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Question
I am a senior in highschool finishing up the year and planning for college. i am planning on majoring in criminal justice so i can become a cop and get into SWAT, or any special task team. My question is, when your resume is being over viewed before you get hired, do they look for a back up major? Meaning if I was to get hurt in the line of duty and wasn't able to preform police work anymore what would happen? do i go back to college to get a totally different degree or should i just take a minor in college?
Dan,
Only you can answer that. People don't go into the Police Field planning on getting hurt but it does happen, what you do in the event something like that happens is entirely up to you. You certainly can go back to school, or if you have a back up major you can fall back on that. Again, it is up to you to decide which is better for you.
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Answers by Expert:
Eric Potts
Expertise
I am a Veteran of The United States Army where I served as a Military Police Officer for 6 years and have been a Municipal Police Officer for 20 years. I am a certified Arson Investigator, as well as a certified Community Police Officer. I am a DARE teacher in the local schools. I am a Defensive Driving Instructor and worked for years as a Detective specializing in White Collar Crime. I'm qualified to answer general law enforcement questions, general procedure questions (all departments have different rules and regulations. I can answer questions about how to become a law enforcement officer, and questions that might help someone understand why an officer acted a certain way. I am also a Police Suicide Awareness trainer and a member of the NJ Critical Incident Response Team. PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO SWAT-I AM NOT QUALIFIED TO ANSWER THEM AND WILL REJECT THOSE QUESTIONS.
Experience
I have 27 years total Law Enforcement experience in a wide range of areas. I have worked as a Detective and a Patrolman and have made well over 2,000 arrests in my career.
Education/Credentials
Graduated from the United States Army Military Police School
Basic Law Enforcement Training
Arson Investigators School
DARE Officer Training
Interview and Interrogation School
Police Suicide and Awareness Trainer
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