thinking about joining the PD

[Clay_Bigs_WFP]

So, I have recently been thinking about joining the police department here in Ventura. Thing is, I wanted to learn more about the job and what the pro's and con's are. I have been doing some research, but wanted to get the opinion of uniformed officers. I really want to have a family one day and have time to spend with my kids and watch them grow. If possible I would love to be able to coach them in sports and other activities. I am 22 and married, so kids are in the near(ish) future (a year or two). Any advice you calgunners can give me would be great. I am not set on this career, but just want to learn everything about it before I take further steps in the process. Thanks ahead of time!

[Falconis]

Just my opinion and mine alone, if you're not set, don't do it. I won't speak for all agencies and especially Ventura's cause I don't know anything about them. But make sure you are set on it before you venture into it. It does take a lot of time and sacrifice to become a police officer and more to be a good one. The intial stresses on your marraige, assuming you get out of the academy, are working nights and weekends and trying to schedule things to fit in with normal people who work banker's hours.

If you're thinking about doing it for the money and money alone, I won't stop you ( like I could), but just do everyone a favor and stay out of law enforcement. We hired a lot of people after both the dot come and housing busts, and even though we got some good people, we got a lot of losers out of it. Go on some ride alongs with different departments and try to stay atleast 6 hours. Job may not be everything you think it is.

My own personal perspective, despite the bull**** from within and politicians and everyone in the world giving you their 2 uninformed cents, it's probably the best job around.

[Samuelx]

In general, LE work is NOT family friendly and is NOT very healthy. For any/every interested person, I recommend doing as many rides as possible - with as many different officers/deputies, days/shifts, and departments/areas. See if you can request people that don't mind having rides with them...

[Jonathan Doe]

LE career demands a lot. Sometimes you sacrifice your personal and family life, especially in the beginning of your career. My wife is very supportive. Even then, it created a lot of stressful situation for her.

You need to think about it very seriously if the LE career is worth for you and your family.

[ckim34]

If you havent done so already, go to college and get your degree. It will not only give you time to think if LE is really the career you want to be in, but it will also make you a more attractive applicant for angencies down the road.

[Run it Back]

My 2 cents:

I you don't absolutely love what cops do and don't fully understand what we do prior to getting into the job, you flat out won't last. folks who get into our career for the money and befits alone typically stick around 5-10 years and are miserable for those 5-10 years.
If you get a handle on what we do, and what type of lifestyle you will ultimately have, you will have the most fulfilling career in your life. It's not easy, it's not all run and gun, but it is a blast.

[Will Goes Boing]

Here's the problem..... you won't really know whether it is for you until you do it. I wasn't really even sure when I first applied. I realized it was a huge commitment but I went head first into it and I never looked back. First day on the job and I knew it was what I want to do for the rest of my life.

On the contrary, I had a class mate who wanted to be a police officer all her life, did the cadet classes in highschool, studied criminal law in college, and halfway through the academy she quit. She realized it's not what she wanted to do.

So it's really hard to say, and it's really hard to get a good preview. I can tell you that you will have to make a LOT of sacrifices, and your marriage will be put to the test. But my advice for you is.... stop contemplating and just apply first. You're not going to get hired that quickly, heck you might not even make it through the hiring process. So just apply and contemplating as you're going through the hiring process.

[cacop]

Patrol work is not a family friendly activity. Even detective work can be difficult due to being called in for major cases and not coming home for days on end sometimes. Some guys do better than others based on what kind of assignments they have or how they view their job. Others do okay based on thier wife's schedule.

If you don't already have a degree I would highly recomend it for the reasons listed above.

[Average Joe American]

I agree, if you are on the fence about LE work...you will probably fall off that fence real quick. You have to be "sold 100%" on the idea of being a cop or in LE from the get go to succeed in this type of career.

That being said, there are alot more facets to LE work than just working patrol. Yes its the best place to start if you want to be a well rounded cop with lots of street experience but if you have a wife and babies...as already mentioned 3 to 5 years of graves and no holidays off as a rookie might be more than a young family can handle?

There are other routes to an LE career that may not be popular or even talked about. Some officers get hired on to lower speed positions just to get their foot in the LE door. Work there to get a feel for the life style? Then transfer to a higher speed dept. later.

What jobs am I talking about? Bailiffs (in Vegas they are called Marshals), School District Police (High Schools), University Police, Armed federal security officers at the federal bldg or military bases, Capitol Police at the state capitol, legislative police, BLM Rangers (enforcement), Harbor police, Nuclear Security officers, federal police at all the VA medical centers, in Nevada they have city marshalls, constables, sworn gaming enforement officers, sworn parole & probation officers, sworn taxicab authority police, reservation tribal police and who knows how many more LE jobs????

My point is there are lots of law enforement jobs you can try that arent the traditional patrol officer route. Yeah they may not get the respect that being a big city street cop gets but they might allow you to have better family schedule? less stress as a rookie to make it past the probation period? It may give you a peek into the world of LE without the risk of getting washed out in the high stress world of big city patrol work.

In my academy we lost 50% of the class. these guys were college gradutes, 20 year military vets (including all branches Marines, Army, Navy, AirForce), and one was a previous cop from out of state. Thats a huge risk especially if you have a wife and kid to support. Those guys all left secure paying jobs and became unemployed.

Just keep in mind, no matter what LE job you get into, you still need to be that "type A" personality with a go getter attitude. That is key. No body wants lazy negative people in our line of work.

just a thought?

[Clay_Bigs_WFP]

thanks all for your replies. this all has offered me much to honestly think about and consider in my search for a possible LE career.

to those of you who have families, what is your life like in relation to your kids and spending time with them and your wife?

[Samuelx]

I work regular patrol - it sucks ***.

ETA: wrto family

[SoCalDep]

Overall this job is great. When you spend half your shift looking for the kidnapped five-month old only to be called an hour after you leave to be told the suspect stabbed and killed the baby...that sucks.

[Notorious]

Do it while you are young and get it out of your system. Patrol is a young man's game. You can't work nights, weekends, and holidays and expect to have a family that sticks around. You also can't chase after young gangbangers when your knees won't hold up their end of the bargain.

Study up, read up, get ride-alongs, talk to cops, research the crap out of it, and make sure it's what you want because you will be sacrificing a lot to get in and you will be sacrificing a lot to stay in.

I have always wanted to be a cop. Ever since I was a cop, I wanted to be a cop. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life in High School but when the chance came to join the military, I jumped at the MP's. I didn't even realize what kind of choice I made until I thought about it later that it was the first sign that I really wanted to be in LE. From then, I pursued it and sacrificed and got in. I went to the academy nights and weekends and volunteered for all the holidays and nights and weekends when I started so I can get more action and jumped on all the OT and special gigs they needed.

Then reality hit and my FTO and my buddies told me to not kill myself for the job. They said you disappear tomorrow, the PD will still be here and there will be another guy to take your place. Do what you got to do, then go home.

Sage advice indeed.