Careers: Police/job prospects

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Expert: - 10/2/2009


Question
first and foremost i would like to thank you for your time.
just a brief question that you may or may not be able to answer. if you cannot i would appreciate if you could direct me in the right direction to find my answers.
i am a 23 year old student from ireland studying forensic and crime scene investigation in the uk. i was wondering what the employability for someone like me would be in the united states and what would be he best possible way to go about it.
once again i appreciate your time

Answer
Hi Mark,

95% of US Law Enforcement agencies require that you be a US citizen before you can become a law enforcement officer. If you are looking at working in the crime scene, forensics world, then not all agencies require that you be a US citizen. You also have to remember US Law Enforcement is not like the UK. We have a lot of local and county and state police agencies and a few federal as well.

I would suggest picking an area where you would like to live and researching the police agencies in those areas. Or look at the Federal Jobs that are available at http://www.usajobs.gov/ and search for forensics. That should bring up a lot of jobs that are open at the federal level. Again most require you to be a US Citizen though first.

Good luck and be well.

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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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