Posted: 12/19/2006 3:24:33 PM EDT
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I work EMS right now and want to get into some form of LE which for me will be either a city police officer or work for the local sheriffs department... Do you think there are alot of LE jobs available or just a few? It seems like to me that in my part of Missouri there just aren't alot of jobs to be had... What is it like in other areas? |
| You'll typically see agencies (minus the Feds) advertising for people, but they aren't always hiring. A number of agencies will just collect applications and then use those to form a pool when they decide to actually hire someone. It all depends on the specific agency in question though. |
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LEO Jobs Click on the "agencies" tab. Then click on the state you are interested in. Most of the featured agencies have a link to application/employment on their web page. I'm from the northern virginia area. Applied to like 20 agencies in the area and out of state. Got a job offer with Washington Metropolitan Police and Macon Police in Georgia. Went with Macon, since I wanted to try a smaller dept. Looking back on it, I should of gone with Washington Metropolitan. Then again, I would of never met my wife. 
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try this: www.theblueline.com you can get to most of the listings for free |
| There are more jobs in law enforcement than can be filled. While some agencies in some areas are hiring on schedule, many (most?) are not. The problem is finding qualified applicants. You might not find a job with the exact agency that you want or in a small geographic area but the jobs are out there. |
| Here in FL my department has been understaffed for 8 years sometimes 3-4 sometimes 10 or so. The academies here have forgotten about ethics and will let anyone attend the academy, they dont even do a background before they go all they care is that they are paying the 5 grand for the course. Our dept will test 20-40 applicants each time. One time we hired no one and the last 2 times we hired 1 each time. The problem is their backgrounds. Some have recent drug history or arrests that prohibit them to get a LEO job anywhere, they will never be hired. then the rest are just boneheads that cant pass the oral board. Not enough backgrounds in my opinion. When i went to the academy I went thriugh a background and polygrap before I got accepted and only paid 100 bucks for that. Academies are now just another business they dont care about quality they only care about quantity. |
| Seems like after 9/11/01 alot more LE jobs came available due to more funds coming from Federal grants. Here in FL as long as you have a good background and some experience you should be able to get a job in a decent Dept. My dept is down 300. we are getting a new hire class of 25 every 1 1/2 months. |
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I am trying for one of the two local State Sheriffs Academys... I have a 2 year degree, which isn't much, but its something. I started EMS for something to do for a few years until I was old enough to do LE. Im 24 right now. I don't know what my LE career will have ins tore for me, but I feel like EMS has given me time to see "how the other half lives". What exactly do all of you mean by not qualified? Are these people with the LE training that are just out of the academy? Are these people with no LE academy time? How are they not qualified? Thanks for the info so far! |
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Not qualified- Ex felons Wanted Arrested for various offenses Can't read or write Can't pass the written Are nuts Immature History of violence History of being irresponsible (see immature) Can't pass the physical Medical problems Dumb as a stump Mental issues So, that is just a basic run down of the problems with applicants. There are many more areas. Like I said before, we are hiring 360 a year. We are just over 2k (last time I checked). They want to run 4 academies per year. You will see certain regions where there is low pay.........so make sure you also look at that. Retirement is another issue you should be considered with. As for your age, our average was 25. Out of 120, only two were 21. Oldest was 52. Maturity is a major factor as to us not hiring a bunch of 21 yr olds. |
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If you meet the specs you won't have a problem getting a job. The PoPo here haven't been at full staffing in the 14 years I've been on the job. They just can't 'catch up' to retirements and guys moving to Federal positions. They have 3 Academy's going right now. |
Don't forget dishonest. We had a kid apply last spring that did pretty good on the interviews from what I heard. They sent him to get his shrink test and it came back as one of the worst ever. Found out he was a compulsive liar, the kind you rarley ever see coming. We don't do the poly but I would have loved to hear the result of that one. |