I want to be a cop Where do i start? LEO replies greatly appreciated

JS624

JS624

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
May 10, 2014
265
54
Washington
#1
hey fellow hide members i really want to get into law enforcement but having trouble figuring out the best way to approach this. from what i gather i just need to sign up at "national testing network" and take the tests. so my question is am i missing anything? is there more too it? can anyone whose done this before give me some pointers? im located in spanaway wa and looking to be part of pierce county police department or similar. any and all help will be taken seriously and greatly appreciated.
 
#3
I can't give you any info on how to "become a cop", but if you do get into law enforcement, please remember that this is a career path that you chose on your own. Please remember you are here to protect and serve the PEOPLE. Please remember that your badge does not make you a soldier or anything even remotely like a soldier.

Good luck in your endeavors.
 
#4
Step 1: Practice violating people's rights
Step 2: Repeat step 1
Step 3: Practice ordering people around
Step 4: Repeat steps 1-3
Step 5: Practice befriending suspects so you can later hold them to a version of events in court that they spoke of when they were under great stress.
Step 6: Repeat steps 1-5

The captain will really appreciate you showing up ready and willing to perform these crucial steps of your new job.
 
#7
Yeah, if I had it to do all over again, I would have become a firefighter. You are going to continue to get hammered on here. Hopefully some decent people will help you out, but they will have to have knowledge of how the process works in WA. Totally different all over the country
 
#8
ncbowhnter said:
Hopefully some decent people will help you out, but they will have to have knowledge of how the process works in WA. Totally different all over the country
Click to expand...

Seriously, that's good advice. You do need to get with some local people and find out their process. Go down and talk to the department you are thinking of being a part of and see what they recommend.

Nothing wrong with being a cop. I was a cop for 4 years and been a firefighter for 20 years so I like to kid :)
 
#11
How old are you? Why do you want to be a cop.
Get a job, get married and have kids, buy a house and pay your bills, then around 30 or so, decide if you still want to be a cop and again, ask why.
Life experience, domestic life, problems that come in marriage and parenting, making ends meet, will go a long way in helping you be a good cop if you aren't a narcissistic pig by nature.

It's seemed to work for me, so far. I was a CJ major in college, met my wife, dropped out after 2.5 years to get a job so I could get married at 22. Kids, house, work and 8 years later, went into the academy unsponsored, with no guarantee of a job at the end.
10 years later I'm glad I didn't finish and become a LEO as planned (at 22-23) The life experience has been invaluable.

It's easy to become a cop. It's hard to be, and keep being a good one. Your primary duty is as servant and peace officer. Law enforcement is a small part of the job... if done right.

$.02
 
#12
-You may not need to sign up for the national testing network, a lot of agencies do not use it and use their own in-house training. First, figure out who is hiring that you are interested in working for and read their application requirements, etc. Make sure that you meet all of the state minimum requirements and have nothing in your past that disqualifies you from being an officer or would require a waiting period before you could get hired.

-Make sure that you're in good shape, you will need to be in decent shape to pass the PT testing for the hiring process. The more in shape you are before the academy the easier your experience is going to be.

-Go on ride-alongs, the job is much different than what many people imagine.

-Consider looking at joining Officer.com, great forums available that will help steer you along as your work towards becoming an officer.

-Apply to a number of places, don't put all of your eggs in one basket, most officers do not get hired on their first application.

-Make sure that you are thorough on your applications and that they are consistent or else you're going to get roasted in the background process. Be honest.

-Make sure your finances are in order and that you have no negative information on your credit history. If you do, fix it. Every PD will access this information during your background investigation and having a rocky credit history gets a lot of people passed over.

-Again, be honest with not only the applications, but to yourself. Why do you want to be a police officer. You better have a damned good reason as it's not a career field I'd recommend unless you truly are in it for the right reasons. Unexpected things can happen to you that will affect you for the rest of your life or worse, you may not go home. I've been through two surgeries this year due to an incident on duty just after New Years, those injuries will always be with me for the rest of my life. Is that a risk you are willing to take? There are a number of coworkers that would be attempting to medically retire because they are not in this profession for the right reasons.
 
#13
If you do make it keep a few things in mind
-Keep your cool
-Understand that you are not better than anybody else out there
-Treat people the way that you would want to be treated
-Just like in every other line of work there are some people that you work with that are going to be assholes. Those are the ones that give us all a bad rap and make it harder for all of us to do our job. They are also the reason why a lot of people come up with the comments on here that you will get.
-Make sure you learn as much as you can possibly learn about the job and laws. It will keep you out of hot water.

This thread is going to get bad.
 
#14
1. Make sure your free of all drug and alcohol problems. If you did use at some point a few years ago(even if it was a few times), I recommend you spend a night a week as a volunteer helping others get over their trouble. This will turn a negative into more of a positive. You want a few years separation from using drugs and applying. You also need to break association with friends that use and are not seeking help especially if you used with them.

2. Local community college have Admin of Justice classes. Take a few and it should help level set your expectations. I would recommend report writing, patrol procedures, basic/advanced crim law, and traffic. I would not recommend you get a full degree in this field because it will do very little in other fields.

3. get in shape. Try to get you mile run down to 6 minutes and aim for a 40 minute 5 mile. Push-ups... pull-ups... Sit-ups... Find a place you can lawfully practice climbing over 6 foot chain link bad brick walls.

4. As others have said if you get into this profession please make sure you strive to protect people's rights while going after criminals who have violated others rights. If your moral compass does not point north get into another field. A bad cop does a lot of damage to the community and the department.

Note: if you are in college some departments might have a cadet opening. In my area they hire you 20 hours a week (while in school) and if you prove you are solid that is one foot in the door. I wish I had known about this when I was in school.
 
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#15
I don't know if its the same all over, but a lot of our new guys are hired out of the jail. Starting out as a CO is good experience, and you learn a lot about who the players are and how they operate. So, when you see the same assholes or types of assholes on the street as a new officer you already know what they're about.
 
#16
1. Do you truly believe in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

2. Can you look yourself in the mirror and say I'm a truly an honest person.

3. Can you look yourself in the mirror and say I have no ulterior motives for becoming a police officer other than I want to help other people.

4. If you have any little fantasies about being the man and wanting to tell other people what to do, then this job is not for you.

5. If you can answer yes to these questions then simply contact 3 or 4 local police agencies and fill out an application.
 
#17
STAY AS FAR AWAY FROM CORRECTIONS AS YOU CAN. Trust me on this. If you can, go Federal. Still shooting myself in the foot for not taking the offer from FLETC and/or Maine Fish and Game
 
#18
Brasscow said:
Step 1: Practice violating people's rights
Step 2: Repeat step 1
Step 3: Practice ordering people around
Step 4: Repeat steps 1-3
Step 5: Practice befriending suspects so you can later hold them to a version of events in court that they spoke of when they were under great stress.
Step 6: Repeat steps 1-5

The captain will really appreciate you showing up ready and willing to perform these crucial steps of your new job.
Click to expand...

Wow, straight up LEO hate for what reason now?
 
#20
bkw1911 said:
It's the government so... become a minority and emphasize you're gay (assuming you aren't already). Should pretty much guarantee your choice of department.
Click to expand...

Guess I'm not qualified to speak on gay preferential treatment in government hiring however, definitely don't feel any extra love when I put black on a form. Maybe I'm not in tune as you are though.
 
#21
Do you believe in the presumption of innocence until proven guilty?

Do you believe in the 4th Amendment? Rule of law?

If so...stop. Find another career.

You don't want to be the enforcement arm of a corrupt govt agency tasked with enforcing the dictates of the current political class.

Especially when you end up on the wrong side when things go topsy turvy and you find yourself being led onto a hastily constructed gallows with your jack booted brown shirt friends.

Just stay home and play XBox dude. It's not worth it.
 
#22
remiglockoholic said:
Guess I'm not qualified to speak on gay preferential treatment in government hiring however, definitely don't feel any extra love when I put black on a form. Maybe I'm not in tune as you are though.
Click to expand...
That was the inside advice I was given for a couple govt jobs. Only a small percentage would be allowed of my kind I was told. Perhaps the combo would help ya, Chuck and larry style.
 
#24
Especially when you end up on the wrong side when things go topsy turvy and you find yourself being led onto a hastily constructed gallows with your jack booted brown shirt friends.
Click to expand...

OP, read that at least 5 times slowly and let it sink in.
 
#25
ZombieMonkey said:
Make sure you have thick skin for the assholes out there that will always have something negative to say about the police.
Click to expand...
Having lived in a socialist country I experienced gun control, socialized medicine, ridiculous tax rates, and law enforcement that wore suits and ties and carried whistles and had almost no authority. All those ideas were fairly equal in stupidity. The best was not having to pull over for any emergency vehicle or cop car. Response time was pretty slow and walking to the hospital was faster than the ambulance. Had a guy shooting people in the neighborhood (twice) and response times for armed PD was 2hrs. I appreciate zombiemonkey and the others on the hide and think theyre part of the majority not out there to shoot you for a speeding ticket. the minority however always make the evening news. They should be held accountable for there actions of course. Treating every officer like shit I just don't understand. Every cop friend I have is as mad at a bad shoot as everyone else is. There's people in most professions with the ability to fuck up people's lives then hide behind lawyers, cops aren't special or alone.
 
#27
Brasscow said:
Step 1: Practice violating people's rights
Step 2: Repeat step 1
Step 3: Practice ordering people around
Step 4: Repeat steps 1-3
Step 5: Practice befriending suspects so you can later hold them to a version of events in court that they spoke of when they were under great stress.
Step 6: Repeat steps 1-5

The captain will really appreciate you showing up ready and willing to perform these crucial steps of your new job.
Click to expand...


Thats funny. I was going to say "dont score too high on the intelligence test...they like dumb."

------------------------------------------------------

A man whose bid to become a police officer was rejected after he scored too high on an intelligence test has lost an appeal in his federal lawsuit against the city.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld a lower court’s decision that the city did not discriminate against Robert Jordan because the same standards were applied to everyone who took the test.

“This kind of puts an official face on discrimination in America against people of a certain class,” Jordan said today from his Waterford home. “I maintain you have no more control over your basic intelligence than your eye color or your gender or anything else.”

He said he does not plan to take any further legal action.

Jordan, a 49-year-old college graduate, took the exam in 1996 and scored 33 points, the equivalent of an IQ of 125. But New London police interviewed only candidates who scored 20 to 27, on the theory that those who scored too high could get bored with police work and leave soon after undergoing costly training.

Most Cops Just Above Normal The average score nationally for police officers is 21 to 22, the equivalent of an IQ of 104, or just a little above average.

Jordan alleged his rejection from the police force was discrimination. He sued the city, saying his civil rights were violated because he was denied equal protection under the law.

But the U.S. District Court found that New London had “shown a rational basis for the policy.” In a ruling dated Aug. 23, the 2nd Circuit agreed. The court said the policy might be unwise but was a rational way to reduce job turnover.
 
#28
Just apply and wait out your time. I work with police officers every day and there really are a bunch of great officers out there who work way too hard for too little $$$. The crappy cops don't last long. I can virtually predict who will be fired in the next few months.
 
#29
jstuck624 said:
hey fellow hide members i really want to get into law enforcement but having trouble figuring out the best way to approach this. from what i gather i just need to sign up at "national testing network" and take the tests. so my question is am i missing anything? is there more too it? can anyone whose done this before give me some pointers? im located in spanaway wa and looking to be part of pierce county police department or similar. any and all help will be taken seriously and greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Why do you want to be a cop?
 
#30
Long hours? Check.

Stressful work place? Check.

Potential to get killed any day on the job? Check.

High divorce rate? Check.

Average pay/salary? Check.

For every adrenaline rush, typically hours of boredom.

Many holidays/kids birthdays/school plays/sports events, Daddy's working.

Unless you're in a good community, you deal with society's fuck-ups on a daily basis. There seems to be a limitless supply of fuck-wits, scumbags, mental cases, freaks, weirdos...

When I worked EMS, saw the shit SO/PD had to deal with, all day, every day. At first, it's a little comical, after a while, just starts to suck. And the suck just gets worse.

Good Luck, dude. You'll need it.

And Slapchop just asked the $64000 question.

Why do YOU want to be a cop?

Well?
 
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#31
997/2man said:
Long hours? Check.

Stressful work place? Check.

Potential to get killed any day on the job? Check.

High divorce rate? Check.

Average pay/salary? Check.

For every adrenaline rush, typically hours of boredom.

Many holidays/kids birthdays/school plays/sports events, Daddy's working.

Unless you're in a good community, you deal with society's fuck-ups on a daily basis. There seems to be a limitless supply of fuck-wits, scumbags, mental cases, freaks, weirdos...

When I worked EMS, saw the shit SO/PD had to deal with, all day, every day. At first, it's a little comical, after a while, just starts to suck. And the suck just gets worse.

Good Luck, dude. You'll need it.

And Slapchop just asked the $64000 question.

Why do YOU want to be a cop?

Well?
Click to expand...

All good points. Quality of life can also hinge on the agency you work for and the community you serve. I have known some happy, honest cops. 4 10s with a 3 day weekend every week seems like it could change your life. OT when you need extra income.
 
#33
PM me. Too much info to post here, I'm close to you, we might be able to meet up. I am retired now, over 30 years of service. I had a great, fulfilling career. However, you have to take a long hard look at yourself, be honest with yourself and make sure that LE would be up your alley. You really have to be of a certain caliber and proper mindset, and have the proper motivations to do the job correctly. I sat on oral boards for new recruits, laterals, detectives, SWAT, etc, for my agency and others. I also did recruiting, and at one job fair on Ft. Lewis, we happened to be set up right next to our Fire Department. After a couple of hours, one of the Fire Captains said "I don't have to do anything, Tony is our best recruiter." I could usually tell after a few minutes talking to interested parties if they were of "the right mindset' or if their motivations were right for the job. If not but they were good candidates otherwise, I'd refer them over to the FF side, as others here have mentioned.

What I will say here, and it applies to anyone interested in the career, don't look at just the money, if you are, you are looking at the career for the wrong reasons. If it is the career for you, explore other states in your search. Look at and compare the retirement benefits, they vary greatly. Don't just look at wages up front, you have to look at it long term. Also, many agencies in the NW require a degree now, not sure where you are at education wise, but something to consider if you do not yet have it.

And yea, you have to have really thick skin, especially if you are a member on forums! : )
 
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#34
There are all sorts of careers in law enforcement, although most people immediately think of the police departments. There are also correctional officers (works at jails/prisons), parole/probation officers, US marshall's service, FBI, ICE, and many others.

Before deciding on which one you want, look into the hours you may want to work, overtime, relocation that an agency might require, available training and so on.

Just like being in the military, once you get in, there are things you may see and do that you will never get out of your head. You will never be able to un-know some of the horrible stuff that humans do to other humans, and animals, and it can really eat at you. But the job can also be extremely rewarding, and tons of fun. Do lots of investigating before you decide.

I'll happily share more info with you if you wish.
 
#37
As many have already asked, why do YOU want to be in Law Enforcement?
You need to think long and hard, and be honest with yourself.
This question will come up. I have seen it on applications, oral boards, Chief's interviews, and FTO's will ask also.
 
#38
You guys a re too quick to bash LE. If I were to bash our military how would you feel? There are bad apples in every work place. On the whole most cops are good guys. I have 15 years in LE and its the 1% of assholes that make the headlines. Its like saying everyone that ones a gun is a killer or a gun nut. Give the kid a break and let him decide on his own. Try walking a mile in our shoes and only then do you have the right to comment on what we do for a living.
 
#39
Jmartin2076 said:
The mustache. You will not get very far without it so I would say start there and let that sucker go for a year before applying. They will probably skip you right past training ;)
Click to expand...

Yup

Screen-shot-2010-12-11-at-10.56.49-AM.png
 
#40
bhoges said:
You guys a re too quick to bash LE. If I were to bash our military how would you feel? There are bad apples in every work place. On the whole most cops are good guys. I have 15 years in LE and its the 1% of assholes that make the headlines. Its like saying everyone that ones a gun is a killer or a gun nut. Give the kid a break and let him decide on his own. Try walking a mile in our shoes and only then do you have the right to comment on what we do for a living.
Click to expand...

I don't see many people bashing anything in this thread. Mostly honest and unfiltered opinions and advice which is what the OP was after I would assume.

I'm still curious since he hasn't answered my question. "Why do YOU want to be a cop?"
 
#41
I used to be a cop, and I had a mustache. With my military career ending I thought about going back, but I realized that I would rather dig ditches than be a cop. I recommend if you want to be a cop you whould start buying all the crap you can out of the 5.11 catalog and wear it to your interview. You should also wear cammo because its hard blending in with the strip mall wearing a uniform.
 
#42
Lots of Hate here, guess too many people failed the hello test.

Oh Well, I'll try to answer from a cop's point of view since I'm a retired cop after 20 years with the Anchorage Police Dept.

First anyone can pass the written test. Its the Oral that will make or break you, or the polygraph. Probably both.

Departments are looked for people they want to train to be cops, you're not expected to be a cop when you put in your application (unless you're trying for an interagency transfer). I'm assuming this would be the first cop job.

Honesty is what they want. Don't answer the questions at the oral board like you then they want you to, answer them honestly.

I did, I half hoped I wouldn't get hired, I was living in the bush (little cabin, no running water and no electricity) wife wanted to move to town I didnt'

Anyway. they asked why I wanted to be a cop, I told them I wanted security of a permanent job. They asked why I didn't stay in the army, told them I didn't want that much security.

They asked me if I wanted to write tickets, told them no, I don't want to be a traffic cop. Added I got too many tickets as a kid and don't want to give them. Asked my opinion about gays..........wont say what I said here, but I was honest. I also told them I didn't believe laws were black and white, but there should be a lot of gray involved. Also when asked I told them I'd smack someone who spit on me.

That's the way it went. I was totally honest. Then the chief looked over my application and laughed and said "you cant spell for shit, can you?" then they hired me. But also told me I couldn't be smacking spiters.

Later when I caught by the acting chief while being issued my gear.... He told me that was the most honest interview he ever had part in.

I don't know what its like now, but Anchorage was one of the most honest department you could find. They would fire you for so much as taking a free cup of coffee, might even prosecute you. I've see prosecutions of officers. Had one LT that would use me to apply "peer pressure" on what he thought was heavy handed officers. I wasn't like by a few because of that. But I never had a problem looking in the mirror when I shaved every morning.

I wasn't a good cop by a long shot, but I was an honest cop. I believed in the Peel theory of police work.

Anyway, there are a lot of departments hiring now days. There is also a lot of interagency transfers. So get hired, if you don't like the department, find another. Contrary to a lot of what you read here, police work is an honorable profession.

I have nothing but respect for an honest cop, and nothing but distain for an crooked cop. But that's the same for any occupation. There are duds everywhere. Be honest, and ride for the brand (loyalty).

As you can see from these post, not everyone is going to like you. What counts is if you like you. The end game is when you hang up your duty belt for the last time, you can honestly saw you were fair, honest and loyal.

People say that prostitution was the oldest profession. Not true, before man existed God hired Michael toss the devil out of Heaven.
 
#45
ncbowhnter said:
Yeah, if I had it to do all over again, I would have become a firefighter. You are going to continue to get hammered on here. Hopefully some decent people will help you out, but they will have to have knowledge of how the process works in WA. Totally different all over the country
Click to expand...

I wholeheartedly agree. I've had some fun experiences and worked with some great people, but if I had a time machine I would absolutely become a fireman instead. You get all the camaraderie and adrenaline without risking your career every time you put your hands on someone. Political correctness and our litigious society have bled the fun out of law enforcement and destroyed any incentive to be proactive. I hate to shit on your dream, and I completely understand because I was the same way. No one can tell you about the Matrix, you have to see it for yourself...
 
#46
bhoges said:
You guys a re too quick to bash LE. If I were to bash our military how would you feel? There are bad apples in every work place. On the whole most cops are good guys. I have 15 years in LE and its the 1% of assholes that make the headlines. Its like saying everyone that ones a gun is a killer or a gun nut. Give the kid a break and let him decide on his own. Try walking a mile in our shoes and only then do you have the right to comment on what we do for a living.
Click to expand...

It's the bear pit don't take it personal.. And trust me there's enough brotherly hatred going on between us vets with the Army vs Airforce vs Marine(even though they refuse to accept the Navy owns them) vs Navy that people outside the circle don't have the same deep cutting effect.

Thank you for performing civic duties for your community.
 
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