What are the neccesary steps to become a police officer?

Question

What credit is given for prior active duty military? What is the salary/benefits like? What is it like day to day?

It would be big city with someone who has 10 yrs of active duty army Does anyway know if that counts towards pension the active duty military?

Answer 1

First you must go to an Offical Police Academy. Either by your own payment or by get hired on by a city and have them pay for your training. Then once you graduate you will have field training where you ride along with a training officer. That officer has years of experience working in the field. Then once you are done with that on the job training period you will drive the streets alone in your own car.

In some cities you can by back your military time to count as credit towrd your years of service at retirement.

The benefits are like any city employee, great.

The day to day differs. For a first hand experience contact your local police department and go on a ride along. Talk to the officers there.

And for Swede- No Cop ever sacrificed his own life eating a donut you ***!

Answer 2

Agencies have different requirements as to college education - some require a degree, some only require a HS diploma, some have requirements in between. No felonies.

Written test, oral interview, physical agility, psych exam (MMP), medical exam, polygraph, background investigation and then the academy. In all cases, you have to attend a "civilian" LE academy - Military police, while good experience, doesn't get you the state POST certificate.

Credit for military duty depends on the state and individual agency (city, county, state, federal). Some give you year-for-year credit, some give you no credit, some allow you to buy additional years up to your time served in the military.

Pay and benefits depends on the agency and location. Higher cost-of-living areas will have higher pay (duh!!!) and maybe other benefits not normally seen elsewhere (assistance with housing purchases, etc...). Pay may range from $2000/mo up to $6000 or more/month, depending on the area.

Day to day - depends on the area. It's all over the map. Some places you may be kicking a$$ your entire shift and never get fully caught up on your reports; some places, you MAY take a report on a shift...

California Deputy

Answer 3

Apply, take the written test, then physical test consisting of a run and push-ups. Then if you pass the test and are in the top, the department will schedule an interview date with a hiring officer. The hiring officer will go over what is expected and have you fill out your background packet and take a b-pad test. Then you will have to wait a few weeks for your background check. If you pass, you will now take your psychological test, pre-polygraph exam, and polygraph. If you pass, you will have another interview and then your board interview where you will sit in front of a bunch of people and they will ask you lots of personal and decision making type questions.

If you are chosen, you will go to the academy for 6-7 months and then after graduating you will be on probation until you are ready to work on your own. Probation will be with a few different officers and they will cretique you to the max!

Prior military is a plus in the area of life experience, but it does not mean you are more qualified than someone without military experience. Alot of departments do not like to hire people from the military, because of their attitude towards people. Working with the community is alot different than how you deal with people in the service.

The only salary benefits are from college credits, or previous law enforcement training or specialized training like forensics, multiple languages, etc.

One officer once told me police work is like "8 hours of boredom, inturrupted by 30 seconds of terror, followed by 3 hours of paperwork."

Answer 4

To become a cop, you need to get certified (go through a poilce academy) in the state where you live/work. Some states will accept certification from other states.

MOST, not all, agencies will give credit for prior law enforcement/ military experience in the form of increased pay and sometimes waiving the requirement of going through their own police academy (if you're already certified). Some don't. It's a good idea to ask about that before applying. Even if the academy is waived, you may still have to go to a 2-3 week course on state laws if you are moving to a different state.

Federal and state agencies pay the best and have better benefits but have stricter requirements for employment, followed by larger cities and then the county agencies. Though some county agencies may have the same benefits, but not pay, as the state.

The best way to find out about the pay scale/benefits and different divisions (SWAT, investigations, street crimes, patrol, K-9, etc.) within the agency is to call or go to the website of the agency you're interested in. They typically have alot of info on them. You can usually tell how pro-active an agency is by their website. Oh, and look up the local newspaper to see what is said and how the community feels about the agency and to get an idea of the types of crimes they deal with the most.

Some will allow civilians to do "ride alongs" ( you have to sign a few papers saying the agency won't be liable for what happens to you and they cannot guarantee your safety). You get to ride with an officer for a couple hours of his/her shift. That's a good way to get to know about an particular agency and the day to day stuff, especially if you get to eat with a couple of the cops on duty.

My husband is a detective now, but his favorite part was being on the street crimes unit. Oh, the stories I have to endure about the "good ol' days"... *rolls eyes*

Most will require you to start as a patrol officer (some start in the jail) and in a couple of years you may get to transfer to another division. Though my husband was asked to join the street crimes task force after being on patrol only 6 months.

Being pro-active (doing more than sitting in your car and waiting for calls to come in) will get you noticed by your superiors and the superiors of other divisions. If you don't have a call to go to, drive around businesses (the owners appreciate it alot) or neighborhoods where known drug dealers live. Look for the trouble makers. Don't sit around and wait for them to make more trouble. Of course, once they learn your car and shift, they'll try to stay away or run from you when they see you coming down the street (according to my husband, that normally leads to fun... oh yeah, and paperwork).

As the wife of a cop, I do worry some and there are times I can't sleep when he's not home. He has had guns pulled on him and has witnessed some of the most horrible things. Thankfully, he doesn't tell me everything he sees or does.

Depending on where one works, it can get very political at times and that just adds to the stress.

Sometimes, he just gets tired of dealing with everybody else's problems and the ungratefulness of so many.

But, most of the time there's the pride in knowing he's helping our community and the camaraderie
is great!

Sorry, I talk alot. I hope that helps you some.

Answer 5

This question needs some fine tuning, what type of police officer are we talking about...city, state federal? If not federal...what city or state are we talking about. Are we talking in a big city, small town. Every area has there own requirements and i would suggest you go to the website or precinct of the one your interested in to get a more specific answer to this question. You may have all the right stuff already, you may not but the only way to find out is to do your due diligence.

Answer 6

A clean record... no domistic violence charges, ect. And taking Criminal Justice courses or serving time in the Military Police.

Answer 7

Amy summed it up great. That's what happens. Salary benefits vary from dept to dept. Each day is different.

Answer 8

Take classes on proper doughnut eating etticate

Answer 9

why would you want to do that?