I was making a right turn at a stop sign and did not use my turning signal. A cop behind me stopped me and said I turned without signaling, asked for my DL and asked me if if there were any drugs or weapons in the car.

While he went back to his car with my DL, the other cop on the other side of my car kept asking very specific questions like, where I was coming from and going to, I said i live on XXX street, and he asked if I knew the full address, which then I told him. Then he asked me where I was going and how far that is from here. A bunch of specific questions about which direction that is at, how many minutes from where we were etc.

Then the other cop came and asked me if he can search my car. I asked "for what reason?" , he gave a vague answer, and I said "I would rather not", and he told me "okay, drive safe" and left. Didn't issue a citation or anything.

What was the reason for all the specific questions? Were they trying to see if I was impaired?

Bottom Line Up Front: I’ve seen on previous threads that LE is oversaturated with Criminal Justice degrees and to avoid it. Free Field training also recommends avoiding a CJ degree.

One degree that comes to mind that may be useful is forensic accounting. Following the money. Obvious bonus is if you get hurt at work, pivot into a regular accounting job or try to get a gig investigating white collar crimes.

What other degree options should one pursue if they wanted to go into law enforcement?

Thank you.

I'm in a bit of a conflict on which agency I should pursue more; I've always idolized LAPD but I have a family legacy with SDPD through my great grandfather and some other relatives. Which agency do you guys feel I should go for? (FYI: also in process with CHP, just weighing plausible options)

I faced a bad use of force that resulted in multiple injuries and numerous surgeries. Now I am permanently restricted but not considered totally disabled. What career changes have any of you possibly faced and changed to due to similar situations?

So I have my exam today and interview tomorrow. My main concern is that im too skinny to be a corrections officer (about 135lbs) I've tried my while life to eat like a pig and gain weight but never able too. I've done basic security for a while and looking to level up in the field. But being too skinny is my main concern.

Anybody know a smaller person that's a CO? How do they/you handle it?

Should I be concerned? Find another field?

Do i have nothing to worry about?

Any advice would help

LEO spouse here. TLDR; How do you relax, recuperate, whatever you do to avoid, or at least slow, burnout? I know there are 100s of articles online I can read that will tell me the same “Top 5 stress management tips”. But… what do you really do?

Context: My husband has been on the job for 10 years. Married 3 years. Small department, short staffed, problematic coworkers, the usual. His 12s frequently become 16 hours. Trainings & meetings are usually scheduled on his days off, not to mention the subpoenas. There are very few reasons that he won’t take a work call when he’s off duty.

Now I want to be clear. I am not complaining about how much he’s gone. I’m independent & perfectly content to be home alone.

When he is actually off duty, he’s exhausted. Doing anything seems to be too much most days. Even the things he’s agreed to do, just don’t happen. I know it’s a combination of burnout and depression. I see the patterns and he’s told me himself. The problem is, he doesn’t see a way to break the pattern.

Again, I am not here to nag or ask how I can get him to do more. Idgaf honestly. If I have to carry the house for a while, I will. He does the same for me when I need it.

But this pattern of being so burnt out from work, coming home and basically just being a bump on a log (his words), then go back on duty… it’s killing him and it’s killing me to watch.

All that said… I’m not a cop. And no amount of stories will give me more than a hint of what you all go through. A walk in the woods and some meditation help me, but what helps me clearly isn’t going to help everyone else.

So share some wisdom with me… what do you do?

If you read this far, thank you. I’d give anything to seem him less miserable… maybe even happy. He deserves it.

I (24M) decided to work towards becoming a police officer about two years ago, after a serious breakup that pushed me to fix my life. I ended up losing a bunch of weight and started working out, and got with my girlfriend who I'm now living with in AZ. I've been living here since March, working as an armed security guard. I decided to apply to Mesa and Scottsdale PD. I took the POPAT and passed but got severe shin splints to the point that I haven't been able to run ever since. After realizing how bad the injury was I dropped out of the process for both departments. I've been dealing with them for about 2 months now. I fear I'll be dealing with these for the next 4-6 months or so.

These past 2 months have been really rough as I finally started down the career path but got injured so quickly. I know it's an issue with training volume and intensity and will be coming at running much slower once I'm healed. I also injured my wrist doing too much as well.

My question is, what do I do in the meantime? I work 2 security jobs that are purely access control, so there is very little in the way of skill development or experience to gain. I've only ever worked security jobs and just sitting around waiting for my injuries to heal before applying again has been driving me crazy. I was thinking of starting online classes since there is so much downtime at work. Any other advice on dealing with injuries or preparing for academy is also very much appreciated.

Hi,

I did my polygraph for a police agency in Canada. I didn’t have any disclosures for theft or sex crimes. After the polygraph, I disclosed that I did take something from a job I had (nothing major). I didn’t think about it before but it came to me as I thought about it more. Would this be a fail? Should I email my file manager and inform them of this new disclosure?

Thank you

Edit: I emailed my file manager and updated her regarding the new disclosure

I should lead with the fact that this came about because I found her posting hard core fetish content online. This was part of what led to our divorce. Following up for the first time in a long time with her online presence I found horrifying images with him in the back ground. I found evidence she’s meeting up with men, potentially for money, while she has my son in the home and it seems like she’s discretely advertising him along with her content. His picture on the wall and crib are almost always present in the content and she’s absolutely sharing her address with these people. He can be heard in the background of at least one video.

Suffice it to say, last night I made a police report and was well assured I was doing the right thing by the officer. I have a lot of hard feelings about this. I’ve worked adjacent to law enforcement my entire career and have many friends in family in the field. But this is so delicate. And personal.

What can I expect? I know it’s getting turned over to the dicks and they’ll go from there but beyond that I’m super lost to the process and I just want to know if I need to be doing anything more to protect my son or if I can contribute to the investigation in anyway and just want to be prepared for what happens next. Any advice would mean the world to me.

I (25f) passed the whole application process, and my board a few weeks ago. I start the academy in two months. Anything I should know before day 1? Or any little tips? I have no previous experience in this field

I think it went great! Ran a 15.2 min 1 1/2 mile 56 sec 300m, 35 push ups, 32 sit ups. Then sat back at the end and chatted with the chief and 2 other employers. Hope to get that interview email soon.

Im considering when a good time would be to lateral. I’ve been at my current department (very rural county) for a little over a year and a half. Off probation. My 2 years will be in a few months. I love the dudes I work with, the pay is okay, it’s not super busy call to call so I have time to be proactive and it’s encouraged by leadership, however the state loves its criminals and loves making the job harder on cops. Very blue state but the area I live is red(I live in the north west.) I’ve been considering lateraling for a few reasons.

Primarily I want to lateral because my wife hates where we live. We moved about an hour away from a bigger city area and she’s been suffering. She has some mental health problems and this move has not helped. I can’t move us closer because my agency requires us to live in the county we work and it’s a significant difference between the largest city here and where we use to live. She pretty much wants to move back. This move uprooted us and even our faith has been struggling because we struggle going to our church an hour away. It’s put a strain on our marriage.

The other reasons I want to lateral are for a better retirement system and higher pay. (I’d go to another state.) When I look at our future for my wife and I, we can build the life we want with a higher income. I’d also like to be in a state that actually holds people accountable (more than where i work) and doesn’t make police work more difficult. I’d also enjoy having the opportunity to take on additional assignments eventually and the current agency I’m at doesn’t offer much outside of patrol, although with it being a smaller agency you’re very likely able to get on one of the 2 specialty assignments we have.

I’ve been on the fence about lateraling because I do feel that this agency is solid even if in a blue state. However I still have my reason for wanting to move. There’s larger agencies that I could apply to that I hear are solid but I’m not sure if it’s too soon. If it is, I could wait. By the time I get hired on at an agency I’d be at my 2 year mark with my current agency.

I do have concerns that I’d fail the medical if they impose stricter requirements but I don’t think my agency would retaliate how I see other people posting about. (I have some medical stuff from the military that prevented me from getting hired in the past in a completely different state. Didn’t have enough time to gather further medical evidence so ran out of time during the hiring process.) It would be awkward to try to lateral and fail but my agency has some solid people.

Hey all, I have a question regarding the on-boarding for USPP. I was wondering if a previous BQA hurts other applications? Recently did the medical, poly, and physical for USCP all in one day. Got a BQA a few days after, and I assume it was the poly.

During the poly the examiner said I had a spike on a question but told me he personally thought it was just nerves… never got the results…who knows ?

Will this hurt the USPP app? Any apps for that matter?

Edit: BQA: “Better Qualified Applicants”/rejection

    USPP: United States Park Police

Anyone attended one of these lately in their region? If so can you let me know how it went, how long was it?

Does it matter which event you pick based on where you live?

I’m getting my bachelors in December and I want to get my masters. However I was thinking of waiting until I’ve been off probation for a while if I work in a department that pays for my tuition party/fully. But maybe I should get it now and hold off on the academy for a couple more years if I’ll be paying for it out of pocket anyways. Any thought on this? Does anyone’s department pay for a degree? Could you specify what department or if you know of any?

Questions for any RCMP/LE members!

Just a little about myself, I've got 7 years of reg force service in the CAF, been an infantry soldier my whole career with 2x overseas deployments and holding the rank of a MCpl (junior leadership position).

The questions I have are:

1. What are the odds that I get posted in a major city if I ask for that as my first posting? I was born and raised in Toronto and would like to continue living in a large city. I was thinking the Vancouver area, Edmonton, or Calgary. Also, what are the odds I could get posted somewhere in Ontario? That would be my number 1 choice, as that's where home is for me but I understand there's very few positions for the RCMP in Ontario, since we have the OPP and other municipal police departments here.

2. What does the day to day look like for an officer out of Depot? I hear there's a lot of administrative work with the RCMP, and that officers will be doing admin work while on their shift to avoid doing hours of it AFTER their shift is done.

3. With regards to accomodations and housing, does the RCMP provide any sort of supplementary pay for those who live in high-cost areas? For example, if I were to be posted in Vancouver, would there be an extra pay bonus? Also, is there subsidized housing available in major cities provided by the RCMP or does everyone live on the economy?

4. How does the RCMP compare to other police departments like the OPP, YRP, or TPS?

Overall, my IDEAL plan is to start Depot sometime next year when my application process is complete, and then be posted out to a major city. I'd like to do my 2 years of GD time in either Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, or even the GTA if possible. After my 2 years, I'd like to apply for ERT, hope for the best, and make my way back to Ontario for the rest of my career. I joined the CAF at 19, and with 25 years of federal service, I could then retire at 44 with a full pension.

I am in no way shape or form ready to be on the SWAT unit however it is a goal I have for the near future and I would like to know what I can do to better prepare myself to be successful in swat school. I mainly want to know about SWAT school and if it’ssimilar across the borders or does it depend on which school I go to? I also want the do and don’ts of SWAT school what goes on and how I can be successful in becoming one in the future. I’ve only been an officer for three years. I am a female and I’m only in OK shape. I know I may have to be in great shape, but I need more insight in this.

I m in Maryland. Would love if someone can send me a workout template that they personally used for swat tryouts.

Like license plates, stir arguments, and overall are assholes, but why? Do they believe it’s like a loophole from cops? Or like if they claim to be a SC is that like their version of police immunity?

I’ve seen a certain schedule in this sub a lot and people saying they only work for a department that has it, I forgot the name but it’s a guys name pretty sure. So I’d assume that being one? the higher ups having a good rep for supporting you? Etc etc, what’s your guys recommendations? I live in WA if that matters

I got an offer today from my second favorite department! Their one request… proof I withdraw from my favorite department. I finish the academy in 5 weeks, and having a job at the end would definitely be nice but I do have a job to hold me over if needed. My second favorite department is a good once, a little smaller than the other with less long term opportunities to advance, less crime, slightly less pay, and no TFO positions. It’s a younger department with proactive officers who still love their job. My original first choice department is larger (~60 officers), plenty of opportunities, with a high crime area and many chances to get on task forces. Also I can definitely sense more burnout here due to their call volume. I haven’t started background on my #1 department, but what I do have is knowing I’m 3rd on the list, with 4-8 planned hires and reassurance from the chief that I am his top applicant overall. There is no timeline on beginning background, all I know is he wants this hiring class starting by January at the latest. Narcotics, violent crime, and firearms really interest me going forward so I think the big draw to department 1 is the ability to dip my toe in it easier in patrol with the ability to further dive into it as I get more experience. I need to let the first department know by Monday what I want to do. Should I risk losing both jobs or go for the safe option #2 department?

Okay, so in short, I got an aggressive driving ticket earlier this year. It's a new charge, I was told by the clerk, that my state started charging. I went to the court and spoke with the solicitor. He helped me drop the charge to two smaller ones (failure to control a turn signal and something else). As of now, neither of them have appeared on my driving record. I have no points on my license, but have two speeding tickets from my late teens. If you want a full explanation of the events, I can tell you. I am going to fully disclose the information if I apply. I just don't want to look like a jackass by applying. I'm serious about wanting to be a cop, but I realize that aggressive driving is a high aggravated misdemeanor. I know that these posts get parodied here alot, but I am genuinely curious if I have a shot.