How do i become a policemen??

[culero]

Originally posted by wes34th
lol, that's why we have our little friends in internal affairs and the department of justice;)

Heh...south Texas is a world of its own

[x0847Marine]

Originally posted by EagleEyes
Protecting people!!  I enjoy helping people who are in need.  I love standing up for the little people.  And i love defending this country of ours!  

If ever asked by a Dept, do not give these reasons...

EVERYONE, and I mean everyone says this.. I've been on oral boards many times where literally 10 in a row will sit down and recite their little speech about wanting to 'help'. Try not to be 1 of 10, have a different answer.

Think it it as a regular job, "I'd like to work here because they pay and benefit package is excellent, this Dept has a good reputation and is known for the professionalism of the officers, there's tremendous opportunity for advancement as well as job security ..."  its ok to want the job for the $$ & benefits.

One thing you absolutely MUST do is research the city / Dept you're applying for, know the demographics, crime problems, a little city history, something about the Dept, the officers and incorporate these into your answers.. you'll probably be the only one who does and you will stand out for the better.

People think they can show up to police interviews and recycle the same speeches, military guys are terrible for this... they've been told after they get discharged the police will stamp "hired" on their forehead, all they need to do is show up and let us meet them... this is a lie. I failed most military guys simply because they didn't even try, I'd ask them something like "How many officers do we have here and why does that appeal to you?.. all I got was a blank stare, they had no idea what to say because they put in zero effort to know anything about the Dept.

This is what I mean by being better than the other 97%, the wash outs dont their homework, they offer typical canned answers, and generally dont go the extra mile to show the Dept they're 100% committed to working there.

If you want to "help", try something like this:
"From what I understand this city has a 15% rise in gang violence recently, this Dept would give me the opportunity to work with these kids and hopefully make a difference"... or maybe veh theft is the biggest issue, work that into your answer. Every Dept is different, has different problems, its just common sense that recycled answers wont work.

When you're running around taking tests, you likely run into "know it alls" who are professionals at applying for, and being washed out from, Depts.  They'll talk all about what you should expect, what the right answers are, how close they've come to being hired... Ignore them, or do the opposite of what they suggest..  these people are parasites, following their advice will land you in their shoes; the wash out line. Be your own man, have your own answers, do your own homework and screw everyone else there.. they are out for the same spot you are.

Anyway... good luck.

[Maverick]

In an oral board an acceptable answer is "I don't know". If you try to BS the board, who can be some very experianced street Cops as well as Detectives, they will spot your song and dance for the BS it is and down check you for it. If it's a question regarding something you have never heard of or even considered, say so. That's the honest answer.  If later in the interview you suddenly recall the answer to the question you couldn't handle before don't be afraid to stop and let them know you recalled it. Sometimes the board members will give you additional questions that lead you to the point you couldn't think of earlier. No one comes into an oral with all the answers pat. Some questions have no right answers, just shades of grey. They expect you to be nervous. If you try to come accross as a know it all, done it all and stone cold, you blew it.

[x0847Marine]

Originally posted by Maverick
In an oral board an acceptable answer is "I don't know". If you try to BS the board, who can be some very experianced street Cops as well as Detectives, they will spot your song and dance for the BS it is and down check you for it. If it's a question regarding something you have never heard of or even considered, say so. That's the honest answer.  If later in the interview you suddenly recall the answer to the question you couldn't handle before don't be afraid to stop and let them know you recalled it. Sometimes the board members will give you additional questions that lead you to the point you couldn't think of earlier. No one comes into an oral with all the answers pat. Some questions have no right answers, just shades of grey. They expect you to be nervous. If you try to come accross as a know it all, done it all and stone cold, you blew it.

My favorite question to ask:
You are a trainee here, 2 weeks on the job, your training officer is a well respected vet with 19 years, retiring soon.

You respond to a liquor store for a theft report, while talking to the clerk you see your partner take a soda & candy bar outside without paying, he instructs you to finish up the report and meet him outside when you are done.

What would you do?

--- no matter what they said, I'd try to get them to second guess themselves, "You wouldn't really do that, would ya?".. they guys who passed stuck to their answers and offered some reasonable justification.

I got asked this question, my answer was to pick up the same soda & candy bar as my T/O and offer to pay the clerk for both of us, "My partner has the same things, here is $$ for both of us"... from there I confront him about it outside, maybe he forgot, maybe he paid and I missed it.

As it turns out my T/O tells me to shut up about it, "you didn't see anything", he also threatens to have me fired for being a bad trainee, according to the scenario.

They grilled me about it, but I stuck to my answer which ultimately lead to telling a supervisor... they tried to get me to reverse myself, but I wouldn't. I made my decision, period.

They asked if I was willing to ruin a 19 year vets career, "no" I said, "I'd tell a supervisor to help save this respected vets career, if hes got a problem it can be addressed now before getting to a point it put his 19 year career at risk. I'm not trying to get him fired, but alerting his co-workers he might need some help".. sounds a bit corny, but I aced that test with a 105% (100% + 5 military points)

[Maverick]

I got the same question and gave the same answer. They didn't push the issue too much about afterwards but seemed to like the way I handled it. They also asked me if I would be willing to go on strike if the other Officers (FOP bargaining agents then) did. Since we had just gone through a strike situation I knew it was a hot button. I had to answer that I hadn't thought of it but would make the decision if and when that happened. The kicker about it was that I would still be on probation so could be fired without recourse.

I passed it but was sweating bullets the whole time. Of course you never know if you passed until they called you to do the next phase of selection.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Heh with the incorrect use of the plural I'd say you're well on your way already!

[wes34th]

Originally posted by culero
Heh...south Texas is a world of its own

I bet, but let an FBI agent visit your area and I think he will tell you he serves the FBI and investigates DOJ complaints!But, the world will always
have a few bad apples.I guess that's where god kicks in:D

[culero]

Originally posted by wes34th
I bet, but let an FBI agent visit your area and I think he will tell you he serves the FBI and investigates DOJ complaints!But, the world will always
have a few bad apples.I guess that's where god kicks in:D

Oh we have feebs down here. Matter of fact, my neighbor is a retired feeb agent. He has as much contempt for the FBI as I do

[wes34th]

I think you just got put on some homeland security watch list;)

[culero]

Originally posted by wes34th
I think you just got put on some homeland security watch list;)

That prolly happened years ago when, summoned for Federal jury duty, I refused to swear the oath. I was asked by the Federal district court judge to explain why.

I told him that, with all due respect, since I believed the Federal law enforcement and court system to be corrupt in general, it was impossible for me to swear to be a fair and impartial juror. How could a person such as I possibly believe anything a US Attorney, Federal law enforcement officer, or Federal judge had to say?

After a short silence, the judge averred that my service would not be required. I've never been called since

Hell, I used to tell these guys what I thought of 'em while I was shooting at the pistol range with 'em, back when they didn't have their own range

[EagleEyes]

wow.....my heads starting to hurt from all this info! lol.

The more i read into this stuff, the more i like it.  But the one thing im confused about, some say Military service is good, others say its not.  So to you big shot policemen.  Is it really better to BE in the military??  Because i really wanna be at  the top of the list from the get-go.

[Gunthr]

Not a big shot    but I am a police officer very experienced in background investigations as well as every other aspect of the hiring process.

Besides the bonus points awarded veterans, (and even more points awarded for wartime service, and service during certain eras)  military service is definately a plus.

Honorable military service tells you a lot about an applicant.  They are usually more mature, more responsible, they know how to work as part of a team, they understand the chain of command,  and they have experienced discipline and usually have been exposed to firearm training.  An applicant with successful military experience has already proven their ability to work within a military or quasi-military organization like law enforcement agencies and are usually physically up to police work.

  Successful military service will not make up for disqualifying factors in the driving record, past illegal drug use,  criminal history, etc.  Tolerance for these things will vary from agency to agency to a degree.

[Obie303]

There is alot of good advise posted EagleEyes.  Hope you're taking notes!:aok

Obie

[Slash27]

Originally posted by sluggish
Go to your local community college and inquire about their crimminal justice program.  Get yourself a two year degree and go from there.

 

Go to an academy first and get your peace officer certification. Then get the degree. You're young and have plenty of time for the degree, might as well be putting time in on the job and getting experience, not to mention a paycheck.

[Maverick]

Slash,

Not all states let you go to an academy or take courses that give you academy credit. In AZ. you have to be hired first THEN they dept either has their own academy certified by the state or you go to another agencies academy for the state Peace Officer training so you can be accredited. While there are LE related course in the state Colleges, none give you academy credit.

An LE agency will have specific education requirements. Make sure you meet them before you apply or you're just wasting your time and paper.

Military service can help you get on. Like was already posted you get a 5 point bonus in civil service situations.

Some agencies, particularly from a liberal town, do not like military folks and don't trust them to fit in. They have an expectation that you will be trigger happy, overly regimented, non thinking and too aggressive. Stupid but I've seen it. When I came in I was told that the MP training I had didn't count for anything and that the academy would train me on how the Department wanted me to work. On some evaluations years later I had a Sgt. write comments on an annual eval that I was overly militaristic in my demeanor. He never did explain what he meant by that but I got my raise anyhow and that really pissed him off. It was really funny later when he had to ask me to train an honor guard for funerals.