3 hours ago, LCSO Sheriff Jester said:

Now for the academy, My department uses our community college as a place to house the academy training at. However since it's a community college we tend to allow recruits to go home every night. It's also about 4 months if I believe? It's pretty easy & quick... Now from what I've heard you do LOADs of law studying which is the majority of the hard work/tests. We had a Las Vegas Metro transfer and he said that the majority of his classmates dropped out or got kicked out from their past history (Any kind of arrests) and alot of the remaining people dropped out from all the tests. Cause they'd do a test every single week. And above all that that's not including some of the shooting and what-not.

A nearby community college in my state has also adopted a police academy training center (more or less re-purposing some unused campus space and existing classrooms, then slapping some P.D. logos on the doors). They train in brown, S.A.-like uniforms (sorry, but it's true) when not wearing sweatpants running around the streets surrounding the campus, and they wear fake, blue plastic guns on their uniform belts. Recruits in my state for all police departments are allowed to go home unless you're a state trooper candidate. They have a separate academy and you must live there for the duration of your course. It is indeed outlined on state-run websites regarding the police academies that more or less all free time will be spent studying for exams. I'd be shocked of Las Vegas Metro even let those people you mentioned into the academy at all. Police departments around here are supposed to vet you for your criminal record and hire you first, then send you to the academy on their dime. You can pay for yourself to go to the academy, but you may or may not pass, and you're out of the thousands of dollars it costs whether you do or don't. It's better to get hired and get "sponsored" by a department instead.

Edited April 23, 20169 yr by unr3al

6 hours ago, unr3al said:

they wear fake, blue plastic guns on their uniform belts.-- I'd be shocked of Las Vegas Metro even let those people you mentioned into the academy at all. -- It's better to get hired and get "sponsored" by a department instead.

Yeah those guns are also used whenever we do trainings as police explorers. It's so people don't have to carry an actual firearm but have the feeling that they are because it weighs about the same as a real one, and is shaped like one. 

Yeah It was apart of their hiring process. He said there'd be about 500+ applicants, they'd go in for tests and what have you. And a large majority would either drop out or be kicked out due to their past history (Criminally). 

Yeah it's definitely better to be hired by a department then go through training. That's what we do. We hire people, they become "recruits" and ride along with all sorts of officers (And they don't wear uniforms, or guns. Just regular clothing) until the academy starts up.

Doing good on the test will get you in the door. Once you passed the test you have to go up against so many others who have also passed. You need either a degree or military experience if you want to stand a chance. This isn't 1980 anymore, nobody gets hired with a high school degree and good looks. 

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtectAndServe/comments/4fb835/weekly_hiring_questions_thread_april_18/ This thread refreshes every monday. Everybody with a flair is a verified police officer. There are several from Ohio who could help you out. 

13 minutes ago, Sawdbuster said:

Doing good on the test will get you in the door. Once you passed the test you have to go up against so many others who have also passed. You need either a degree or military experience if you want to stand a chance. This isn't 1980 anymore, nobody gets hired with a high school degree and good looks. 

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtectAndServe/comments/4fb835/weekly_hiring_questions_thread_april_18/ This thread refreshes every monday. Everybody with a flair is a verified police officer. There are several from Ohio who could help you out. 

True though I know some officers that have gone through a small department without a degree or military experience and made it quiet well. It truly just depends on the department in all reality. Some bigger departments are obviously gonna have more of a competition to get the job while small towns have much less competition. My hometown is about 5k people in it? Maybe more? And there's about 20 officers in all and trust me, If I went directly to them after high school/21 years old I'd probably get the job since I'm a Police Explorer and there's just not anyone else really trying for it except people from bad families and stuff while if I tried for my current city (I think we've got 150k+ people maybe?) then I'd have to go against 20-40 other applicants (After the hiring process too!) 

And great idea with the threat on reddit never thought of going on there! 

I know officers who have done the same thing, but not since the 1990s. Everybody since has a degree or extensive military experience. But 450+ ppl applied for 5 positions with my hometown PD, 2 years ago. Everybody who got hired had a 4 year degree, 2 had previous law enforcement experience, the requirements are only getting more and more rigorous as time goes on.  

Edited April 23, 20169 yr by Sawdbuster

Hmmm. Guess I'll come out of hiding for this topic.

 

No you don't need a degree to pursue a career in Law Enforcement. Each department is different, check their requirements. 

Have a clean driving/criminal record and don't try to hide ANYTHING during the background investigation phase. 

Military is not exactly a BIG plus in terms of chances for getting the job. They don't want hardened combat vets in today's policing world. I'm an LEO now, and former military (Air Force Security Forces, and I did deploy to A-stan so I'm talking from experience.) Sorry to hear about your rejection, btw. The AF is picky AF nowadays.

Please do a ride-a-long BEFORE any potential interview and let the officer know you've applied and tell the interviewer that you did do a ride-a-long (that gives them some kind of direct reference to go to, and somebody who could potentially recommend you.) 

 

Ohio is a hard state for LEO, however. Honestly, I'd recommend the Highway Patrol (I'm a current trooper in another state). I know OHP requires only a HS diploma and they're in need. They love young men & woman who could make a career out of it.

 It's the hardest and longest training you'll go through (paramilitary training and environment), but nothing beats the immense pride you'll carry with you. I'd compare it to the Marines of law enforcement. You went through harder and longer training than anybody else and more is expected of you. There's a reason troopers carry themselves with such pride and they are looked up to by citizens and other LEAs alike. NOTHING beats that feeling of wearing your campaign cover for the first time with the badge. 

10 minutes ago, Pavelow said:

Ohio is a hard state for LEO, however. Honestly, I'd recommend the Highway Patrol (I'm a current trooper in another state). I know OHP requires only a HS diploma and they're in need. They love young men & woman who could make a career out of it.

 It's the hardest and longest training you'll go through (paramilitary training and environment), but nothing beats the immense pride you'll carry with you. I'd compare it to the Marines of law enforcement. You went through harder and longer training than anybody else and more is expected of you. There's a reason troopers carry themselves with such pride and they are looked up to by citizens and other LEAs alike. NOTHING beats that feeling of wearing your campaign cover for the first time with the badge. 

BTW It depends on some departments for ridealongs... Civilians in my city only get 4 hour ride alongs each year while explorers get 8 hour ride alongs each month.

As for HP Aren't most requirements either 2 years Law Enforcement, or Military or 60 hours of college? That's what it is for both Kansas Highway Patrol & Missouri highway Patrol. 

And for sure on the pride stuff! I've yet to see a Highway patrolman who isn't happy about their job.

Though if Highway Patrol isn't your thing, I'd definitely recommend Sheriffs. They almost always have all kinds of divisions plus they're locally elected unlike Chief of Polices plus technically they can't get told to do something by a Mayor unlike Police. 

Edited April 24, 20169 yr by LCSO Sheriff Jester

Spoiler

plblblt

This is just a testpost, in general, ignore this, I thought i could delete posts. 

... my bad?

Edited April 26, 20169 yr by MoonzWolf
Explanation.

What about the more unusual sides of policing, park rangers, sanitation police, taxi and limousine enforcement, sureLy you do not need a degree for the latter two?

(Is bumping threads still alright?)

On 6/20/2016 at 3:49 PM, fbo194 said:

What about the more unusual sides of policing, park rangers, sanitation police, taxi and limousine enforcement, sureLy you do not need a degree for the latter two?

(Is bumping threads still alright?)

You need a four year degree for the National Park Service. It's not explicitly stated on their requirements like everybody here will tell you, but they want it. 

Based upon all the departments you have listed, I am assuming you mean NYC's agencies. In that case, they will want college or military experience. You don't need it per requirements, but they want it and will probably not hire you without it. NYPD needs at least 60 college credits, (associates degree), so these smaller NYC agencies will probably want the same. Also NYPD is a two year wait, if you get hied. So there are plenty of applicants for all those agencies. 

You are going to be seeing similar situations nationwide. Washington state is hiring like crazy now, if you are of age and believe you can hack it, drop some applications off at them. 

If you don't have a degree or military experience, and want to be a cop, Get it. You are not, I repeat not, going to get hired off the base requirements, which are usually set fourth by the state, not the department itself. Once you get into a hiring pool, you will be up against others with law enforcement experience, military, degrees, department connections, late 20s to late 30s year old canidates with excelent work histories, etc. If you're a day over 21, with a high school degree, and 4 years of 20 hours a week at dennys, you're not going to get hired. 

On 4/21/2016 at 5:55 PM, Officer Dave said:

Yeah, I have. General census is no you don't need a degree, just do good on the tests.

You don't need a degree but it is strongly recommended you have one. You are in the exact same situation I was in when I was 19. I was in college working towards my bachelors degree and I dropped out because I didn't really enjoy school and just wanted to jump straight into law enforcement. I went to the police academy and graduated with no problems. I started applying to agencies and kept getting turned down due to "lack of [life] experience". Most applicants now days have at least an associates degree or higher and most agencies, even though their minimum requirement might say 19 or 20 years old, are looking for people who are at least in their mid-20s because how is a 19 year old going to deal with a 30 or 40 year old person who is going through a crisis? No amount of training can replace life experience. I'm not saying that they won't hire 19 year olds but it is becoming less and less common due to the scrutiny placed on LEOs now. The younger you are the more of a liability you are.

My advice, finish your degree then apply. Trust me, I was there and I know how much it sucks to have to wait to start a career you know you will love but it will pay off enormously in the end.

On 4/18/2016 at 10:52 PM, unr3al said:

-Passion for the job beyond "I want to help people". They'll say "next" as soon as you drop that line during an oral interview.

What IS a right answer to that question....? if someone's passion for the job is fueled by the desire to help people, what more could we want from a cop?

5 hours ago, Riley24 said:

What IS a right answer to that question....? if someone's passion for the job is fueled by the desire to help people, what more could we want from a cop?

Interest, knowledge, ability, experience. There are plenty of things.

I wonder sometimes, if I ever get that green card and that US citizenship, will foreign LE experience and military rank give at least any advantage?..

On 6/29/2016 at 4:55 PM, Riley24 said:

What IS a right answer to that question....? if someone's passion for the job is fueled by the desire to help people, what more could we want from a cop?

You can skip to :13. That's why you don't say "to help people", because that's the response you'll get. This is information straight from an F.T.O. I rode with. They don't want to hear any generic bull****.

If you really want to be a police officer, go to Baltimore. They're short of 200 officers right now, and 200+ more will be retiring/leaving in the next year. So there's 400 slots to fill. The police captain came to my school a month ago to recruit. I live in CT. The fact he came this far to recruit shows how desperate they are. What he told us is basically, " if you're a good person, have a clean record, and can pass the minimum physical entry test" (something outrageously easy, like 20 push-ups, mile and a half run in 15 minutes or less), "we WILL hire you." They actually just hired one man in his 50's, and they hired one man from Puerto Rico that doesn't even have a green card yet. 

Do I agree with their selection process? No, I think this is why we're getting so many bad apples in policing. But is it good for people like you and me that want to be police officers? Absolutely. And once you work there for about 4-5 years, you can transfer to a nice town if you want if you go applying again. Most other police departments will recognize Baltimore's police academy, especially in the state of Maryland. Otherwise you may have to enter a "shortened" version of a police academy if another department hires you. Though you still have an edge over other applicants that aren't already police officers.
This is all information I received from the orientation.

I am also 19. I'm attending college, and plan on getting into L.E. in a few years. As Unr3al said, most departments prefer people in their late 20s but that doesn't mean they wont hire you at 21 or 22. 

 

 

Edited July 2, 20169 yr by Original Light

8 hours ago, Original Light said:

I am also 19. I'm attending college, and plan on getting into L.E. in a few years. As Unr3al said, most departments prefer people in their late 20s but that doesn't mean they wont hire you at 21 or 22. 

You've got that right. Show them what you're made of, and you can change their minds. I was in my early 20's when I went on my first ride along, and the F.T.O. had told me that he would normally never consider hiring anyone below the age of 27, but with me he would make an exception because I answered his morality questions correctly, I had genuine interest in the jobs nuances like codes and lingo, the applications of certain laws, officer discretion, etc. (not just asking stupid s*** like "Did you shoot anyone?"). Show them you care.

As a former resident of Baltimore, I can definitely second the statement that Baltimore is running short on law enforcement officers. You really don't see Baltimore Police often unless you're in the touristy areas and the higher wealth parts of the City. Other than that, at least from what I've experienced, you only ever see them when they're called. You'll spot one every now and then, but it isn't as often as it should be. Of course, I'm a civilian and not an actual law enforcement officer, so this is what I've seen from that perspective.

Edited July 4, 20169 yr by TheDivineHustle