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Careers: Police/Military Vs police

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Expert: Eric Potts - 3/26/2009


Question
Hi saw that you were a veteran and would probably be best suited to answer my question. Im in a military college and i have an opportunity to contract with the Army and become an Army officer. But I also want to become a police officer. Then either after the Army or Police i wanted to go into a federal job like the DEA, or FBI etc. Which would be the smarter choice contract with the army or become a police officer out of college

Answer
Shawn,

The choice is yours, either way is a good way to become a police officer, and either way affords you the opportunity to obtain a college degree. A college degree is very important in Police work in order to obtain rank and is mandatory for the FBI and DEA so be sure you do get that degree, but either path is an excellent choice.

Good Luck.

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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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