Considering LEO after military

[TaraFirma]

I'm 18 months from getting out of the military. I'm seriously considering a career in law enforcement. I live in NW Austin and I'm considering APD. I have their physical fitness test standards and I'm training up using it as a guide.
What else should I be doing/preparing for?
Any and all advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[silver03svt]

I know that one of the SD LNC regulars is already an LEO down near Austin somewhere. Hopefully he will chime in and let you about their testing.

Good luck to you. I've been an LEO for 17 years now, and it is a rewarding career.

 

[cbj5259]

OP are you married? LEO career is a joint venture. Very similar to the military in that regard so you should have a good foothold. Besides the things you mentioned...start getting used to the idea of being on video. Imagine everything you do and say has the potential to be recorded either by your own agency or the public. It's something that guys like me and Doug have had to adjust to during our careers but new guys will spend their entire careers with this new paradigm.

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[TaraFirma]

I am married, and my wife does have reservations about it but supports me. She's been through multiple deployments and has gotten through those. I think she likes the idea of me coming home every day and not having to go to some shithole country ever again. As far as the video/voice recording, I think it's a good thing. I'm tired of seeing people blatantly lie about what a LEO did or didn't do. It's a great tool to ensure the job is being done to standard.

 

[cbj5259]

I am married, and my wife does have reservations about it but supports me. She's been through multiple deployments and has gotten through those. I think she likes the idea of me coming home every day and not having to go to some shithole country ever again. As far as the video/voice recording, I think it's a good thing. I'm tired of seeing people blatantly lie about what a LEO did or didn't do. It's a great tool to ensure the job is being done to standard.

She will have an easier time adjusting than some other wives given your background. Still doesn't make it any easier missing the holidays and school events (if you have kids). Just make sure you make time for your family and don't let the work consume you. As far as the cameras go, I too agree that cameras have helped us immensely. Just be prepared for the cellphones getting shoved in your face constantly.

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[apache driver]

I'm 18 months from getting out of the military. I'm seriously considering a career in law enforcement. I live in NW Austin and I'm considering APD. I have their physical fitness test standards and I'm training up using it as a guide.
What else should I be doing/preparing for?
Any and all advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hey brother, I've got an associate in Law enforcement and a BS in Criminal Justice. I took an accident investigation class taught by 20+ year current Homicide detective (this was in 1998). The title of the class should have actually been crime scene investigation. 2 different homicide cases he briefed with crime scene photos where a 2 year old baby and a 12 year old young lady were murdered ultimately made me decide against that career path and I went back into the army as a Warrant. If you've got a soft spot in your heart for women and kids that's something you really need to consider.

 

[TaraFirma]

Hey brother, I've got an associate in Law enforcement and a BS in Criminal Justice. I took an accident investigation class taught by 20+ year current Homicide detective (this was in 1998). The title of the class should have actually been crime scene investigation. 2 different homicide cases he briefed with crime scene photos where a 2 year old baby and a 12 year old young lady were murdered ultimately made me decide against that career path and I went back into the army as a Warrant. If you've got a soft spot in your heart for women and kids that's something you really need to consider.

Yeah, I thought about this just yesterday. It comes with the job I guess. Just like I knew I'd see some gory shit as a MEDEVAC pilot in the Army. I'm not going to lie, I hate seeing little kids hurt or dead, but I think I can make a difference and continue to serve in the law enforcement community.

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

I have been out since 2014 and am in the middle of applying right now. Just did my physical/written with PST 2 weeks ago and scored a 99.89% overall adding in the veterans preference points. If you go through Public Safety Testing I suggest getting the study guides and practice tests. There's stuff on the real test that isnt in the guides but it will give you a good idea of how to get your mind on track to solving some of the more complex questions they will ask you. I am going through with a buddy from the military also and he didnt study because he had already taken CHP's tests. He did well scoring a 91% which ranked him at 18 out of the 181 candidates applying to the department, but with how much it helped me woth my score I am ranked 5th out of 181. Im still nervous about the oral boards and such but my other friend from the Marines, who is already with the department, said with those rankinga they will look to really get us through as they are looking to fill 24 spots.

So the most advice I can give you from where I am at in the process is just that. It can give you that little edge to get ahead. The physical portion was really easy so if you go straight from the military you should already be up to standard. Unless it is like Alaska where the standards looked to be pretty high. Their mile and a half time is 9 1/2 min for max points or something which is pretty fast.

 

[TaraFirma]

I have been out since 2014 and am in the middle of applying right now. Just did my physical/written with PST 2 weeks ago and scored a 99.89% overall adding in the veterans preference points. If you go through Public Safety Testing I suggest getting the study guides and practice tests. There's stuff on the real test that isnt in the guides but it will give you a good idea of how to get your mind on track to solving some of the more complex questions they will ask you. I am going through with a buddy from the military also and he didnt study because he had already taken CHP's tests. He did well scoring a 91% which ranked him at 18 out of the 181 candidates applying to the department, but with how much it helped me woth my score I am ranked 5th out of 181. Im still nervous about the oral boards and such but my other friend from the Marines, who is already with the department, said with those rankinga they will look to really get us through as they are looking to fill 24 spots.

So the most advice I can give you from where I am at in the process is just that. It can give you that little edge to get ahead. The physical portion was really easy so if you go straight from the military you should already be up to standard. Unless it is like Alaska where the standards looked to be pretty high. Their mile and a half time is 9 1/2 min for max points or something which is pretty fast.

What department are you applying for? Where do you get these study guides you speak of?

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

Im applying up here at Everett, Wa. So the first thing you have to find out is if the department will be doing the testing through PST. They are a testing company that can be contracted to handle all the testing for the departments. From what I saw they are nationwide so if they are used for your testing it should all be the same. You will have to sign up for a date to test on their website, probably after your application is accepted by the department, and then from there PST will have background packets to fill out and some other forms and will offer you study guides to purchase. It will all be pulled from their website and then you will submit the forms when completed through the website and PST will deliver all of your information to the department.

If the department you are applying for doesn't use PST for their testing then it will just be done in-house probably. But regardless of who does the testing it should all be a pretty similar process.

 

[TaraFirma]

I think APD does their testing in house. Thanks for the info though. I'll look into it.

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

I think APD does their testing in house. Thanks for the info though. I'll look into it.

No problem. I think it can change depending on demand. Right now I guess there are about 500 opening across my state so it is getting overwhelming for departments which is why the one Im applying to contracted out. Before this selection they were doing it all in house, but I think 180 candidates was probably too much or something. At least you have an idea in case they change things up. Good luck!

 

[bobafett]

Be smart...further your education and stay da hell outa law enforcement...esp if you're a white male

 

[king_13]

Be smart...further your education and stay da hell outa law enforcement...esp if you're a white male

Sarcasm or extremely misguided thinking?

Also looking to be an LEO for a couple years, atleast while I pay my car off and get an Associates Degree. Being military also gives us a decent advantage over the normal applicant.


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[TaraFirma]

I'll be finishing up my degree in the 18 months prior to getting out. I'm not worried about being a white male in law enforcement.

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

I'll be finishing up my degree in the 18 months prior to getting out. I'm not worried about being a white male in law enforcement.

My friend who is with the department said they are very friendly towards furthering education, and I have heard most departments are. Plus you rate your GI Bill benefits as soon as you get hired on until you are officially out of training as an officer. So right now where he is at he is collecting another $1600-ish just for being there and going to work. If I get hired on I will be looking at waiting even longer to go to the academy due to state budget cuts so I will be getting that for probably a year and a half or so. I asked him and he said he is clearing about 70k/year at this point between that and the GI Bill. Not bad for starting pay without a college degree.

 

[Fuerza]

My friend who is with the department said they are very friendly towards furthering education, and I have heard most departments are. Plus you rate your GI Bill benefits as soon as you get hired on until you are officially out of training as an officer. So right now where he is at he is collecting another $1600-ish just for being there and going to work. If I get hired on I will be looking at waiting even longer to go to the academy due to state budget cuts so I will be getting that for probably a year and a half or so. I asked him and he said he is clearing about 70k/year at this point between that and the GI Bill. Not bad for starting pay without a college degree.

Is getting your GI Bill benefits pretty standard with any Police Officer training? I'm going to apply with TX DPS and ideally get into the January 2017 academy. I have a few months of Chapter 30 Benefits left, then I can start my Chapter 33 Benefits. I already have my Criminal Justice Bachelor degree I don't see myself going back for a Masters.

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

I believe so, just because it is considered educational to the VA. I would imagine that it is more of a VA classification covered by the GI Bill than something each police department validates.

 

[JustinG60]

i think the above mentioned statement about being a white male has 2 inflections... the obvious with racial matters in this country now but the less obvious, a white male is the #1 applicant for law enforcement positions in the United States. it's harder for a white male to obtain a LEO job than any other gender or race combination.

personally, after having 8 years on the job, being injured on duty to the point where i was recently informed by my department the lasting damages of my injury will prevent me from ever doing the job again. i will be hidden away until they see fit to force me to be medically retired ...i'm about to be 33 now...

as for rewarding? maybe, i think you more take pride in it than there's reward. when i took over my last post while working for Baltimore City Police i made a post that averaged 4 homicides a year (kind of a big post, like 8 blocks) and had made it have 0 homicides for as long as i had it and only 1 shooting that the detectives called me about while i was off duty, made some calls to my CI's, and had the suspect arrested only hours later ...though i ask, how rewarding is it really when you realize rain will prevent crime better than you ever can (any real LEO knows this and jokes about it)? for me, i watched any hopes of progress i made in making the city safer be destroyed in April 2015. it's a tough time to do the job... i also only mentioned i worked for the city because i no longer work there. you'll learn to limit how much you mention specifics about your job when you do it haha