Careers: Police/Career choices

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Expert: - 5/16/2008


Question
I am a 17 year old female who plans to have a job in either the military or law enforcement. I lack the funds necessary for a college education, there for many careers are out of my reach.  I also have Fibromyalgia (a chronic pain condition) and I am only 5 foot tall.  However, I fight through my hardships and am very physically fit.  My question is, what (if any) military or law enforcement careers will look past my height and the fact that I have Fibromyalgia.

Answer
Danielle,

   I am not exactly the right person to ask about a disease that I know nothing about.  I also don't know a thing about any careers besides that of police officer.  I do know that there are no national hiring standards for police officers.  What might be true on one department might not be true on another department.  I also know that no municipal or govenment agency can discriminate based soley on height but in most cases the height has to be proportionite to weight.

  Honestly I have never heard of a police officer with your particular ailment but that does not mean that somewhere there is an officer that has it.  That is the problem with answering questions like this.  As I said before there are no national hiring standards because there is no national police force.  

  If your ailment is likely to contine past the time you are 21 then perhaps you need to ask the police recruiting officer in your town whether your disease would be an automatic disqualifier.  If it is then you need to look at other careers that do not require college.  By the way many departments now require at least 60 college credits.  There are some that require only high school but more are adding the college requirement.  Surely you can afford to go to a community college or a junior college to get at least some college credits because in the future it will be very valuable to you.

Careers: Police

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Jack Toomey

Expertise

U.S.: I am an expert in this category for the purpose of giving young people an idea what the hiring process involves for the position of police officer. I am getting a flood of questions from young people who are being influenced by unrealistic television shows. I'd ask you to consider that when you watch police shows on television that they are NOT realistic and most of what you see does not happen in real life. Please do not ask me about potential jail sentences that you, your friends, or family might receive in court. There is no way for me to know that. I am NOT a probation officer so I cannot answer questions about probation and parole matters. I am a retired police officer with 26 years experience.I worked in a variety of assignments including investigations, homicide, sex crimes, runaway investigations, missing persons, and fraud.I also dealt with the general public during that time giving a wide range of advice on matters such as domestic disputes, problem solving, teenage problems, civil/criminal matters, and dealing with the mentally ill. I am available to give sound and reasonable advice which can solve most problems. Please do not ask me to do homework questions or online interviews. Young people should not rely on the Internet for interviews. Local police officers are normally very agreeable to assist students with interviews and surveys.

Experience

Worked as a police officer/detective for 26 years.

Graduate of the University of Maryland.B.S. in Law Enforcement.Attended numerous schools and training courses involving investigations, interviewing, interrogations, crime detection, domestic violence, and others. Recognized in court as an expert witness.

Received numerous awards during my police career for expert investigations. Handled the most sensitive and confidential investigations. In 1999 I won an award for my work with high school students while working in my new career in a large suburban high school.

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