forum is willing or able to debate about such things. During my first week with the federal police, I've already experienced moments where I asked myself "Is this really what I would want to do for the rest of my life?". Last week for example, during my internship, a detective accompanied me to the forensic lab and I got a full tour. I saw body parts and heard some harsh stories, got to know the hard parts of life. For example, she talked about arriving at a crime scene were a man shot himself to the head in his bed. However, upon lifting the bed sheets, she discovered his 3 daughters lying next to him, also shot to the head. Those are things you have to be able to deal with when choosing a law enforcement career. You can't just walk away from situations like that.

Even my supervisor already lost 3 partners during his career.

Personally, after being confronted with real experiences, I am still as motivated as I was in high school. Like Bailey said, doing ride-alongs or interships are the best way of making sure you are up for it. There are a lot of people who think they are but not everyone really is.

@Bailey: thanks for sharing that story btw. It's harsh experiences like yours that really show the mental capacity you need in order to be able to deal with police work.

That's something I see as well with many applicants. They are in perfect physical shape but lack the mental shape however to be able to deal with very stressfull situations.

My experiences are nothing compared to yours of course but they did confront me with the reality of what police work is really like. Your case clearly shows that you do not only need the mental capacity of being able to kill a human being when absolutely needed, but the mental capacity of coping with your actions later on as well. I'm sure though the stress team or a psychiater did a good job in helping you with that process. Know that I have the greatest respect for people like you who fight the war on the street every day

Absolutely, my sheriff's office has a great crisis team consisting of other deputies in my agency who will respond to situations like mine and essentially be a confidential shoulder to cry on. It's great because anything I tell that person is confidential under Florida state law, which is excellent because in the few hours following a use of force (especially deadly force in my situation), you have a million things going on including news media, sheriff's office legal team trying to get me sheltered, etc...

I experienced a lot of self-doubt in the days following my shooting. I kept wondering to myself if what I did was right or if I over-reacted (I'm also a religious person, so that element came into play as well), I wondered if the court was going to determine my shooting was justified or if it would be considered a homicide, etc... It was a mentally incapacitating experience, and our crisis team really helped me calm down and become comfortable with my decision. And in the end, the State of Florida determined my actions were justified.

I now teach a seminar to each of our new recruit classes in the academy at my agency where I essentially go step-by-step through that scene. I've found that it really puts things in perspective for the new recruits.

I also highly recommend, if you're interested, that you check out Det. Jared Reston's (Jacksonville SO) story regarding his experience. I don't how in depth his public interviews go into his situation, but here is a link with which to begin hearing his story. He chased a shoplifting suspect and at some point in the encounter the suspect pulled out a gun and shot Jared in the face and stood over his body and continued to fire rounds into his chest and legs. If I recall correctly, he was shot 7 times. After being shot 7 times, he had what he now calls the "will to win" and he returned firing killing the suspect. He came to my agency and I was lucky enough to attend his seminar and watch his presentation in person. It was truly an incredible story.

http://www.policeone...n-Jared-Reston/

Edited February 19, 201214 yr by Bailey23

Absolutely, my sheriff's office has a great crisis team consisting of other deputies in my agency who will respond to situations like mine and essentially be a confidential shoulder to cry on. It's great because anything I tell that person is confidential under Florida state law, which is excellent because in the few hours following a use of force (especially deadly force in my situation), you have a million things going on including news media, sheriff's office legal team trying to get me sheltered, etc...

I experienced a lot of self-doubt in the days following my shooting. I kept wondering to myself if what I did was right or if I over-reacted (I'm also a religious person, so that element came into play as well), I wondered if the court was going to determine my shooting was justified or if it would be considered a homicide, etc... It was a mentally incapacitating experience, and our crisis team really helped me calm down and become comfortable with my decision. And in the end, the State of Florida determined my actions were justified.

I now teach a seminar to each of our new recruit classes in the academy at my agency where I essentially go step-by-step through that scene. I've found that it really puts things in perspective for the new recruits.

I also highly recommend, if you're interested, that you check out Det. Jared Reston's (Jacksonville SO) story regarding his experience.

Thanks again for wanting to share your experiences. It is trully inspiring. For you to deal with such an experience yourself completely on your own would have been near impossible, I think. I'm sure your colleagues were of great help as well, next to the crisis team. And like you said, teaching that experience to other officers, is of great value.

Also, 22 years is still pretty young so for you to have already experienced such a thing can only be positive for your later career. It shows that it doesn't matter if you're a newbie LEO or a veteran on the street.

Thank you for sharing that link, I am always in for acquiring more knowledge about real experiences on the field. :thumbsup:

Wow, what an excellent read this thread turned into.

Edited February 19, 201214 yr by HolyOrangeJuice

i'm currently in testing with the NYPD and will be taking my local city's pd test (philadelphia ) as well

talked to a few of them and i know a bunch of cops, and there are actually really nice they treat u how u wanna be treated

Edited February 19, 201214 yr by K-9 Police 11

Wow, what an excellent read this thread turned into.

Some of us here are more serious than a lot of the YouTube kids who like flashing lights and shiny badges. lol

Some of us here are more serious than a lot of the YouTube kids who like flashing lights and shiny badges. lol

True that :thumbsup:

Some of us here are more serious than a lot of the YouTube kids who like flashing lights and shiny badges. lol

Yup, I'm going to school so I can become a police officer. Anytime I hear people say they want to be cops I always ask them why? Was it because they thought it was like TV shows or do they really want to help people and become a police officer. Go through the ups and downs. The job isn't all glorious but is very rewarding for you as a person and the peoples lives you touch.