Just how competitive is recruiting for police officers today?

Question

I am thinking that I would like to apply to one or more police services upon my graduation from school in the spring. I was wondering for those who may know better, on the whole, just how competitive is it to obtain a career as a police officer these days?

I'm graduating from university with an honours bachelor of arts with a major in English, I served as a reservist in the military for about four years up until the beginning of this school year. I tend to hear conflicting reports with some of the big city police departments being simply flooded with applicants while the provincial or RCMP are falling short of recruiting goals.

Generally speaking, if it is a goal to which I was committed, is actually obtaining a position somethign that could be very difficult ultimately, or are there good opportunities these days and with my level of education or experience will I stand up competitively?

Thank you,

Answer 1

Check out the sheriff's academy, in whatever county you are near. From there you could transfer to a city of your choice position.Otherwise they will stick you in the jail duty for a while. Most cities I know of take lateral applicants only.

Answer 2

I just graduated from the police academy 11 months ago. It is hard to find full-time police work in the Northern US (except for larger cities like Philly and Pittsburgh, but easy in the southern states. Military background helps out a lot anywhere and if you know decent Spanish in the south. Also, if you work in a state that you do not want to work in for a while, you can eventually go where you want and will have an easier time getting the job you want in a location where you want to live. I graduated in PA and and my class was recruited by Dept's in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, New Mexico, and Texas. Hope this helps. Oh, and a bachelors degree is starting to become required for law enforcement positions. I have that and military, and they both really helped!

Answer 3

Well I am from Calgary Alberta Canada. I applied with Calgary Police And Winnipeg Police, now neither will leave me alone!!! It must be really competitive. I know the RCMP applicants have dwindled over the years. Check out the Calgary Police link on the bottom.

Answer 4

it is extremely competitive. the reason for this is the shortage of people passing basic requirements.i talk with a homicide detective inlos angeles and he stated the same thing was happing in california.a small example. we held a hiring fire over a weekend. we took in almost 5000 applications. not a single person passed basic requirements.this has caused the agencies to lower the hiring standards.these people being hired are people who would have never been hired in the past.having a cleean recored is not all that it requires. being smart is not all it requires.it requires a great deal of common sense and being able to handle pressure.the people today just do not do well in either catagory.they are in need of good people.
------retired texas deputy sheriff------

Answer 5

UNDER HOME LAND SECURITY ACT--YOU CANNOT APPLY IN US UNTIL YOUR IMMIGRATION PAPERS ARE DONE AND YOU HAVE A SSN.
DO NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT CANADA TODAY BUT BACK IN THE 70-80'S RCMP WAS ONE OF THE BEST POLICE ORGANIZATIONS TO BELONG TO. ALWAYS WANTED TO APPLY AND DID ONLY TO BE TOLD YOU ARE NOT A CANADIAN.