#7 Trouble yourself to TALK to the people in your assigned area. A little effort on your part can have large pay-offs. The little old man you see who daily parks himself on the bench in front of the church, corner store or VFW hall usually knows everything that is going on in the neighborhood. So does the lady who works the counter in the greasy spoon. Too many coppers can't be bothered with these people - because of bad experiences, the "regular folk" of any given area can get lumped in with the minority of troublemakers. Remember that this people will be wary of you - after all, they've had bad experiences, too, and also, while you might get to leave after your shift for your own 'hood, they have to live there, so don't expect them to put themselves in danger because you've said "hi" for two weeks. Go in on the presumption that everyone is deserving of respect until they give you a reason NOT to respect them. And some of them will. (Remember that stereotype thing works - cuts - both ways.)

#8 If you're in this for the glory, resign now. There isn't any, and for every "atta boy" you get, you're going to have a lot more tedium, broken up by moments where you'll be scared witless and the subject of abuse, both verbal and physical.

#9 You have just volunteered to be "the face" of law enforcement. This means you should at least make every effort to be as "poster boy" as possible. I'm not saying you should look faint if someone uses profanity. Keep your appearance neat, your hair trimmed, your uniform crisp. Basic hygiene. Keep up with the dentistry. Invest in some Altoids. Don't dig in your nose in your patrol car. You're not invisible in there.

#10 Did I mention learning the fine (and often lost) art of LISTENING?

 

Stay in shape! I'm 43 yrs old & have been a Cop since 1988! I recently took the State Agility & kicked many 20+something year olds butt!...........

 

I was considering my Local PD to work for, but they money is sub-par. They are only making around $30k a year. The State Police Make $50k a year.

 

I appreciate the info and yes, the Illinois State Police are Full service. There is a ton of Highway Patrol. But anytime something in Illinois happens(murder, bank robbery, or rape) the State Police are there.

 

Thanks for the write-up FatBoy. I really learned alot there.

 

Well, if you take the police officers exam and do really well on it....they MIGHT let you be a fireman!

easy boys...kidding.....

Anyways...after graduating HS I enrolled in college to pursue a degree in Criminal Justice as I wanted to be a police officer. A few friends that were officers told me to go to EMT school to make myself more "marketable." I did this and soon got a job as an EMT to pay my way through school. I was volunteering as a FF at the time as well. I got frustrated with only being able to take care of people at a very basic level so I went to Paramedic school and then worked as a medic.

Working in the street I learned something very quickly. People hate cops. This is not the officers fault, but more often than not, when they show up, someone has usually done something wrong, hence them being there. Seeing these guys take all kinds of crap from people day in and day out was a reality check. When I show up on a fire truck, people are sooo glad to see me and are welcoming me into their home, for good reason...

Now, there are certainly times where I got MF'd as a fireman and cops are welcomed into homes, but it really takes a certain individual to be a policeman. In this day and age of video and someone always having a camera pointed at you the level of self restraint one must show is paramount to having a prosperous career.

Anyhow, you have received a great deal of good information from folks that do the job day in and day out, listen to them. Going to school and getting your degree is a good thing, keeps your options open. If you are still interested in the FBI I would get as proficient with computers as possible.

Remember one last thing before you become a cop.

God created firefighters so cops would have someone to look up to.

ok, ok im sorry but i had to!

be safe.

 

Everybody loves FireMan cause they rescue people! EveryBody hates Cops cause we arrest People!...........

 

looks like everyone pretty much covered everything. it can be a very rewarding job. good luck with whatever agency you choose!

 

I appreciate all of the info. Anybody hear drive any cool cars? Chargers, mustangs, etc.?

 

is an uparmored humvee cool?

we got nothing but impalas, tahoes and expeditions. our K9 has a F350 supercrew though.

 

I wanna drive these:

 

Da p'Olice have some nice whips here in Va

 

That's what I ride

Sometimes I can't believe I get paid for it.

 

Im jealous. What is required to be a motorcycle trooper? How do they pick them? Is it seniority or is it you volunteer and get picked? Is it something everyone wants to do or something relatively easy to get put on?

 

Most departments will require you to attend and successfully pass this course through Northwestern:

http://nucps.northwestern.edu/division/ss_pmt.asp

My department also had a third week of instruction in addition to the Northwestern course, where we had motorcade and high speed performance training, along with shooting drills from on and jumping off the motor.

The above course I posted was by far the most difficult training I've ever done. But you'd be amazed on what you can do on a 800+ lb. Harley at extremely slow speeds.

In my department you have to go through an interview process to get selected for the Unit, then have to pass the training of course. In my department not too many people volunteer for the unit because they say we "are ****** crazy" for patrolling on a motorcycle. However, there's only 25 of us on the unit and we have about 1000 patrol officers department-wide so the competition is pretty stiff to get on the unit when openings become available. Seniority becomes a factor when it comes time to pick from the available post assignments.