How To Properly...
Become a Police Officer
Police work can be one of the most rewarding careers available to young Americans today. In many cases, a two or four-year college degree is required before you can apply but there are still some places that will hire high school graduates.
You must be trained at a police academy before you can become a Certified Police Officer. There are two possible ways to get this training. The best is to hire on with an agency that will pay for your academy training or sponsor you in some way. The second way is to apply to an academy and pay for it yourself, hoping that an agency will hire you upon completion of your training.
There are state tests that must be passed before you can attend an academy in most places. This testing will consist of both a written and physical agility test to ensure that you have both the mental and physical capabilities to be a competent police officer. You should also expect to pass a thorough background investigation. Some states, like Florida, will also expect you to pass a polygraph examination, aimed at uncovering any past character issues including drug use.
A person considering a career as a police officer should spend the months before taking a state entry test studying the issues they will be tested on and also devote some time developing their bodies for the rigors of police work. If, for instance, you are not capable of dragging a dead-weight dummy weighing over 150 pounds a certain distance, you will not be able to attend an academy in some places. Do your homework on the requirements for the test you will be taking and study hard to do your best.
If hired by an agency or accepted by an academy, expect several weeks of disciplined training that is similar to a military boot camp. There you will learn the basic skills to be a police officer and will be tested periodically to measure your progress. In the toughest academies with the highest requirements, the percentage of candidates graduating will be the lowest.
After graduating from the police academy as a Certified Police Officer and starting to work for a police agency, you will be a probationary officer for a period of time, usually from six months to a year, depending on the agency. You will most likely be assigned to work with a Field Training Officer (FTO) . The FTO will give you regular written ratings during this assignment. Depending on how fast you learn, you will eventually be assigned by yourself and achieve your dream, becoming a fully trained and tested member of your chosen department.
It should be noted here that becoming a Certified Police Officer in one state does not give you the same status in another state, should you decide to move. Although you can receive a position from an agency in the state you are certified in without going through the police academy again, if you move to another state, you will probably have to attend that state’s academy in order to get hired. This is because the academies are designed to train candidates to enforce the laws of the state in which they’re located.
