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The academy teaches you everything you need to know, you don't need to know anything coming in. You do, however, need the capacity to learn and put that information to use. My academy was primarily academic in nature, mostly classroom learning with a 60/40 split classroom/practical training. There was 3 months of academy followed by another 3 months of on-the-job training. For most people, it's 6 months of training before you're on the job by yourself, and another 6-18 months after that before you're off probation and are considered a full-fledged officer. Some state academies are 6 months long. My academy had physical fitness every morning, class from 8a-5p, and then additional night classes depending on what extra classes the department signed you up for. Many days I was up and in class from 6am until 11pm with only breaks for lunch and dinner. The job market where I am is very competitive, most people who are hired have bachelors degrees and are hired with some basic knowledge of the law or government. The most recent place I applied had ~175 people show up for testing with maybe 2 positions being filled according to what the Chief said. Do dumb people get hired? Sure, but it isn't easy unless you're applying with only 2 other dudes and they're dumber than you. Generally the quality of the department determines the quality of the applicant. Highly qualified people won't work for a rural department that pays $13/hr when they can go work in the suburbs and make $60k/yr starting. The Shep fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Apr 21, 2014 |
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Apr 21, 2014 07:04
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Cmdr. Shepard posted:The academy teaches you everything you need to know Just out of curiosity: but you do need at least some college education before applying, yes? Does this differ from county to county, state to state, etc? Another question: recently, there was a job ad out for dispatcher in my area. I've been interested in pursuing it. What kinds of qualities do you guys appreciate in a dispatcher? (beyond 'if female, can gently caress' based on other answers given in this and the other ask/lounge threads regarding the views of your fellow officers  )EDIT: I am female. What should I expect if I actually land the job. Old Boot fucked around with this message at 07:18 on Apr 21, 2014 |
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Apr 21, 2014 07:15
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An Old Boot posted:Just out of curiosity: but you do need at least some college education before applying, yes? Does this differ from county to county, state to state, etc? Some college is very good to have. For one, it puts you ahead of the applicants who don't have it. More importantly, it prepares you for the academy because most academies are very academically rigorous nowadays. If you did well in college, you'll have no problem with the academy. It does vary by state and locale. There are departments that require a bachelors degree, and others that require at least an associates degree, while all will require at the very least a high school diploma. The departments that only require high school diplomas still end up hiring people with bachelors degrees because they end up testing better / interviewing better / etc. Military experience is still very highly looked on as well. I would say that if you don't have at least an associates degree or military experience, then you should be working on getting one of those knocked out before applying. Though YMMV based on how competitive it is in your job market. quote:Another question: recently, there was a job ad out for dispatcher in my area. I've been interested in pursuing it. What kinds of qualities do you guys appreciate in a dispatcher? (beyond 'if female, can gently caress' based on other answers given in this and the other ask/lounge threads regarding the views of your fellow officers Dispatching is a tough job and I would never want to do it. Are you prepared to sit down in front of a bunch of computer screens for 8 hours a day possibly by yourself or with the same group of people? Depending on the department it could be mind numbingly boring, or it could be extremely stressful. The best qualities in a dispatcher are attention to detail and remaining calm under pressure. If you work for a bigger city, you will be keeping track of 10, 15, or more officers as they go about their business and it can get pretty busy and stressful keeping track of everything. At smaller departments, you'll be responsible all by yourself for answering the phone, dispatching fire, EMS, police, and making your bathroom breaks as quick as possible because no one is watching the phones while you're in the restroom. In my experience, dispatchers are big on gossip, and yes you should be ready to expect SOME workplace harassment that is generally harmless in nature. You have to be able to "roll with the punches" as GBS says. I will say this, a good dispatcher is worth their weight in GOLD and officers will go out of their way to keep you happy (bringing you food, covering the desk for your break, etc.) One dispatch story really quick that I think puts that job into perspective. When I was in college I did my internship at a local police department. One day I got to sit in on the dispatch center and listen to calls. One call came in where a woman had locked herself in the bathroom because her husband was beating the poo poo out of her. Despite how distraught the woman on the phone was, the dispatcher calmly collected the information and dispatched police to the scene quickly. Before the police arrived, the dispatcher stayed on the line to talking to the victim. While speaking with her, the husband broke through the door and what ensued was possibly the worst thing I've ever had to listen to in my life at that point, listening to a poor woman being beaten by her husband over the phone while we were powerless to do anything. The dispatcher provided the officers with information on what was happening and when officers arrived they arrested the guy and it was a happy ending. It was really awesome seeing that dispatcher work that day and gave me an appreciation for what they do and how they do it. A dispatcher who panics or freezes up is no good to anyone, and unfortunately I've also seen that side as well. The Shep fucked around with this message at 07:36 on Apr 21, 2014 |
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Apr 21, 2014 07:28
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Cmdr. Shepard posted:
This times a million. We all know our best dispatcher as soon as he comes on. If you hear him at the start of a Friday night shift you know everything is going to be alright. Calm and collected and able to multitask is key. If you can handle radio in one ear, your boss in the other, phones and are text savvy enough to use whatever computer system they use you should be golden.
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Apr 21, 2014 08:46
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I cut my teeth on text-to-voice telerelay operator job way back in the day, and am currently about to embark on a hospice/nursing home/etc answering service job that serves two different cities, so I should know pretty fast if that  experience translates well, or turns into  . Thanks for the responses.
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Apr 21, 2014 08:59
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An Old Boot posted:I'd asked this before, sort of, but what's an example of really laugh-worthy/ I pulled a rusty rusty twenty year old K-Car over for a minor violation, saw three car seats and a mess of kid crap in the back seat and decided right away that a $120 equipment ticket would not make earth a better place. The driver definitely looked like a dude from the side so I opened with "Afternoon, sir...". She turned to face me with that  look, I just sighed, put my book away and waved her on. Oops.More seatbelt fun: Second week of December, this car passes me in the oncoming lane and I see the little kid in the front seat isn't wearing a belt, so I turn around and haul the car over. I've pulled dead people out of the windshield before so I have no patience for that bullshit when it's a kid; if dad had opened his mouth I'd probably still be there writing him. Instead I had a nice chat with a six year old on why you need to wear your belt, with a bonus lesson on how money spent on traffic tickets can't be used to buy Christmas presents. It's wrong to take glee in bringing a child partway to tears but daddy felt like a way bigger poo poo than I did, and the hours of damage control he had ahead of him (and knowing he'd be hearing "is your seatbelt on daddy" every ten minutes for eternity) made me much happier than any ticket ever did.
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Apr 21, 2014 14:14
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RE: People only being charged with and/or convicted of resisting arrest. This can actually happen fairly frequently depending on the circumstances. One example is officers are called to a larceny / shoplifting in progress call and probable cause for an arrest is established and the subject resists arrest. Then later the store or whoever originally called elects to not pursue the larceny charges or requests they be dismissed for whatever reason, like the subject ultimately is trespassed and that's all they want to happen or the subject subsequently makes restitution, etc. The court can and usually does still find the resisting of arrest an unlawful act, even if the original underlying charge isn't pursued, as long as there was probable cause for an officer to make an arrest initially. There is also Obstruction of Justice, Hindering an Officer, Failure to obey Lawful Order, etc. which sometimes can be misidentified as one thing or another or can be an included offense in a broader statute depending upon the jurisdiction.
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Apr 21, 2014 16:28
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I just had one last night where a ladies friend was under arrest but she was the one fighting with us trying to prevent him from being arrested.
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Apr 21, 2014 17:38
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Is this the place to ask UK Copgoons some questions if I may ask?
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Apr 21, 2014 18:00
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Deki posted:What I guess I meant to say was, what level of knowledge of the justice system does a department expect before even beginning training? Is it something they don't even bother worrying about, or do they expect you to know the basics before even starting? Because most of the people I've met who want to be officers (Mostly security guards really), seem to know very little about how the justice system works, which was a bit troubling for me. I did forget that officers had to go through academy though. The police academy I attended was part of a community college. There are many of that style in the US. This is the one in the county I live in (not the one I attended a billion years ago). You aren't expected to know legal stuff before going in because you'll learn what you need to know. Some guys I know get a criminal justice bachelors degree before applying, but then they want to go federal (like FBI).
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Apr 21, 2014 18:24
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General_Disaster posted:Is this the place to ask UK Copgoons some questions if I may ask? Of course, because All Cops Are Bastards, no matter wherever they are.
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Apr 22, 2014 01:14
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Hitlers Gay Secret posted:Of course, because All Cops Are Bastards, no matter wherever they are. I have the power to deputize you in an emergency, and then it is you who are the bastard  yes there are britcop goons ask your question
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Apr 22, 2014 01:46
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Untagged posted:RE: People only being charged with and/or convicted of resisting arrest. So can you only be charged if you had actually previously committed a crime or is running from a cop illegal in all circumstances?
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Apr 22, 2014 06:13
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cops are like dogs if you start running from them they will chase you
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Apr 22, 2014 06:21
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Miltank posted:So can you only be charged if you had actually previously committed a crime or is running from a cop illegal in all circumstances? Not only is it illegal, but it's a justification to shoot the fleeing suspect.
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Apr 22, 2014 06:34
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Do you guys feel comfortable talking about the jurisdiction you work in? I ask because a lot of people have experience with systemic corruption, (I live in Los Angeles and I had to witness one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen done by police,) but I understand that this doesn't mean cops in some podunk county are as likely to shoot a man in the face / rape a woman for a parking ticket. Do you feel like the situations people talk about aren't real? Or do you think they're just talking about areas that don't affect your circle of influence or whatever.
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Apr 22, 2014 06:49
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Turtlicious posted:Do you guys feel comfortable talking about the jurisdiction you work in? tell me bout your horrifying experience
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Apr 22, 2014 06:54
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Kung Fu Fist gently caress posted:tell me bout your horrifying experience
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Apr 22, 2014 06:59
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then why should anyone share their stories with you?
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Apr 22, 2014 07:01
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How true to life is Super Troopers?
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Apr 22, 2014 10:15
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USMC503 posted:How true to life is Super Troopers? Super Troopers is possibly the most accurate cop movie ever made. Also, not applying for the Harvard scholarship after all, just can't make living in Boston for a year work. Shame, it's a full ride. 
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Apr 22, 2014 12:48
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Miltank posted:So can you only be charged if you had actually previously committed a crime or is running from a cop illegal in all circumstances? You can usually articulate how someone running away from you contributed to the reasonable belief that they were up to no good, which empowers you to stop them for questioning. So you yell stop, he keeps running, there's your obstruction charge. It's not illegal to run away from someone when you see them, but not following instructions backed by legal authority (the definition of which can be very... "fluid") can get someone arrested.
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Apr 22, 2014 12:50
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flakeloaf posted:You can usually articulate how someone running away from you contributed to the reasonable belief that they were up to no good, which empowers you to stop them for questioning. So you yell stop, he keeps running, there's your obstruction charge. It's not illegal to run away from someone when you see them, but not following instructions backed by legal authority (the definition of which can be very... "fluid") can get someone arrested. Yeah we don't have this, and for good reason.
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Apr 22, 2014 13:24
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If all the cop says is "He saw me and ran" then it oughta be tossed, but in a lot of jursidictions the judges don't even try to keep you honest about it and that does everyone a huge disservice. We have to meet them at least halfway and try to describe the totality of the circumstances with something like this: "I observed a man loitering in an area that I know from eight years' experience to be frequented by street-level drug dealers. I approached him calmly and without speaking, and when he saw me he stuffed his hands in his pockets, turned and ran. I formed reasonable suspicion that he was running from me in an attempt to avoid interacting with me, and that his hands were in his pockets to keep control of their contents, which circumstances suggested could have been a small quantity of drugs, proceeds of crime or a weapon. I formed reasonable suspicion that he was engaged in criminal activity and sought to exercise my authority to hold him for investigative detention, so I chased after him, and shouted in a clear voice that I was a police officer and that he needed to stop running immediately. He refused to do so, which led me to reasonably believe he was resisting arrest and fleeing to evade capture." I like to think that I'm under no delusions about how frequent the first one is compared to the second, or how often the justifications provided actually line up with the truth.
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Apr 22, 2014 13:33
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Have any of you read Terry Pratchet's Discworld novels, specifically those about the Night Watch? (Weird question I know: I just thought they were a fun portrayal of the police)
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Apr 22, 2014 14:45
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Turtlicious posted:Do you guys feel comfortable talking about the jurisdiction you work in? you can't even begin to compare the LAPD to say my experiences in the rural upper midwest, so when LAPD is horrible and does horrible things, it doesn't really affect how things are done up here. In the entire history of my department theres never been an officer involved shooting, but I can understand how your experiences with LAPD can sour you on police in general.
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Apr 22, 2014 17:15
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Branis posted:you can't even begin to compare the LAPD to say my experiences in the rural upper midwest, so when LAPD is horrible and does horrible things, it doesn't really affect how things are done up here. In the entire history of my department theres never been an officer involved shooting, but I can understand how your experiences with LAPD can sour you on police in general. How many police are in your department and does the "no shootings" include being shot at?
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Apr 22, 2014 20:19
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Branis posted:you can't even begin to compare the LAPD to say my experiences in the rural upper midwest, so when LAPD is horrible and does horrible things, it doesn't really affect how things are done up here. In the entire history of my department theres never been an officer involved shooting, but I can understand how your experiences with LAPD can sour you on police in general. That is insane, like I honestly find that baffling, when you say no shootings do you mean no-one shoots at you? Or are you just saying you've never shot back? How do you and other officers feel about Gun Control?
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Apr 22, 2014 20:28
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I think people don't understand just how rare police involved shootings are. In New York City, with 30,000 officers and a population of about 8 million there are maybe 20-30 adversarial discharges (gunfights) a year. Edit: 2011 had 92 total discharges. 36 adversarial, 36 at animals, 15 negligent / unintentional, and a few others. That's 92 incidents from 33,500 offocers, and only 36 combat incidents. That's 0.01% of officers. That's one hundredth of one percent. Most of the shooters are just trying to get away, they generally aren't dumb enough to shoot at the police. Smiling Jack fucked around with this message at 21:17 on Apr 22, 2014 |
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Apr 22, 2014 21:11
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A lot of police officers will never fire their weapon or have a weapon fired at them. 
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Apr 22, 2014 21:11
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Also Sam Vimes rules. Pratchett nerd since the pterry days.
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Apr 22, 2014 21:22
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theres 10ish people on my department, which I think about 30% of all US police depts are between 10-30, and nobody has been shot at or shot anyone. Plenty of tense incidents involving guns since it is a rural area, but no shootings. Gun control is dumb, democrats are dumb for pushing it. Just once i'd like to see them fight for overhauling the health care and mental health care systems than try to ban scary black rifles. Banning guns just transfers more power to the wealthy.
Branis fucked around with this message at 23:53 on Apr 22, 2014 |
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Apr 22, 2014 23:45
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In my experience most street level cops look at the current definition of gun control as a complete joke. The laws being put into place as a response to the recent mass shootings aren't meant to reduce gun crime at all. They're meant to give politicians a talking point and something to point to for ignorant or ill-informed voters. Just take a look at New York's SAFE Act to see how ridiculous the gun control movement is right now. It's based purely on emotion and spends most of its energy and money targeting cosmetic features on a weapon that is rarely used to commit crimes. If you want a decent idea of how effective strict gun control laws as they're currently written are take a look at which cities and states have the most strict laws and then those with the highest incidents of gun-related crimes. I'll give you a few starting points... Chicago, DC, and pick a city in California. That's strictly anecdotal and a personal opinion but beyond being told that "more guns = more deaths, PERIOD" I haven't seen any evidence to back up a ban on magazines carrying ten rounds or outlawing CCW. Criminals laugh at gun control laws because the laws don't address anybody except those individuals who are already obeying the law by purchasing their gun at a licensed dealer as opposed to getting it from the dude down the block or just flat out stealing it.
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Apr 22, 2014 23:49
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This will NOT be a gun control thread. Thanks for your cooperation!
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Apr 22, 2014 23:54
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I feel like your tryin to control my guns by stopping me from talking about them
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Apr 22, 2014 23:57
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move along citizen
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Apr 22, 2014 23:58
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Branis posted:I feel like your tryin to control my guns by stopping me from talking about them I hate you and your stupid guns.
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Apr 22, 2014 23:59
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Whip Slagcheek posted:This will NOT be a gun control thread. Thanks for your cooperation! For as much as I admire gun talk, I think Whip was in the right by bringing the hammer down.
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Apr 23, 2014 00:52
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Good call Whip. My bad on that one. I wasn't thinking. Carry on folks... nothing to see here.
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Apr 23, 2014 01:15
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GunForumMeme posted:For as much as I admire gun talk, I think Whip was in the right by bringing the hammer down. Yeah once people start shotgunning questions like that it's inevitable some are gonna land off target. Probably a good thing Whip's got a hair trigger about that stuff. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Apr 23, 2014 03:04
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