learn me: Police officer or other LEO)

So the other day at work, having a crappy day, got to thinking of other things to do, and being a cop has come in and out of my agenda for awhile now. I know there are a few of you guys here that are involved in law enforcement, so like with everything, I chimed in here.

My cousin is the Sheriff here, and my uncle was a deputy, head of security at the local college, and until recently was our jailer. It's in my family, and I think it could be a very rewarding career. I wanna help, I wanna give back, I wanna bust the bad guys.

And that's the problem. I think I have this romanticized view of being a police officer, catching the bad guys, making the streets safer, and all those other great things. When in reality, there's a lot of sitting around, doing paperwork, eating donuts and generally being bored.

For one, I have no experience to speak of with security or inmates or anything like that, and for two, I'm out of shape and would require a lot of work to make the physical.

Also, I'm pretty laid back, although I'm pretty sure that messing with some bad attitude perps would turn me into a hardass pretty quick.

Any input O' GRM?

put on a cheap badge and carry a squirt gun and some fake hand cuffs around.. if it makes you feel like you are better than everyone else, then you should probably not consider that line of work..

You have the first step. Getting in is a hard part and it takes knowing people. If your cousin is the sheriff, you should have an easy in. Being in shape all has to do with how training is. Find out how your cousin trains and if there are any fitness tests.

There may be other jobs where you can be law enforcement without being your average deputy, such as animal control or other lesser know LEO jobs, although those jobs may be done by the sheriff where you are.

Yes there is paperwork, but once you know how to do it, it doesn't outweigh the rewards of the job. If you can focus on staying laid back, you could do very well as long as you keep your cool with those with the bad attitudes.

Most of the work is pretty easy to learn along with laws. You'll learn all you need in training or the academy. However they do it there.

It's not a romanticized view as long as that is what you focus on. You'll do all that, and yes, you'll do the paperwork. Some will like you because of what you do, some will hate you for it. The LEO is not user friendly,. By that I mean that most work you do is with those who you will not be saving the life of, or giving a helping hand, but you'll get your chances.

All I can say is that if you really want to give it a try, go ahead. If its not what you want, then move on to something else. Just before you give it that try take as many ride alongs with as many deputies as you can. That can really give you a good idea of what you will be dealing with.

Any more questions, post them up.

(Keep in mind, I'm LEO, but not off duty. Once I leave the property I enforce, I'm a civilian. Hopefully that will change very soon.)

16 years as a LEO downunder until 95, out of date info.

Get into shape, keep your attitude in check, work hard, cover your arse all the time.

Three P's are cause of all trouble, Piss (Aussie for alcohol), Puzzy, Property.

aussiesmg wrote: .....Three P's are cause of all trouble, Piss (Aussie for alcohol), Puzzy, Property.

I think it is pretty much the same in the states, but we don't call it "piss", we call it Budweiser ...

....well...Ok, yes we call it Piss sometimes also...

About seven years ago I did some work on a retired Ohio state highway patrolmans house. In conversation I let him know that I was interested in becoming a patrolman. His first piece of advice was

"After you get through all the bs and pass the tests you'll have an interview, After the interview they will kick you out of the program for some bs reason. Everyone gets kicked out, it's a way for them to weed out people who are not really commited. You will have to go through all the bs again, if you do that they'll know your serious"

I passed the civil service exam, passed all of the tests had an interview and was scheduled for the main entrance exam. There was over 250 applicants at the test. Before the test they had the main instructor come up and give a speech. He was an ex Marine and had been with the OHP for many years. He asked how many people there had military experiance. Over 2/3 raised their hands. He went on to say that the training was more demanding, longer and harder than the Marine corps. He said if your not totally commited to not even bother just get up and leave, a handful of people did. They came through and kicked another handful out for wearing jeans. We where told in advance to dress proffesionaly.

Long story short I place just above average. but shortly after recieved a letter in the mail saying I was not going to be admitted into the program for what they called accesive drug abuse in my past. One of the questions was "how many times in yoyur life have you used marijuana. A. 0 B.1-2 C 2 or more." I answered C. Maybe I should have lied but they made sure we all understood that we would be going in for a lie detectpr test and if it showed a descrepancy there would be no re-admittance into the program.

For the record I tried pot maybe five or six times in highschool, haven't touched it since I was bout seventeen.

It had taken me over six months to get that far. and during that time the company I was working for went under. The training pay, even if I would have been able to get re-admitted, wouldn't have been enough for me to keep the house. Plus with so many people fresh out of the military and my average test scores I figured it was a long shot anyway.

I know most LEO jobs are not that strict or demanding. I believe the Ohio State Highway Patrol was the toughest to get into and had the the toughest training program in the country at that time.

My advice though is if it's really something you want to do go for it. Just make sure that it's what you want and know what you will have to give up to do it.

There are two types of positions: certified(meaning you have graduated from the academy) and non-certified. Certified allows you to be a road officer; non-certified means you will be working in the jail or similar duties. Most departments around here are fund-limited and will hire you if you pay to attend and graduate the academy.
Do you have patience? How do you do when people cuss you, lie to you and otherwise act like a jackass towards you? Tn law requires you to have a thick skin and not be provoked; I would expect that most states have similar decisions/laws. Each department has its own standards and policies. Locally one department is so poorly trained, evil and depraved that they truly represent every bad about law enforcement(too many officers seem to get into law enforcement so that they can wear a gun; drive fast and have easy access to women. Other departments are honorable public servants who understand that it is their job to serve the public in addition to enforcing the laws.

Apply to departments that have a good retirement, civil service, and either have their own academy or pay you for academy. Don't get romantically attached to a particular state or city agency because truly the job is basically the same no matter where you go or what the uniform looks like.

Before going into the military this was my career plan. All I can say is get in shape, yes sir-no sir, try to find an agency that will sponsor you through an academy (if you are doing local, county, state, or sheriff), and study on how to properly answer situational questions. Most federal law enforcement agencies ask you questions on what you would do in certain situations and they are looking for common sense answers and not rambo answers.

Also from my experience, the more education you have it seems the less the agencies want you. I'm not sure what system some of them have but they seem hire a certain type of candidate each hiring cycle to fill a specific demographic. "Hmm we have too many people with 4 year degrees, let's hire some high school graduates to even things out this cycle."

Other than that, most agencies will shape/mold you into what they need, just as if the military would.

I can help you with the dealing with prisoners side.....my advice is keep unwavering consistency, don't do them any special favors, treat all the same(just don't forget they're still human beings), and always CYA.

Same goes for patrol on the street, too many officers around me have attitude problems, but there are many more good ones. It all boils down to keeping your cool, being always aware of your surroundings, and treating people with respect, even when they don't return it.

In your case, the only concern id have with joining your cousin is that if a new sheriff is elected, would your job be the first gone.

In regards to Nicksta's post, Highway Patrol is very military. They deal with hardened felons more than you would think. I respect them and know how dedicated they are. I almost went for MO State, but knew what I would have been getting into.

In regard to Ojala's post, he is dead on about part one, but many departments wont pay for your academy or pay while you are in. As for part two, every department is the same? Around here there is a major difference between one area and another. We have over 40 munies. They may be very low class and you may make 10.50 an hour and run traffic all day in you one mile strip of a four lane road and respond to domestics where you may be shot at. You may get used to being shot at. You may work in a rich neighborhood where you respond mainly to minor complaints and you have to go to the back door of the complaining party where you take your shoes off. You would be making much more there. Then again you could work for the main city and be with over 1000 officers where it may range from working with one of many tactical teams. The departments can be very very different.

In regards to DirtyBird's statements, Dead on, Sir. It may come down to what race you are, but it is not a racist issue. I have been turned down for being white in some areas. It happens. They need to fill a demographic.

In regards to Yamaha's statements, I would agree. You would have been helped in and you would be on the cutting block, but it would open you up for opportunities in other areas.

Good luck.

See I would be worried more about the other guys in the office being concerned that I only got in because I had connections, and/or saying I got special treatment because my boss is family. He's well over 50 and is a second cousin I think.

A couple of years ago my FIL offered to get me on at the jail where he works in the neighboring county, but I turned him down because I didn't wanna mess with the inmates, of course now I know that that experience would do well with what I'm looking into now, but that may not be necessary.

A friend of mine's cousins works for a neighboring police department, he just got out of the academy, and is still the FNG so I dunno how much help he would be.

In reply to I am not BoostedBrian:

A good option. Use your cuz to recommend you to the neighboring county. Being a relative can be an issue.

In reply to N Sperlo:

Not departments, the "Job" is pretty much the same. Day shift, night shift, tactical, detective, or whatever the basic skills of this Job are pretty similar.

What I have seen over the years are new rookies who join a department out of a romantic notion of serving a particular locality or an idea about how sexy and powerful they will be in their uniform.

They often burn out after a few years. I just wish that people would enter into this profession with the mindset that they will spend the rest of their career in the Job and plan accordingly.

First, do you need people to like you? If so become a firefighter and not a police officer. I don't mean this jokingly. If you really have to have people like you become a firefighter.

Bottom line, no one really likes the po-po nowadays. You never get to see people when they are having a good day. No one calls the po-po and says, "You guys are so awesome, I love you, thanks for being my police officers." Unfortunatley you almost always see people at their worst.

I think a lot of people go in the with notion they are going to save the world, or stop crime, or help people. I went in with those same ideas, but it just doesn't happen. Don't get me wrong, you can do some good, but you'll never be able to stop it all. And there will be times when it just grinds on you.

My only advice is that if you get into law enforcement, to try as hard as you can not to take the stresses of the job home with you. Work out, hit a heavy bag, do whatever you need to do to leave work at work. There will be times, when you deal with death firsthand, those are the days when you just go home and hug a loved one, or call your mom and dad to tell them you care. But there will be many more days when you see the scum of society, people will cuss you, your mama, your grandmama, they will spit on you, try and fight you, and try and kill you. And if you can't handle leaving that stuff at work it will just eat at you from the inside, and you have no business in law enforcement.

Although, on the flipside, if you are a single man, two words, Badge Bunnies.

The person you need to talk to is your cousin. You'll be more of a reactionary force, so I hope you have a strong stomach. You won't be the guy catching the axe murderer; you'll be the guy that sees the aftermath.

And that's the reason why I couldn't be a LEO or a Fire Fighter. It's one thing to see dead people in pictures, it's another to see them in real life..and touch them...eww.

A lot of departments do "ride along" programs, sign up for one of those, twice. Once on third shift on a Friday, once on first shift on a Tuesday. Does the Friday shift scare the crap out of you? Police work is not for you. Does the Tuesday day shift make you want to jump out of the car just to spice things up? Police work is not for you. Otherwise, start getting in shape, let the rest of the chips fall where they may. (Even if you don't end up in police work, there's really no down side to getting yourself in shape) Also, understand you may need some sort of experience to get your foot in the door. If you haven't been in the military, you may need to demonstrate your ability to handling intense training and stress in another way. (Train as an EMT, Volunteer Fireman, etc.) Best of luck to you.

Kazoo is right about experience, but it can be good not being out of the military. Military personnel need to re-adapt to working with civilians. Sometimes it doesn't work out. Definitely do lots of ride-alongs.

I am not BoostedBrian wrote: See I would be worried more about the other guys in the office being concerned that I only got in because I had connections, and/or saying I got special treatment because my boss is family. He's well over 50 and is a second cousin I think.

That is the case of you would have to work twice as hard to prove them wrong.

In reply to PHeller:

Its not that bad, but everyone sees it differently. Even those who deal with it all the time are set aback sometimes.

Some good advice has already been given here. Start working out, go for ride-alongs, if you're still hooked, volunteer with the local police.

If none of that keeps you from wanting to be a cop, then congrats, it's the career for you.

Are you a complete A-Hole and a bully and not care about anyone other than yourself? You are qualified to be a cop!

Do you over-indulge in alcohol, like doing favors for friends in exchange for favors, smoke a lot and never use turn signals? Then have the stuff to be an officer!

Do you think your excrement doesn't stink? Do you like doughnuts? Do you like making people lie and cry? Then you have what it takes to be a policeman!

Do you put yourself in harm's way to protect others? Do you hate criminals? Do you think the law should apply to everyone? Are you seriously bad-ass? They you could be a cop!

(1 in 4 cops seem to be OK, I hope your that fourth guy.)

In reply to pinchvalve:

In my experience, basically every field is that way.

25 percent of folks in it are awesome, 50 percent are "just ok", and 25 percent totally suck.

Cops aren't any different, and it annoys me when folks get all bent out of shape whenever they get in trouble instead of just taking responsibility for whatever they've done.

In reply to Racer1ab:

Its obvious you have experience LOL.

It's one thing to talkout the job, but you need some serious self control. Thats what this thread is boiling down to.

N Sperlo wrote: In reply to Racer1ab: Its obvious you have experience LOL. It's one thing to talkout the job, but you need some serious self control. Thats what this thread is boiling down to.

Indeed it is.......