Careers: Police/Hello

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Expert: - 1/17/2008


Question
hi, my name is cynthia and i am 20 years old. im a college student at Fresno City College and i am interested in Law Enforcement, i want to be a homicide detective, and i know you have to be a police officers first. What i want to ask you is, what kind of degree do most departments recommend  when applying, besides a Criminology degree? Does it necessarily have to be a Criminology degree or can have a different degree?

Answer
Hi Cynthia,

Well a degree is a very important in the field these days, but if you think there are several that are very very helpful and even others that can be.

Criminology of course is the basic one, but there are others I can think of that would be helpful in this field:

Forensic pathology  (Homicide, Crime scene)
Biological Sciences (Homicide, Forensics, crime scene, accident investigation and others)
Business Administration (Administration and Human Resources)
Education Degree (Training, Staff management, HR)
Journalism and Communications (Public Affairs, Police Information Office)
Accounting (Budget Dept, HR)
Anthropology (Homicide Investigation, Crime Scene)
Computer Sciences (IT Dept).

Thats just a few that I can think of off hand. So you can see that many degrees can have a positive impact on the department that hires the person if it is used properly. My suggestion would be to think ahead, you want to be in Homicide, then I would look into the Biological Sciences, or Psychology (Human studies). These would be very helpful. There are a number of areas that fit Homicide or for that matter any detective position at all. I would say a department would look at a degree in the biological sciences (Human) and a Psychology degree of some kind as a big plus. There are degrees in Criminal Psychology/ Pathology now as well as other related fields.

But your very smart at looking at a degree BEFORE you try to get hired. It is very hard to get a degree once you are working full time shift work and getting first will put you ahead of many applicants.

Good Luck...  

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I have been a police officer for 30+ years! I am the Police Academy Commander at the Santa Fe College, Institute of Public Safety in Gainesville Florida It is a full service Law Enforcement and Corrections training facility. I can answer most questions concerning law enforcement procedures, law enforcement training and general questions about law enforcment. I can also answer questions about becoming a law enfocement officer. I have a booklet and web page I have written that answers many questions about how to become a police officer called "So you want to be a cop (police Officer) in Florida?", which is free, Google it.. All you have to do is ask. I teach the following subjects: RADAR/LASER, Law Enforcement Driving, Law Enforcement Firearms and Patrol Techniques, Officer Safety, WMD's for Patrol Officers, Application of Law, Communications skills, Dealing with the Mentally and physically handicapped, and many more subjects. I have worked as a subject matter expert for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and helped to write the police curriculum for the State of Florida. I like answering questions about how to become a police officer, and questions about why did an officer do this or that type questions. I also like answering any questions you may have about police work in general. I do not mind helping with homework questions or trying to answer your questions about legal subjects that I have knowledge of. You will never know the answer until you ask! If you do ask a question, PLEASE take the time to at least rate the answer. I do not get paid to answer these questions and do it on my own time. If you ask, please rate it when I answer. Thanks!!! If its a question about becoming a police officer, it may be answered here: http://sites.google.com/site/flaleohelp/ My "hobby" website - http://www.youtube.com/user/3rdID8487 Military Videos on YouTube and Facebook!!

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I am a 30+ year veteran police officer, I am currently the Police Academy Commander of an Academy in North FLorida. I have been training police officers since 1993 and have trained them in all aspects of law enforcement, including firearms, Driving and legal subjects including patrol techniques and others and training all over the world. I have trained over 5000 officers worldwide in the last 16 years of training.

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I am a published author in Accident Investigation from the University of North Florida, Institute of Police Technology and Management. Also have written and published on the Internet, "So You Want to be a Cop (Police Officer) in Florida?" you can Google it..

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I have 2 degrees, in Criminal Justice.

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Phi Theta Kappa, plus 50+ Departmental Awards over the years. FBI Directors award for assisting in a Nationwide investigation into Child pornography.

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