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Calguns LEOs LEOs; chat, kibitz and relax. Non-LEOs; have a questions for a cop? Ask it here, in a CIVIL manner. |
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#1
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PD vs. Sheriff job differences
How similar/different is working for a Sheriff's department vs. working for a police department. I realize with the Sheriff's department you're working for the county rather than the city and there is the possibility of working in the courts/jail. I'm interested in law enforcement and I'm trying to get a better handle on what each job is like. From what I can tell, they seem somewhat similar. Also, is it possible to lateral from a Sheriff depart. to a PD department or vice versa? I was going to try and do a ride a long to get more information, but unfortunately in my area I haven't been able to find an agency offering them to the public right now and I don't have any friends/acquaintances in LE.
Last edited by Catalyst81; 05-27-2012 at 8:02 AM.. |
#2
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Generally the PD works in the city limits while the SO roams the county. Many smaller cities also contract with the SO to provide LE services.
The PD is usually made up of Patrol and Detectives. The SO is usually Patrol, Detectives, Jails, Courts, and Civil Process. Our local Airport contracts with the SO for LE services. We didn't have to do Traffic, as the local CHP handled that It sort of depends on how much variety you'd like in your assignments...it changes as your career gets longer
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...because the journey is the worthier part...The Shepherd's Tale |
#3
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PD's have a lot less room for movement generally because of their smaller size. Will take longer to get promoted, special teams are limited etc... and you are stuck to whatever city you are working for.
SO's have contract citys, unincorporated areas, jails, courts, air units, and numerous special teams etc... so there is a lot of room to move simply because of the size of the department and routine turn over of employees. The PD's will be more tight knit and less difficult in the way of politics because of the size they are able to implement change easier and have more oversight. SO's will be more like working for big government (In my experience) SO's you will have less backup and staffing generally than PD's because of county budget compared to City staffing (this is not true so much in contract cities worked by SO's) each has their own benefits and drawbacks. With an SO you will probably end up doing courts or jails for years compared to PDs who dont deal with that. SO's generally make less money but have more room for promotions and teams than a PD. It really all depends on what you want to do in your career. If you want variety go to a large SO or PD if you are content with crappy days and patrol for the first 10 years of your career but making more money go PD. |
#5
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Some departments/offices require you go through their academy though, regardless of your experience. You will have to do the same POST required process all the way through.
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"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."~M.Twain~ |
#6
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Another area that duties may differ is that many but not all Sheriff departments,are also the Coroner for the county. That means any death not signed off by a doctor can or will be a Coroners case. So you may get more calls that involve a death.
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#7
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Your retirement might convert easily, but you would lose any dept seniority and rank that you have earned in 99.9% of lateral transfers.
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LASD Retired 1978-2011 NRA Life Member CRPA Life Member NRA Rifle Instructor NRA Shotgun Instructor NRA Range Safety Officer DOJ Certified Instructor |
#8
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Quote:
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...because the journey is the worthier part...The Shepherd's Tale |
#9
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If you're thinking about changing departments, make sure that their retirements are compatible...many aren't. If you are thinking you'd like to move around, you might look into going with a State or Fed agency
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...because the journey is the worthier part...The Shepherd's Tale |
#10
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The old saying......"When the people need help, they call the police. When the police need help, they call the SHERIFF"
Sorry, guys.....just couldn't resist. In all seriousness, the duties are similar as mentioned above. Some Department's take laterals, some don't. Either way, it's a great adventure.
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LASD Retired 1978-2011 NRA Life Member CRPA Life Member NRA Rifle Instructor NRA Shotgun Instructor NRA Range Safety Officer DOJ Certified Instructor |
#11
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And when the Sheriff needs help, they call the CHP
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CLEVERLY DISGUISED AS A RESPONSIBLE ADULT |
#12
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Someone has to do traffic control!
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"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."~M.Twain~ |
#13
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Only to direct traffic because of all the black and whites....
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LASD Retired 1978-2011 NRA Life Member CRPA Life Member NRA Rifle Instructor NRA Shotgun Instructor NRA Range Safety Officer DOJ Certified Instructor |
#14
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And to take TC reports when you guys crash.
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CLEVERLY DISGUISED AS A RESPONSIBLE ADULT Last edited by Clutch-n-Throttle; 05-28-2012 at 2:29 PM.. |
#15
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C'mon, give 'em more credit than that... "can we request CHP to take over our pursuit.."
LOL
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Internetz are serious business. |
#17
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Of course, being where we are in LA, some scruffy gangbangers started coming to the fair because they hang at the park anyway, so they started hanging out at the SEB tables, looking at their stuff, like... intently studying it... so one SEB guy came over to grab us and asked me and my partner to shoo the gangbangers away because the SEB guys didn't like their hardware to be studied by the gangbangers and they didn't want to be the ones to do the shooing. So me and my buddy rousted the gangbangers and got them moving away, which made the SEB guys happy. As we walked away, we turned back and told the SEB guys to make sure they call us anytime they needed help.
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I like guns |
#18
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Depends a lot on the county you are in and if you are looking at LA County, then the Sheriffs will have courts and custody which the PD doesn't have but LA County has a lot of contract cities where they have general LE services like patrol, detectives, homicide, and traffic duties.
Riverside and San Bernardino are like that as well. Some Sheriffs do less patrol and more courts and custody in other counties. Unincorporated county areas have CHP do surface traffic patrol and sheriffs don't handle anything other than regular calls for service. CA POST requirements are the same for sheriffs or police so you can lateral from one to the other and many people I know have done from one to the other and vice versa. It all depends on what you are looking for. Some guys have no wish to do any court or custody time and just want patrol right off the bat and the PD will give you that. Other people don't care or actually want those duties so they go Sheriffs. Me? I like the navy uniform better than tan/green so I went PD.
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I like guns |
#19
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The problem with the navy uniform in the academy tho is the lint shows up more than on a tan/green. I recall the cadets from the participating agencies spending a lot more time and using a lot more masking tape (yep, that is what we used back in the old days) than we Sheriff cadets did. Quote:
Last edited by retired; 05-28-2012 at 9:10 PM.. |
#20
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Better that a small local department for the City of Roseville...yup, they have a red rose on their shoulder patch. Then there is the city of Elk Grove...with a bull elk
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...because the journey is the worthier part...The Shepherd's Tale |
#22
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Lateral movement can be done, as in any law enforcement agency.
If the agency is in California, you should obtain your Basic POST certificate from the agency before you attempt to lateral as that is usually what is required to "lateral" over. If you do not have a Basic POST (there are lots of reasons why you do not have one, not usually good ones), then you will most likely be required to move over as a newly hired recruit. If you lateral, you may lose all of your retirement benefits unless the agency has an identical plan. You may be required to cash out all of the dollar value. If you lateral out of the state that you received your certification, you may be able to process to get equivalency in a Basic certificate from the state you are moving into. Sometimes the state may not recognize your out-of-state certification and may require you to go through the entire process. Both the police and sheriff careers are excellent. You should consider where you intend to live as you can imagine that a Police Department operates in a specific city and you may be able to "move" around the city. A Sheriff Department works the county, and you can "move" around the county to contract cities or other duties. Good luck to you in the process.
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To support the First Responder with the tactics, training and technology to ensure operational success. www.TASKenforcement.org |
#23
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Generally speaking in SoCal, in a PD you will go to patrol immediately after the academy. In a SD, you will spend some amount of years in custody or courts then go to patrol. Once in patrol both daily job functions are the same.
At this point you need to look at what type/size of PD you want to compare to a SD for opportunities. In OC, the SD is truly a full service entity with respect to career opportunities. You can do almost anything that applies to local LE. OCSD has slots across the county in various detective/investigations, traffic, MART, Aero, full time SWAT, hazardous devices, training, the academy, harbor patrol, K9, multi agency task forces...etc. A small to medium sized PD may not have any of those opportunities or limited number of slots (remember number of slots is relative to deputy/officer slots so it may not be any easier to get a cherry assignment even at an SD). But a larger PD like Anaheim or Santa Ana probably has many of them. Some, especially smaller, PD's use a rotating special assignment program where you are limited to 3-5 years in a given slot then you rotate out. It has good (patrol officers with a depth and breath of knowledge) and bad points (no dedicated 15 year experts). Then there's the environment/culture of each PD or SD. In a 30 or 60 officer PD, you know everybody (and they know you). At a SD or larger PD, you'll know your squad but may not know anyone on the other side of the week and unless you have a buddy that just went inside or you popped a big case and are working with a unit, you probably won't know a detective or motor or X. There are similar differences when you start looking at different sized PD's. For example, Santa Ana PD has a traffic unit that is about the same size or bigger than entire PD's in OC. As for lateral movement between SD and PD, it depends on the policies of agencies involved. The short answer is 'yes'. There maybe baggage that you don't want associated with the move. In going from a PD to a SD, you may be required to do time in custody. That can be a big negative if you spent the last 5-10 years on the street. Then there's retirement portability and loss of seniority. Around here, it is more common to see movement from OCSD to a PD not the other way around. Both are great organizations. It just depends on which suits you better and if you look better in green or blue. |
#24
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Right now I'm interested in working for an agency where I could become a detective, although that might change in the future. I've applied with the OCSD and various PD departments. Realistically, I'll take whatever job is offered, but I wanted to get a better understanding of the two agencies. Thanks for all the great info!
And one last question...will I have issues with having too much education? I have a J.D. and HATE working as an attorney, which is why I'm looking for change. I won't have a problem articulating this in an interview, but could it hurt me in the application process? |
#25
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Cat- you might find some free interview help at- www.indeed.com
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#26
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"Right now I'm interested in working for an agency where I could become a detective, although that might change in the future."
I can't think of any city PD's that do not have detective positions. Maybe a small PD, such as Irvine Valley community college (yes they are cops not security), may not have a detective slot. If you want to make a career as a detective. You'll be better off in a large PD or a SD. Many small and mid-sized PD's rotate their special assignments (i.e. you can only be in detectives for 3-5 years before having to go to another assignment). Remember you are going to be on patrol for a while in a PD before you would have a shot at the DB. At OCSD, realistically 4-6 years in the jail then out to patrol for a while before getting a chance there. If 'detective' type work is your ambition, have you considered federal LE? You have one of the preferred degrees for the FBI. |
#27
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I have. They aren't accepting applications again until August. It's hit and miss with the other agencies. I've started checking the other agencies periodically.
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#28
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With the education you have, a federal agency would be the best fit for what your looking for. Downside (for some) may be the possibility of being assigned out of state. There are some good state investigative jobs, but it looks like the state will be having money problems for quite a while.
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John Bishop Member: NRA Life, CRPA, WEGC |
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#30
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The feds would rather go for those with impacted language skills such as any Arabic language (Farsi, etc.) and Chinese/Korean, and electrical engineering, or accounting degrees over law and Spanish, which is another needed language sill but which is in abundant supply.
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I like guns |
#31
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Don't check periodically.
Have the announcements sent to you: www.usajobs.com Sometimes they are only open for a few days. A USBP announcement was recently open for less than 24 hours.
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"I am a Soldier. I fight were I'm told and I win where I fight." GEN George S. Patton, Jr. |
#32
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#33
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...the link circled in red appears on the bottom left of every search you run. Create an account, run the search, save it, have the results sent out daily or weekly or whatever. Quote:
There are guys who applied to CBP in 2007 who are just EODing now.
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"I am a Soldier. I fight were I'm told and I win where I fight." GEN George S. Patton, Jr. Last edited by tanksoldier; 05-29-2012 at 6:23 AM.. |
#34
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If you have your JD... you have to tailor your responses a certain way... while it doesn't hurt you once you are in, getting in the department might present a challenge. There are a lot of places who will be hesitant because they don't want you to get in and do a few years and get bored and move on or use your experience later as a defense attorney against them. More insidious are those who are insecure and won't like you because you are educated and might be a mover and shaker later on in your career.
I've seen a lot of different things in my time and you cannot assume every person in the BI unit and up the chain is a straight up good guy who wants the best to be hired by his department. There is a lot of politics and backroom dealings and preferential treatment given to people, a lot of whom will not have half the education you have, but who will get hired before you. It happens. Nobody knows exactly why, and none of them will tell you when asked, but it happens. How old are you and have you ever practiced?
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I like guns |
#35
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#36
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State investigative agencies like DOJ and BNE will not hire off the street. They want experienced cops with investigative experience from the local level.
Feds are not what you think either. You will not be doing all the exciting movie stuff out of the chute. You will be thrown to some office in podunkville or NYC, and then maybe in 2 or 3 rotations, make it back to LA. Feds also pay lower and have less benefits on average than a good city agency. Hollywood and popular culture would have you believe that running around in a suit or civvies playing cop with a badge clipped on your belt or dangling around your neck like some fashion accessory is the coolest thing ever and is what every cop should be like or aspire to. Well, not only are those assignments either non-existent or very rare, it's not what you think either. For every case you get to have fun with, you need to put in days and weeks and months of work to get to that few minutes of kicking down a door... which you actually want to avoid at all costs and try to set up an easy arrest in a controlled area where you can have all the uniformed support you can and take the guy in without a fight. You ever done an investigations as an attorney? Ever try doing one on a case before going to court? It's not all fun and games. As a matter of fact, it's mostly boring as crap and tedious as hell while you line everything up before you forget it all yourself. You want to be a good cop? Start in patrol like everyone else. Study hard, keep your head down, do your job. Be good at patrol. Hone your patrol cop instincts. No good cop, no matter the assignment, ever got there without being a good patrolman.
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I like guns |
#37
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You do realize that the hiring process takes months for local, state and federal LE jobs?
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LASD Retired 1978-2011 NRA Life Member CRPA Life Member NRA Rifle Instructor NRA Shotgun Instructor NRA Range Safety Officer DOJ Certified Instructor |
#38
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It actually may take over a year depending on whether you lived out of state before. There was a guy who took the PT test the same day I did. Out of 250 taking it, he was in my group of 10 applicants. Our group passed the test and made it thru the testing process. Moving out of Chicago when 2 1/2, I lived in S. Cal my whole life. He lived out of state and even tho he had played for the San Diego Chargers, his BI took longer. He was hired a year after me. So it could happen to those from out of state or involved history.
Last edited by retired; 06-04-2012 at 1:09 PM.. |
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