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Careers: Police/Is it still possible?

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Expert: - 9/2/2008


Question
When I was in high school I prepared for a career in aerospace engineering.  I received scholarships, drew out timelines for academic goals, what processes I needed to go through to become qualified, and I even had a career lined up at NASA due to my uncle who is a chief engineer there.  However, once I graduated from HS and started taking engineering classes as a university I realized that it wasn't nearly as exciting as I was looking for.  I've always had a strong sense of justice and never stood still when something bad was happening, so I have decided to join the police force.  I've been having a real hard time finding information on what exact processes and qualifications I need to go through to become a LEO.  I would really prefer to be overly qualified before I get hired and have taken steps to become qualified in everything I can think of (i.e. scuba/NOAA, parachuting, rappelling, water craft navigation, etc.).  I live within one mile of a local police academy, but I'm not sure if it would be looked down upon or if another applicant would be chosen before me since the academy is at a community college.  Another thing that concerns me is that (like most teenagers) I have received a few traffic citations (one for more than 30 over the SL) and I've been in a few accidents (none of which were my fault).  I've stopped driving recklessly since I've decided to become an officer and it's been a year and a half since my last ticket.  I'm a superb driver and I'd say that my two best skills are my driving abilities and my marksmanship.  I just don't know if it's worth getting accreditation if I won't be hired because of my driving record.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Matt,

If your driving record is the only thing you have holding you back your proably OK. If you have 5 tickets or more in the past 5 years, you will have a hard time getting hired. If you have a lot of tickets, I would wait 5 years of a clean record before applying. In the mean time you could get your Criminal Justice Degree which you need to get promoted anyway.

I am going to go on the assumption that you have say 2-3 tickets, then your OK. The best way to find out is call you local PD or Sheriff's Office human resources and ask them directly, I have this many tickets am I disqualified from applying? That should give you an idea.

Hope that helps. Be well and SLOW DOWN!! LOL...

Careers: Police

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Chris Wagoner

Expertise

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!!

Experience

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.

Publications
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..

Education/Credentials
I have 2 degrees, in Criminal Justice.

Awards and Honors
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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