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Careers: Police/Preperation for law enforcement

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Expert: - 3/9/2009


Question
Dear Jack,My son is 17yrs,old and a senior in high school.He is taking criminal justice in boces and wants to persue a career in law enforcement.However he has a learning dissability and is in modified classes.I dont think college is going to be an option for him to make it into the police academy.He is talking about going into the marines but only doing infantry and not persuing an education. Are there certain branches of sevice that are better for him for preperation to be a police officer like the coast guard? Thanks for your input.
Bob(concerned father)

Answer
Robert,

 Military service does not prepare a young person for a job in law enforcement.  It might instill maturity but there is nothing that happens in the marines or the Coast Guard that is going to help him.

If he serves four years in the marines and then applies for a police department then his service may work in his favor.  It certainly won't hurt him.  

I am not sure if in your area if there are private police academies or if individual police departments run their own acadeimes like where I live.  Either way the ciriculum is rigorous and there is a lot of constitutional, state, and local law to learn.  It would be up to the individual department whether they want to hire him.  Right now because of the economy you are going to see a lot more people applying for police positions.  Its going to be difficult for your son.

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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