More- Make friends with the fire and ems guys. Firehouses are the best place to sit and eat your lunch and take a deuce. If they do meals sometimes you can pitch in a fiver and get a hot meal and good company. Knowing and being on terms with guys who might have to back you up/save your ass or let you go through their supply closet is always a good.

Keep your knife on your weak side.

PT and train like your life depends on it. Somebody might try and kill you one day. You don't rise to the occasion you fall back on your training.

Be polite and professional with everyone, but always have a plan.

There are two types of "ROD" in my opinion-the lazy fucks who always were, or the guy that's been burned enough times that he does what's expected of him but ain't going out of his way to draw attention to himself. The latter "ROD" if you get to know him can be a wealth of knowledge and give you advice on covering your ass against internal politics. While "ROD#2 may not burn em up he's still a cop and will drive like his ass is on fire to cover you in a jam.
The guy who said never lie is spot on. If you make a mistake, own it and do your best to justify your action, but never commit yourself to a situation where you feel the need to lie. Your word as a cop means something, and once you tarnish that trust you're done.
Oh, and even if your FTO is kind of a dick do the best you can to learn whatever he has to offer. FTO training is temporary, suck it up. And never talk behind your FTOs back, it WILL get back to him/her and you'll be branded a squirrel before your career even takes off.

If you're a liberal democrat you won't stay one if you keep  with this gig.

Just told a new deputy this tonight. Put some ear plugs in your squad or bag, use to dispatch deer, hearing damage is real

Don't touch the fucking radio kid...

When I was voluntold I was going to foot patrol in the community policing unit I basically lived in the firehouse on my beat. They'd go on runs and have me stir the sauce on the stove while they were out.

I worked with plenty.

..or the car keys.

My FTO phase was five days long.
You know what my FTO taught me?
The best restaurants to go to in the patrol zone, and the waitresses who worked there at the time.

All good advice. Ill only add on specifics to what I had.

I had cuff keys everywhere and I never knew what hand would be free so my shoulder pockets had one, one on a key ring on a key ring holder(also used for car keys, d-cell keys and lockbox keys) and one in the sleeve pockets with my good pens.

I had UZI tactical pens which are only $20 but take fisher space pen inserts and also had a glass breaker and were aluminum and worked great and write on anything.

Not sure what kind of gear you’ll be getting but if its like what we were issued it was cheap uncle mike shit. I bought all my own stuff minus vest. While everyone else’s stuff was falling apart I never had a problem.

Rubber gloves. We were only issued 2 mags so one in the gun and 1 in a double mag pouch so a flashlight, multi tool or gloves went in the empty spot. Not ideal but its what we had. Also even for minor stuff expect ALOT of blood. Head wounds bleed ALOT and even a small cut in a Minor scuffle can make a scene really messy.

If you can get medical training and also carry supplies do it.

Practice stress shoots. We didn’t get a lot of high speed training but we did do stress shoots and shoot houses and it was a great tool when you have to clear houses or buildings.

Get a duffle to keep your stuff in. Metal clipboard, accordion folder for forms, orange work vest( cant tell you how many people almost ran me over and simply ignore someone standing in front of a patrol car with lights on waiving a flash light)

Ask around note what works and use it. A lot of people throw their kit on and just deal with it instead of making changes because its to much work.

I liked using an earpiece as much as possible. We didn’t use 10 codes so anyone we were dealing with could hear and understand what dispatch was saying plus its much better if you dont want you position known or want to leave your radio/use it while in your car without getting feedback over the car radio

Deferred comp!  do it now, put in 1/3 of your paycheck and you'll have .5-.6 mil in 25 years.

Pussy...badge will get it, pussy will take your badge.

Never lie.

The guy who wants to be your best friend is a piece of shit that has worn out his welcome with everyone else.

Physical fitness will keep you alive.

Marry a doctor, PA, or nurse.

I haven't yet read through all of the responses, but I might be able to offer some input from the perspective of a prosecutor (albeit a new prosecutor):

1. Take good reports. By good reports, I mean detailed reports. Ensure that you record the statements of your suspects and witnesses. Be detailed and don't leave anything out (particularly statements of the suspect), preferably verbatim. Please, please, please don't try to make the determination of what is or is not relevant for the prosecution to read. Sometimes seemingly innocuous statements prove to be very important and it's always best to have a written record to refresh your recollection before court. Additionally, if your prosecutor's office is like mine and operates with an open file policy, the strength of your report can actually play a huge role in getting the defendant to plead rather than battle it out in court.

2. In that vein, be sure to get your detailed report submitted in a timely fashion. I've had, in the short time I've been prosecuting, more than one occasion where I've had to go to Court without having a report from the officer. That's unacceptable. It jeopardizes that case, and undermines your relationship with your prosecutor's office. You may be the best street cop in the world, but if you can't bring the case home in court, your efforts are for naught.

3. Don't rely on video or audio recordings to take the place of your reports. A/V equipment fails, routinely. Sometimes mics don't pick up everything, the camera isn't at the right angle, equipment breaks, batteries run out, etc. Audio and visual can certainly help you recall what occurred, but it's still better to put things into writing, particularly things that might not be clear in video or audio (i.e., the odor of alcohol, odor of marijuana, bloodshot or watery eyes, etc.).

4. On the point of audio and visual recordings, make sure that they are forwarded to the prosecution in a timely fashion, much like your reports. It's never good for us to be scrambling to get that information from the officer or department on the eve of a court date because it wasn't included in the investigation file for some unknown reason.

5. Get to know your prosecutors, particularly in a small jurisdiction. You're going to work with them, likely for years. Build a rapport with them. Call them (if that is the practice in your area) if you have questions on legal issues relating to what you're seeing on the street, particularly if you're uncertain whether you're about to write someone for the correct charge. Encourage them to ride along with you (again, if that's okay with your agency and their office). I've worked in law enforcement (just a part timer) in areas where the relationship between law enforcement and the defense bar was better than the relationship between law enforcement and the prosecutors. It made for an unpleasant working relationship.

This is good advice.