What are the best steps to take to become a police officer?

Question

About me:
I am a female
I'm majoring in political science/government- (currently have a cumulative 4.0 GPA)
I am thinking about enlisting into the army after graduation ( to pay back some student loans and to gain experience)
I'm also a minority (half black and native american)

What are my chances and what additional steps should i take in order to become a police officer?

Answer 1

1. Where do what to work? Look up their web site and see what they require you may have enough credits to apply.
2. Wait until they are excepting new recruits fill out an intrest form.
3. Go test and see if you make it into their academy.

Answer 2

Everything that you mentioned looks great. You didn't discuss your background but I'll assume that it is in good shape (no convictions, no dui's, no drug use, etc). You really don't need military service once you obtain your degree. Generally speaking, as there are many different types of Law Enforcement agencies in the USA, you should look for a department with at least 300+ sworn personnel. This size or larger of an agency will provide you with all types of specialty jobs and promotional opportunities. The best departments out there usually want you to have one of the following, a college education, military service or prior police experience. If you don't have one of these you may have to start out at a smaller department or what I call a fringe department such as College Police, Airport Police, Hospital Police or such. Then once you are certified and get a year or two of experience you become much more in demand from the departments with stricter hiring standards. Always shoot for the most professional agency in your area. It is harder to get on there for a reason.

Some advice on things you can do. Definitely go to each department that you are interested in and sign up for a ride along. You want to do your ride alongs at night and on the weekends. This is when you get a front row ticket to the world's freak show. Riding with an officer will tell you a lot about the agency and the type of people the agency hires. You will also pick up all types of useful information on the hiring process. No one will know the specifics better than the person that you ride with because they went through the process.

Again though, every thing that you listed about yourself is positive and would make you a great potential officer trainee. Best of wishes.

Answer 3

Apply for it, take a exam/tests and make your way to the academy. Make sure that you pass the health & fitness requirements such as eye sight requirements, weight vs height ratio (Body Mass Index), so you can pass agility tests and medicals.

Always be prepared before you apply.
Have you got a police record? Not just for general offences such as robberies or assualt. I mean the small issues that applicants never think counts such as prior driving offences (speeding, tailgating), Finance (e.g bankruptcy), and any other convictions including cautions or warnings.

If the state police you are applying for discover that you have lied or mislead them in anyway then your application could be cancelled straight away.

Your education seems very good, don't be worried about your minority. The US Police Academies are always looking to recruit applicants from diverse backgrounds.
I'm half asian but not as nice as some people think me to be, I can be just as aggressive as the next caucasion.

I think you need your Level 1 First Aid certificate prior to applying or it's needed whilst training at the academy and during your service as an officer.
Don't take what I say as being gospel, call the Recruitment Services Branch and request the information from them, then you will know that information is genuine.

Good Luck.

Answer 4

Your first thing is forget the military.In the old days that was the way to go but not now.You need a bachelors degree to start at a police academy in the state of Illinois.To get the most for your intelligence would be to start with the federal government.Better pay and better all around i should know.I too wanted to your career choice but the cut off age didn't allow that.So I looked into the federal gov. and I was glad I did.I started out making twice as much and benefits,lets just say wow!!!40's plus to start and five weeks paid vacation.With your degree you can start out as a g-8 or 9 classification which just means more money in your pocket to start.NO,yes i said no push ups or running or lie detector tests, just pass two interviews and take a simple common knowledge test(pass with a score of 80 or better)Don't get me wrong the test is timed and not easy but once I got in I got my wife into the gov job and we combined make 125,000 a year.By the way I'm only 35 and my wife is 26 years old.Your choice just another option for you.Good Luck

Answer 5

I suggest Taking every police test possible. The more experience you get at tests the better you become and scoring high is very important. Next I was also in the Ohio Army National guard and it pays all college for 4 years and it's part-time. Consider OCS I did! Not all states are the same. Also suggest working on getting into the forensic or detective side of police work, after you get in. It offers more money, training and better than rotating shifts every 30 days!! Good Luck!

Answer 6

You sound like a sharp woman. Too bad you may end up covering the corruption and abuse of your future co-workers.

With a 4.0 gpa, I'd be wary of the many police departments that reject candidates who are too intelligent, because they'll get bored and leave. The links have been going around. Just make sure you won't be discriminated against for being too sharp

Answer 7

try going to an academy, then wants you get your degree in law enforcement, get a newspaper or even go online and check the local listings for police officer and there you got your self a place to start.You might wanna try to make up a resume to go along with the applacation. now all you can do after that is keep in touch with the agensy you wanna work for.

Good luck..............................but personally I don't think girls make very good Cops. srry just my opinion, but the info above should get you a good start inbecomming a police officer

Answer 8

Apply to the police academy. Some people choose to earn a degree in justice studies before entering the academy but it's not required. Best of luck to you! P.S. Contact your local police dept for best information on which police academies are in your area

Answer 9

Get in shape. Most Police agencies have a PT test you have to take along with the academic one.

Although it seems that for some.... once they make it out of the academy that physical fitness isn't so important....

Answer 10

Concern yourself on the physical part first.
You have to run so many miles in a time frame they set.
Push ups, the most difficult... the weight {lifting weights } I think you have to lift 3 times your body weight.above your head laying down. Sit ups etc. There are written tests etc. The hardest the psychological.