Police Officer as a career?

Question

I want to be a police officer, what are the steps that i have to go througth in order to do this and how long does it usually take?

Answer 1

For one, you must not have a Class B misdemeanor or above offense (that is anything above a traffic fine) and can never have been convicted of family violence. You must be at least 21 years old and be able to possess a firearm. You must have a high school diploma or GED equivalent.

Steps you can take to get ready include jogging, sit-ups, and pushups. You can even go out to the range and practice shooting. Also, look at your credit. Is there anything you can do to improve it? Departments look at your credit. Bad credit gets applicants turned away.

As for how long it takes, It depends on the state, city, and the department. All departments' hiring procedure will include an interview, doctor's physical, a psychological test, a drug test, and a criminal background check. Some will include a lie detector test.

Some departments, especially smaller ones, want you to already be certified, because the cost of sending someone to an academy) is more than they can afford. In that case, you can include academy time (3 mo for full time and 9 for night school) plus hiring time before you get on with a department. IN this case, you will need to look into local police academies and talk to someone there about attending.

Some departments will go through the hiring process with you without the certification and then send you to the police academy if you are hired on. Others have a physical agility test that you must pass prior to being eligible to be hired. Many also have a written exam that you must pass. In this case, all you have to do is go to the police department, pick up an application or an application request, and turn it in. Then comes the fun part- waiting. Again, depending on the size of the department, it could take several months before you even hear back from the job to come in and test. For state and Federal policing jobs, it can take over a year.

After you test, you can add a week to a month before you hear back from the department for the next "phase" of hiring. Probably the interview. The only thing I can tell you about this is that you can expect someone to try to trip you up. They will give you situational questions and you have to describe how you would handle the situation. Just remember that cops that try to be heroes and do things by themselves are called dead cops. In a hot situation, you always call for backup and give the dispatcher your location- so if you have to handle a situation on your own, help knows where you are and can get to you.

Then, you get to wait for the next phase, then the next, then the next. All can be a week to a couple of months inbetween, but the HR person will probably let you know when to be expecting a call.

Again, the smaller the department, the more imperitave it is to get someone hired on to help out, so you could be hired on as soon as a month. The larger or more prestigious the department, the more time it will take to be hired on. Of course, those are the ones that pay more too.

Good luck, and I hope it is the right decision for you!

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Poo hed has a good answer. But the world needs more nice cops. So in order to be a cop, you got to be nice without letting the criminals walk all over you. :)

Actually I find cops in America to be less corrupt/evil than in other parts of the world.

So-- whatever, so long as you are keeping people like me safe I'm happy no matter how you act.

Answer 4

It depends on where you live. Call the local police departments and ask them. I live in NC and we have a basic law enforcement program, it just varies with each state. Best of luck with your new career. Been doing it for 3 years now and I love it.

Answer 5

First you have to be the school bully and then you go to college to learn how to intimadate inacent people then learn how to lie good enough to fool the poligraph then you have to practice reloading your gun so that you can shoot faster and it dose not mater if you can aim or not there will be fifty other cops there to help you blast the single suspect to hell.

Answer 6

about 3 year there hire in nyc

Answer 7

my brother too!!
well you got to get a ride along like ride along with a cop in his car. and do research about it or something and of course go to college.....
i think you graduate and your set.
i think it takes about four years

Answer 8

first become a major douche bag...then carry a gun. then pull over speeders and eat donuts. then you are a cop.