I am thinking about getting out of my office job and going into law enforcement. My city has a test coming up to qualify for the interview process with no prior law training and it seems like a great opportunity. I have thought about law enforcement in the past, but have never done it. Any advice, pros/cons for me to think about before I jump all in? Thanks
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I'm thinking of going into law enforcement. Advice?
- Thread starter natetrack
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FishingCop
Well-known member
Nate, I just retired after 30 plus years in law enforcement. I can certainly offer you some guidance, opinions, recommendations, etc. Right now I am short of time so I will rspond and elaborate further tomorrow. Then, I can PM you with specifics, Q&A, etc., and anything else I can do to help you make an educated and intelligent decision on a career in law enforcement. I believe that there are a couple of other members that are police officers who can also offer some thoughts. I'll get back to this post tomorrow......
BTW .... Capt Ahab (the retired attorney) doesn't count as an expert in law enforcement
He's more interested in whales and (lost in the mail) sharpies :lol:
If you don't mind, how old are you and what education level do you have? Where are you located (as relates to what size agency (city, county, state agency) you might being applying to?
There are many advertisements, TV commercials, etc., that are promoting education for a career in law enforcement out there, but they are just trying to entice you into their college or training program without letting you know how very difficault it is to pass the tests & qualifications to be accepted into the profession.
Sorry, I'll respond further tomorow and hopefully, in the mean time, you'll get more responses from other knowledgable members.....
BTW .... Capt Ahab (the retired attorney) doesn't count as an expert in law enforcement
He's more interested in whales and (lost in the mail) sharpies :lol: If you don't mind, how old are you and what education level do you have? Where are you located (as relates to what size agency (city, county, state agency) you might being applying to?
There are many advertisements, TV commercials, etc., that are promoting education for a career in law enforcement out there, but they are just trying to entice you into their college or training program without letting you know how very difficault it is to pass the tests & qualifications to be accepted into the profession.
Sorry, I'll respond further tomorow and hopefully, in the mean time, you'll get more responses from other knowledgable members.....
Fishingcop, thanks for the help.
To answer your questions, I am 28, have two seperate AAS degrees,one in Business management, and one is Applied Science in computer technology. The agency would be the Fargo Police Department, covers about 100k people. I am not really looking into college training at the moment as the Fargo PD only requires a two year degree, no major specified.
Here is the link to the site.
https://www.cityoffargo.com/CityInfo/Departments/Police/EmploymentOpportunities/
To answer your questions, I am 28, have two seperate AAS degrees,one in Business management, and one is Applied Science in computer technology. The agency would be the Fargo Police Department, covers about 100k people. I am not really looking into college training at the moment as the Fargo PD only requires a two year degree, no major specified.
Here is the link to the site.
https://www.cityoffargo.com/CityInfo/Departments/Police/EmploymentOpportunities/
angry Bob
Well-known member
Don't get arrested
FishingBuds
Well-known member
Thought about going in the police force when I was 22, sometime back :wink: I was going to a gym with a couple of officers during this time and have some family in the police force also, I Was intrested in K-9 units.
The problems I had to get thru was the fighting situations, I really had to be honest with myself on how I'm about conflicts and I believe I would eventually got mentally burned out on this no matter how much they trained me for it in the head, to go to a job that you physically have to fight most of the time with someone would've got to me. The other issues were, willingly put my life on the line for law violaters. And I'm EXSTREAMLY prejudice when it comes to drugs, so I feel I would have been the a bad cop when situations arose involving drugs.
Now I might have cheated myself because they do have great training for law inforcement, but now I'm older and I wacth all the COP shows I still say to myself, I wouldn't have made it.
On a side note my cousin is a assist. chief and he loves the work. Of course he was always kinda roudy :lol:
I wouldn't have been fair to the dog, Let the dog get'em first
The problems I had to get thru was the fighting situations, I really had to be honest with myself on how I'm about conflicts and I believe I would eventually got mentally burned out on this no matter how much they trained me for it in the head, to go to a job that you physically have to fight most of the time with someone would've got to me. The other issues were, willingly put my life on the line for law violaters. And I'm EXSTREAMLY prejudice when it comes to drugs, so I feel I would have been the a bad cop when situations arose involving drugs.
Now I might have cheated myself because they do have great training for law inforcement, but now I'm older and I wacth all the COP shows I still say to myself, I wouldn't have made it.
On a side note my cousin is a assist. chief and he loves the work. Of course he was always kinda roudy :lol:
I wouldn't have been fair to the dog, Let the dog get'em first
I say go for it if you can.
FishingCop
Well-known member
natetrack said:
Got it, thanks.... The TV adds, etc., try to entice you to go through their training programs to make you qualified for a specific field such as , forensic science, K-9, investigations, juvenile, etc., etc.,. The reality is, of course, that you must first qualify and be accepted/hired by a police departmet; then work in your assigned area (basic patrol work for starters) and maybe, if you are really lucky, may get a chance to be trained in a specialty field (listed above). No one ever gets hired onto a police department and is assigned into a specialty field - ya gotta be a patrol officer first, then be promoted or assigned to a specialty area. I really get upset when I see the TV commercials enticing people to go through their training program to get into the field they are touting. Doesn't happen that way.....
That being said, if you are really interested in law enforcement (and not the glamour of the TV adds or the TV shows (which are not at all realistic)... then not only will I be happy to talk with you privately about your endeavor, but I can also provide you a contact in the Fargo PD for you to contact to help you along in the process.
Anything more, please PM me - enough said on this topic publically......
ilinimud
Well-known member
Hope it all works out for you!!
Captain Ahab
Well-known member
FishingCop said:Nate, I just retired after 30 plus years in law enforcement. I can certainly offer you some guidance, opinions, recommendations, etc. Right now I am short of time so I will rspond and elaborate further tomorrow. Then, I can PM you with specifics, Q&A, etc., and anything else I can do to help you make an educated and intelligent decision on a career in law enforcement. I believe that there are a couple of other members that are police officers who can also offer some thoughts. I'll get back to this post tomorrow......
BTW .... Capt Ahab (the retired attorney) doesn't count as an expert in law enforcement
If you don't mind, how old are you and what education level do you have? Where are you located (as relates to what size agency (city, county, state agency) you might being applying to?
There are many advertisements, TV commercials, etc., that are promoting education for a career in law enforcement out there, but they are just trying to entice you into their college or training program without letting you know how very difficault it is to pass the tests & qualifications to be accepted into the profession.
Sorry, I'll respond further tomorow and hopefully, in the mean time, you'll get more responses from other knowledgable members.....
How do you manage to get a shot in at me in the middle of actual useful advice?
My advice - do not do it, you will retire from it one day and spend time on the internet taking shots at an honest and friendly attorney.
Plus, as you can see from FishingCop, law enforcement makes you crabby!
_______________
All kidding aside, it is a good career so long as you do it for the right reasons - Police (like attorneys) help people, so if you really like to help people do it. It you feel the need for more power in your life, buy a muscle car!~
redbug
Well-known member
good luck if you want o do it and can afford the move then go for it....
my father was a phila cop for 34 years...all my neighbors were cops
a few tips that I can think of from seeing how te other guys did it. (we ate hamburger they aye steak)
remain open to the thought of taking a bribe...
carry a drop piece.
duck when they shoot.
:lol: :lol:
my father was a phila cop for 34 years...all my neighbors were cops
a few tips that I can think of from seeing how te other guys did it. (we ate hamburger they aye steak)
remain open to the thought of taking a bribe...
carry a drop piece.
duck when they shoot.
:lol: :lol:
Loggerhead Mike
Well-known member
as long as your not one of the cops that gets a hard-on over there authority kick, or would rather spend there time harassin people over pot then tryin to catch the real criminals. that seems to be just in my small town. i had several cop friends in nashville that where the complete opposite. those are the kind of police that get my respect
from what my friends tell me, law inforcement is a great career. kind of like the medical field, people will always get sick, and people will always be breaking the law.
people say police dont make alot of money, but the cops i see have decent vehicles and nice houses, so it cant be that bad. your not comming home covered in grease and doing manual laber all day. hope we see ya on tv!
from what my friends tell me, law inforcement is a great career. kind of like the medical field, people will always get sick, and people will always be breaking the law.
people say police dont make alot of money, but the cops i see have decent vehicles and nice houses, so it cant be that bad. your not comming home covered in grease and doing manual laber all day. hope we see ya on tv!
FishingCop
Well-known member
How do you manage to get a shot in at me in the middle of actual useful advice?
My advice - do not do it, you will retire from it one day and spend time on the internet taking shots at an honest and friendly attorney.
Plus, as you can see from FishingCop, law enforcement makes you crabby!
_______________
All kidding aside, it is a good career so long as you do it for the right reasons - Police (like attorneys) help people, so if you really like to help people do it. It you feel the need for more power in your life, buy a muscle car!~[/quote]
Capt, couldn't resist
Nate, good advise from Ahab.
But, for the record, Nate and I have already PM'd a little and his reasons are pure and proper for thinking about a career in law enforcement. It doesn't seem at all to be a power thing for him
My advice - do not do it, you will retire from it one day and spend time on the internet taking shots at an honest and friendly attorney.
Plus, as you can see from FishingCop, law enforcement makes you crabby!
_______________
All kidding aside, it is a good career so long as you do it for the right reasons - Police (like attorneys) help people, so if you really like to help people do it. It you feel the need for more power in your life, buy a muscle car!~[/quote]
Capt, couldn't resist
Nate, good advise from Ahab.
But, for the record, Nate and I have already PM'd a little and his reasons are pure and proper for thinking about a career in law enforcement. It doesn't seem at all to be a power thing for him
ben2go
Well-known member
Wear your vest everyday,keep your head down,and gun ready.
FishingBuds
Well-known member
If I can just stay in the car and chase peolpe down, I'll do it :lol:
Great Natetrack, wish you luck with it =D>
Great Natetrack, wish you luck with it =D>
Deadmeat
Well-known member
I guess it's like most things in life--you may love it or you may hate it but there's just no way to find out short of doing it. I loved it for a few years but eventually became burned out and left after six years. My major problem, aside from having to deal with scumbags and petty crap on a daily basis, was that I'm just not cut out for working at night, which we had to do frequently. My biological clock is set to the rising and falling of the sun, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't reset it to work at night. The 9:30 at night until 7:30 in the morning shift was nearly the death of me. I went to work feeling crappy, struggled through the night, couldn't sleep when I got home in the morning and then did it all over again the next night.
After leaving and doing a few other things for a few years, I eventually went back to college, got my Ph.D. and then returned to law enforcement by working in the medical examiner's office.
After leaving and doing a few other things for a few years, I eventually went back to college, got my Ph.D. and then returned to law enforcement by working in the medical examiner's office.
Captain Ahab
Well-known member
Ahhh - From now on you are Dr. Deadmeat
And I get your screen name now as well
And I get your screen name now as well
sccamper
Well-known member
Thanks to all of folks that put themselves in harms way to protect and serve. I think as a career choice it has to be because you love it. It dont look to pay as much as it should for what you have to put up with everyday on the force. Of course I have problems with stupid people. Seams you would be dealing with stupid people all the time.
"Just remember, when you pull the trigger, the bullets come out going very, very fast."
ben2go
Well-known member
KMixson said:
But if you slow them down to 55mph add a horn and headlights,and you're gauranteed to hit a deer. :LMFAO:
