Posted: 11/27/2025 11:53:28 AM EDT
[Last Edit: doktarZues][Edited]
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Iraq vet and aghanistan as a contractor for 1.5 years after that, decent shape like I'm 87% positive I could pass the PFAT but going to start kicking some ass and get in GREAT shape. Have some warts on my background that are all 20+ years old (stopped me from entering LEO after the army) two assault and batteries and two DUIs. If it matters, one of the DUIs dropped to reckless and one of the assaults dropped (pre-trial diversion), from age 19-26. I talked to the screening guy at local college/academy he said there's nothing disqualifying on my record and depts around here don't have age limits, it's up to each dept and their psychologist and background investigator and command on if they want a 'reformed' 47 y/o with 20 years of not even a speeding ticket but I left there feeling pretty confident if I was willing to work for any department I'd find one that would take me. I'm 46.5 now but will be 47 by the time I finish academy and all that. worst case scenario I don't get selected and I waste the $500 or whatever is it for the screening process. I know y'all will shoot me straight and be quite candid. :) Assume I interview well and am more fit than 87% of arfcom, do I have a good shot at getting selected? |
| Can you get hired by an agency and have them send you to the academy? With the most recent 'criminal' activity being 20 years ago, you're better off than the 24 year old who used shrooms at a rave 2 years ago. I know a few guys who have switched careers in their 40's, or retired from one department and started a 2nd career at another department. |
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Well, I was 39 when I started. I went to a state live in academy that was half smaller agencies and half NHP Troopers. The troopers had to attend a couple of extra weeks for more in depth accident investigation training. I was a city cop but my room mate was a trooper cadet. Anyway, I managed to graduate top in the class. There were a couple of folks in their mid 40s that also kicked butt. If you can keep up with the physical part you should try it. |
Nobody is coming. It's up to you.
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Not having disqualifications and being a desirable candidate are not the same thing. We do not hire people with assaults/multiple DWI's regardless of time passed. The state most likely will not license you either. You are also competing with folks that do not have your record. That college student with no arrests and a part time job at Home Depot is a better candidate than you. Now, you might find a small dept desperate enough, but do you really want to work LE for 30K a year and no hope of advancement or retirement plan? |
| The age wont be an issue but your history (two of each charge starts to show a pattern) probably will be. That being said, everywhere is hurting for bodies and standards are dropping like a rock. If you want to make more money and relocate to the PNW shoot me a PM and I can put you in touch with our recruiter. Like I said, they can overlook a lot of things these days but Im not sure about yours. |
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Well as some departments are rather desperate they may take a look at you with really old offenses. Probably odds are against you. Not sure why you would want the job these days. Especially at your age. Being junior you’re going to get the shit shifts and plenty of people that will try your patience. That includes management that is 15 years younger than you. I know I sometimes was irked with young pup bosses. I never took a promotion as it was a royal pain in the ass and a change in working conditions. I had way way more freedom as an officer. The Lt. job used to be the best in the agency, the best of both worlds but they ruined it with micromanagement. No thanks. I did have a couple to a few younger supervisors that were spot on. The others were simply not up to the task but were good yes men/woman. It’s kind of hard to take a supervisor seriously when they cannot handle the basics. One was so inept that when I got sent to cover a complaint in his area that he was an officer in for several years he had no idea how to get a hold of the courts there for an immediate arraignment. It wasn’t my assigned county so I didn’t have it already, they merely grabbed me to send me over because said nitwit gave all his guys in that area the day off together. He had no coverage.   . Needless to say I never had a good dealing with the nitwit. He was a liar to boot that denied ever having approved OT after having done so leaving guys in the wind. Anyways as an old man your skin can get rather thin. I’d sooner deliver auto parts to the local garages than come out of retirement to law enforcement. |
The only hyphenated names I like are cartridge names......30-06, 30-40, 38-55 etc.
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Originally Posted By John-in-austin: Not having disqualifications and being a desirable candidate are not the same thing. We do not hire people with assaults/multiple DWI's regardless of time passed. The state most likely will not license you either. You are also competing with folks that do not have your record. That college student with no arrests and a part time job at Home Depot is a better candidate than you. Now, you might find a small dept desperate enough, but do you really want to work LE for 30K a year and no hope of advancement or retirement plan? Yep I get it. I'm "retiring" at the end of January from current job regardless, and without humble bragging too much I can say confidently I'm not in it for the money and hoping I can get on somewhere. Appreciate the candid feedback |
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Originally Posted By SteelonSteel: Well as some departments are rather desperate they may take a look at you with really old offenses. Probably odds are against you. Not sure why you would want the job these days. Especially at your age. Being junior you’re going to get the shit shifts and plenty of people that will try your patience. That includes management that is 15 years younger than you. I know I sometimes was irked with young pup bosses. I never took a promotion as it was a royal pain in the ass and a change in working conditions. I had way way more freedom as an officer. The Lt. job used to be the best in the agency, the best of both worlds but they ruined it with micromanagement. No thanks. I did have a couple to a few younger supervisors that were spot on. The others were simply not up to the task but were good yes men/woman. It’s kind of hard to take a supervisor seriously when they cannot handle the basics. One was so inept that when I got sent to cover a complaint in his area that he was an officer in for several years he had no idea how to get a hold of the courts there for an immediate arraignment. It wasn’t my assigned county so I didn’t have it already, they merely grabbed me to send me over because said nitwit gave all his guys in that area the day off together. He had no coverage. . Needless to say I never had a good dealing with the nitwit. He was a liar to boot that denied ever having approved OT after having done so leaving guys in the wind. Anyways as an old man your skin can get rather thin. I’d sooner deliver auto parts to the local garages than come out of retirement to law enforcement. I've thought a lot about what you're keying in on. I have a very good idea what I'm getting into with shift work, I did 12s for about 10 years straight previously in my career. I'm not worried about advancement or retirement, it's more about fulfilling a lifelong desire/dream to be LEO, and I'm in a good spot in my life to do that. This would essentially be my retirement job. As another poster said I either love it and go for 10 or more, or I don't and I got the T-shirt and get out after a few years. I'd give a dept at least that for taking me in. |
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Originally Posted By DVCER: A small county SO nearly anywhere will hire nearly anyone to work in the jail. Sometimes that can be a path to getting on Patrol, emphasis on sometimes. Yep tracking that path but not interested, I'm all in or all out man I'm getting older by the day over here heh |
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Originally Posted By doktarZues: Yep tracking that path but not interested, I'm all in or all out man I'm getting older by the day over here heh Yeah jail work sucks often. Pretty rare around here to move into patrol from there, unless you were the cute blond the undersheriff liked, a lot. |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
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Many places around here look for older individuals as they find them to be better in terms of judgement and maturity. It really depends on the department though. My academy I was in my mid 40s when I went through and I wasnt even close to the oldest. LE was a second career for me though. Like you I was DoD. I went into an investigator role though. Not patrol or anything like that. We dont really do any use of force (we are full peace officers, just not on the streets chasing bad guys) and it's one of those jobs that people retire out of. Its really a second career job for LE or other individuals with a suitable background. If it were me, that's what I would look for, assuming you can qualify. I've got a law degree and a background from DoD that isn't the same but is useful. I dont think I would want to do patrol work in my mid 40s. You can do it. There are older individuals than you who went into patrol out of my academy. |
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Ask Florida POST or whatever they call their state standards, see if you are even waiverable at this point. Then consider how court will go for you. Your DA may have problems putting you on the stand in crimes of violence or being under the influence. You affluent? There are other routes, you can wear the badge, carry a gun, maybe even ride. But the media may start digging. Hell, you got the money. Get your state rep and an attorney looped in and see if, based on last 20 good behavior, can you get all that expunged... Anything is possible sometimes Edit: reread your post. Just because they will hire you, you may really wish you hadn't worked there. |
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Originally Posted By high_order1: Ask Florida POST or whatever they call their state standards, see if you are even waiverable at this point. Then consider how court will go for you. Your DA may have problems putting you on the stand in crimes of violence or being under the influence. You affluent? There are other routes, you can wear the badge, carry a gun, maybe even ride. But the media may start digging. Hell, you got the money. Get your state rep and an attorney looped in and see if, based on last 20 good behavior, can you get all that expunged... Anything is possible sometimes Edit: reread your post. Just because they will hire you, you may really wish you hadn't worked there. Well I'm pretty sure I will be certified at the state level because my background doesn't disqualify me. If I understood the screener correctly, I'm g2g if a dept decides to hire me. If you're understanding is different, please tell me more about waivers and such. Secondly help me understand the media topic. Am I correct in understanding that you're raising the scenario I make an arrest, have to testify, it gets media attention, and they look me up and my background becomes a thing? And expunging my arrests would keep them from seeing that? |
Joined:
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EE: 100% (4)
SC, USA
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As a civilian, just looking at it from the public's side and point of view, this is my opinion. With your violent background, I, and most citizens, and especially female citizens, would be very uncomfortable having you on our local police force. It is what it is. You may have gotten all of that behind you, and have absolutely no chance of repeating that behavior, but the fact that you did it before, more than once, leads most people to think that you'll do it again, or do some other type of violence to the citizenry. Further, if your record gets out to the general public, women will cause you trouble. The first time you arrest a female by herself that's a liar, she will pull the sexual assault card. Since you have a violent record, no matter how long ago it was, she will use that as a basis to show you have the capability to do what she's accused you of. For that reason alone, I wouldn't hire you. It's just too easy to make you look bad. Then there's your age, which is fine as far as it concerns a citizen's viewpoint, but the departments might not like that part of it. If you combine those two things, there are far too many applicants with clean records and that are young out there that would get picked first. If I were in your position, I would look into getting my PI license and becoming a private investigator. That would be something you could do to help get criminals off the streets and work alongside the police as well. That would give you the ability to choose what types of criminals you have to deal with as well. You have a lot of choices there. |
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You should first go see if you can join Air Guard Security Forces ( yes they take prior Army ) and do that in combination with your LEO applications. Different departments do business different ways and if you are told no in one state try other states . The way to get your foot in the door is for them to know you - reserves, jailers- dispatchers ….a traditional Guard SF job opens doors because several others there will be LEO . In addition try to get to your 20 yrs. Work on your VA rating too but not too aggressively if you want to stay in. |
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I went into Law enforcement at 49. You would be surprised how ill prepared many cadets are nowadays, at least where I was at. I passed the physicality aspect with flying colors while many did not. My issue was pay. Within no time I was really wondering how I was going to keep the lights on without doing 20+ hours of overtime a week. I was blessed to have good people in my agency though. I really enjoyed it but when I found a chance to step down I did. We had a ton of new people and I left with handshakes and great memories in my short time. It was a great experience and I wouldn't change a thing. I leaned a lot and have more respect for what LEO's have to deal with. Even living in a small town these guys are the salt of the earth. Get in shape, start working on the legal aspects and maybe join up as a reserve to start getting time. It will help you decide if it's the choice you want to make. Good luck! |
Dont call it a comeback, Been here for years.
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The worst that can happen is you try for it and you fail Better than looking back in a decade or two and saying " I wish I had tried.." |
*post contains personal opinion only and should not be considered information released in an official capacity*
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Biggest question that is unanswered is why? If it’s because it’ll be a step up in pay/benefits/retirement for you, then might as well try. If it’s because it’s some itch you haven’t scratched, or you want to carry a gun and yell at people, then you should keep doing whatever you’re already doing. Academy might suck, but I don’t know how they are in FL. FTO/PTO at your age, you’ll have training officers and supervisors who are young enough to be your children, looking at you like you’re a moron. And you’ll have to re-learn how to interact with the world, which isn’t easy even when you’re young. All of this might be a moot point, because even in my city, which is hard up for applicants, you’d be denied with your record. Any prior crimes of violence as an adult are a no go. Technically, one DUI/DWAI more than 5 years past is allowable, but the chief’s office shitcans any applicants who have any alcohol/drug related convictions on their record. Too much of a liability risk. We have enough retards with previously clean records getting in trouble after they get on the job, that we don’t need to raise that risk. |
Amanda? Come on dude. That's probably not even her real name.
| I went through academy at 45. When I was interviewing I mentioned I was surprised at their interest with my age. They said it's easy to find young guys who want to chase perps through the woods. It's harder to find older people with life experience, good judgement, and outstanding people skills. Just FYI. |
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Originally Posted By Trempel: Biggest question that is unanswered is why? If it’s because it’ll be a step up in pay/benefits/retirement for you, then might as well try. If it’s because it’s some itch you haven’t scratched, or you want to carry a gun and yell at people, then you should keep doing whatever you’re already doing. This doesn't check out. Why exactly should I put this down if it's not a step up financially when there's not a cop on the planet that's in it for the money? After a long run in my current career we're financially healthy, kids are raised, wife has a well paying job she's happy with, and now I want to revisit my early ambitions to try out LEO. Of all the challenges that await me, this ain't one of them.. |
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Originally Posted By motoguy: I went through academy at 45. When I was interviewing I mentioned I was surprised at their interest with my age. They said it's easy to find young guys who want to chase perps through the woods. It's harder to find older people with life experience, good judgement, and outstanding people skills. Just FYI. Thanks good feedback. I'm finding my age isn't as big of a problem, some commands may turn their nose at it but far from a showstopper. My background is going to be the big hurdle. I'm definitely going for it and will do my best to keep my expectations realistic. |
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Originally Posted By doktarZues: This doesn't check out. Why exactly should I put this down if it's not a step up financially when there's not a cop on the planet that's in it for the money? After a long run in my current career we're financially healthy, kids are raised, wife has a well paying job she's happy with, and now I want to revisit my early ambitions to try out LEO. Of all the challenges that await me, this ain't one of them.. Originally Posted By doktarZues: Originally Posted By Trempel: Biggest question that is unanswered is why? If it’s because it’ll be a step up in pay/benefits/retirement for you, then might as well try. If it’s because it’s some itch you haven’t scratched, or you want to carry a gun and yell at people, then you should keep doing whatever you’re already doing. This doesn't check out. Why exactly should I put this down if it's not a step up financially when there's not a cop on the planet that's in it for the money? After a long run in my current career we're financially healthy, kids are raised, wife has a well paying job she's happy with, and now I want to revisit my early ambitions to try out LEO. Of all the challenges that await me, this ain't one of them.. Because it’s a job, not a life mission, or something to check off the bucket list. It’s fun, and sometimes fulfilling, even in today’s age, but it comes at a cost - shorter life spans, with higher incidence of heart disease, cancer, suicide, etc. People who come in to it, regardless of age, who think they’re going to be some hero good guy, are often very disappointed when they come to the realisation, which is they are a tool used by a bunch of elected narcissists. When that bulb turns on, there better be a little bit of money and a pension at the end of that road. Depending on the part of the country, people definitely do it for money. |
Amanda? Come on dude. That's probably not even her real name.
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Originally Posted By Trempel: Because it’s a job, not a life mission, or something to check off the bucket list. It’s fun, and sometimes fulfilling, even in today’s age, but it comes at a cost - shorter life spans, with higher incidence of heart disease, cancer, suicide, etc. People who come in to it, regardless of age, who think they’re going to be some hero good guy, are often very disappointed when they come to the realisation, which is they are a tool used by a bunch of elected narcissists. When that bulb turns on, there better be a little bit of money and a pension at the end of that road. Depending on the part of the country, people definitely do it for money. Originally Posted By Trempel: Originally Posted By doktarZues: Originally Posted By Trempel: Biggest question that is unanswered is why? If it’s because it’ll be a step up in pay/benefits/retirement for you, then might as well try. If it’s because it’s some itch you haven’t scratched, or you want to carry a gun and yell at people, then you should keep doing whatever you’re already doing. This doesn't check out. Why exactly should I put this down if it's not a step up financially when there's not a cop on the planet that's in it for the money? After a long run in my current career we're financially healthy, kids are raised, wife has a well paying job she's happy with, and now I want to revisit my early ambitions to try out LEO. Of all the challenges that await me, this ain't one of them.. Because it’s a job, not a life mission, or something to check off the bucket list. It’s fun, and sometimes fulfilling, even in today’s age, but it comes at a cost - shorter life spans, with higher incidence of heart disease, cancer, suicide, etc. People who come in to it, regardless of age, who think they’re going to be some hero good guy, are often very disappointed when they come to the realisation, which is they are a tool used by a bunch of elected narcissists. When that bulb turns on, there better be a little bit of money and a pension at the end of that road. Depending on the part of the country, people definitely do it for money. How true. Towards the end of my 25 years stint my goal was to at least give the public a fair shake for their money. The bloom was off the rose but the public deserved an honest effort. I liked to think I worked for the public and not for self centered supervisors and politicians. Of course by the time I was fifty I had my eye on an exit strategy. I had a great time when I was younger, due to the old school supervisors that were about doing the job and not about pleasing the capitol first. We did interesting work back then, the pay was a lot lower then but it was a better life. Pay came up but it was and still is lagging. Even our retirement compensation is lagging. The only reason I retired at the earliest time that was just half a year after the minimum was because I had always run my own retirement savings investment outside the pension. I lived on my pension only for about four years because it was enough but with the runaway inflation I finally started taking a small monthly drawing. |
The only hyphenated names I like are cartridge names......30-06, 30-40, 38-55 etc.
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Originally Posted By Trempel: Because it’s a job, not a life mission, or something to check off the bucket list. It’s fun, and sometimes fulfilling, even in today’s age, but it comes at a cost - shorter life spans, with higher incidence of heart disease, cancer, suicide, etc. People who come in to it, regardless of age, who think they’re going to be some hero good guy, are often very disappointed when they come to the realisation, which is they are a tool used by a bunch of elected narcissists. When that bulb turns on, there better be a little bit of money and a pension at the end of that road. Depending on the part of the country, people definitely do it for money. I have a 20+ year LEO buddy I was highschool friends with in the general AO but not in my pool of possible departments who's been pretty encouraging, says I can push the boundaries and "be my own cop" since it will be a retirement job (vs I misstep and my livelihood/career is impacted). I hear what you're saying I just don't think it's good feedback. For the same reason you became a LEO I want to become a LEO, just at a different stage in life. If I like it I'll go for 10+ or as long as I can. If I don't, I will stick around as long as I feel like I owe them for giving me a shot. |
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this is what I found. In my state, waivers are possible on some things, so, all I can say is get an attorney and see. Question: What is good moral character? Answer: This question is best answered by referring to Rule 11B-27.0011(4), Florida Administrative Code, which defines "failure to maintain good moral character." This Rule may be accessed by clicking on the following link: Rule 11B-27.0011. A synopsis of the definition is as follows: (1) The perpetration of an act that would constitute any felony offense, whether criminally prosecuted or not. (2) The perpetration of an act that would constitute any of a specified list of misdemeanor or criminal offenses, whether criminally prosecuted or not. Acts such as battery, passing worthless checks, driving under the influence, solicitation of prostitution, petit theft, improper exhibition of a weapon, false official statements, possession of marijuana less than 20 grams, and resisting arrest without violence are some of the specified misdemeanor or criminal offenses. (3) The perpetration of an act or conduct that constitutes excessive use of force, I'm not telling you no. |
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You'd be starting a few years from when most guys are retiring, you'd more than likely be working graves for a while, you'll be less senior than people young enough to be your kids, you'll be shit on by society at an age where you should feel entitled to some respect for having lived this long, the career will advance your age physically and mentally, you'll have to put up with a lot of bullshit (both inside and outside the walls of your Department) for someone your age, you'll automatically be suspect/vilified by some just for being in the line of work you are (the comments section in GD is a clue)... But, yeah, sign up. Why not, lol... 
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How is your personallity? Mostly optimistic, upbeat, easy going? That will all change and you will be pessimistic, negative, jump to conclusions about people and their actions. You will lose friends you have now since they will be replaced with coworkees as they are the only ones that understand what you do and see on a day to day basis. Your wife may not want to hear the crazy things you do and see at work. Mine was a dispatcher so she had an idea. She now works in higher education and deals with all the opposite end of the political perspective. Supervisors are not always chosen for their decision making skills. Some departments are not as busy as other and therefore, the supervision may be micro-managey. Prepare yourself to be watched constantly by the public and by administration. I can't say that it is the brotherhood it used to be 20 years ago. Our dept is very stat driven and that has drove a wedge between people who want to make themselves look better vs those that see the bigger picture. County depts have more area but longer response times for backup. Munis may be controled by politicians and less by chiefs. Tough call. Maybe do some ride-alongs to ask the guys working and to get a feel for the job. |
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Its not 'too late' if that's what you really want to do. The thing is, you need to be really selective with what agency you try to work for. You need a place with a retirement vest at 10-12 years. That way in 10-12 years if you are ready to hang it up you can. A really high call volume/busy agency is going to suck. It sucks as a young guy, it will suck more as a 'middle age' guy. Will you get 'selected'? Depends on the agency you apply to. Highly competitive places? Good freaking luck. If you are willing to relocate. Lots of agencies around the country are short handed and are looking to hire qualified people. You also need to decide on if you are just looking for a job so you have an income/benefits/pension or if you have actual goals of doing something specific with law enforcement. For example. Here in Louisiana we have 'City Marshals'. They are responsible for city court security and making sure defendants show up for court. If you are wanting to hit the road in a uniform/marked unit you can be out rounding up dudes with warrants. If you are wanting a laid back 9-5 gig you do city court security. But overall its a low stress, low responsibility LE gig. I'm sure other states have similar type agencies. Decent pay. Decent benefits. Decent pension. If I were 35+ looking to get into LE that's probably the path I'd take. If you are wanting to hit the road and work patrol and respond to calls. And perhaps work your way up to becoming a detective... You're talking about a higher stress, higher responsibility option. You can do it. And you may love every second of it. Or you may become very much like Joe Dirt just described in his first paragraph. If this is the path you want I'd suggest a lower call volume agency. |
| I started at 22, Retired at 53 seven months ago. I could not imagine just starting out at 47. Policing has morphed from what I knew as a new guy to what it is now. My first PD had no age limit so a lot will depend on how long you want to do it based on your specific departments policy. It is definitely a younger man’s game. |
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As a retired LEO, with 26 years and who was involved in the hiring process of new candidates, your age isn’t the issue, but the other past criminal issues do present a major hurdle to clear, especially within the better (higher paying) departments. As stated above, your options are much better with a smaller (less paying) department and with 3+ years of positive service, your chances of doing a lateral into another department is your best option, IMHO. Also, you might want to consider starting off in Corrections… If you can shine in there and stay drama free, that can help you move into patrol. But, remember that time isn’t on your side… “I” felt great when I was 47 and basically still close to the peak of my game, but come 54/55, age was catching up to me… Even as an LT. I’m not trying to be a dick and I do truly wish you well with this goal, but you will be competing with others WITHOUT several issues in their past with the law. Also, do you have a four year college degree? Yes, college, isn’t important in police/LEO position, but YOU need to throw everything at the wall and hope some of it will stick, especially when your previous history comes into play. The one major issue within your situation is that if you ever had to go on the stand, in any court proceedings, your previous criminal history can open you up to challenges from the other side, in most types of hearings… I throw that out as a FYI. Here is ONE tip that might help you out… volunteer within your local Emergency Management department and build a “good guy” reputation and get some local visibility. This, IMHO, is your best course of action, but again, time isn’t really on your side. Overall, not impossible, but a challenge to get into police work. Good luck!! |
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47 is pretty doable. The criminal convictions might not be. Hell I have been out for years, mid-50’s, and am pretty sure I could hack the academy still, even as broken as I am. Hell if I could just work part time, I would go back right now. Just don’t have the energy or desire for 60+ hrs a week anymore… |
a loaded gun won’t set you free, so you say…