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Careers: Police/SWAT or tactical enforcement team

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Expert: - 4/20/2009


Question
Hello, I am 21 years of age, and am currently in the US Navy, i am an E-4 (Waiting for E-5 exam results) now I am undecided as to what i want to persue as far as a carreer, i think for as long as i can remember i have always wanted to be a member of SWAT, ATF, DEA, any specialty of law enforcement, now I dont have any college yet, but i have been trained in multiple anti-terrorism schools, and am currently working as law enforcement/counter-terrorism in a unit at my command, i was wondering with your experience and background being what it is, do you have any advice or tips as to what im looking at as far as being picked to join one of the above said professions.

Answer
Peter,

 I doubt seriously if you are going to get hired by the ATF or DEA with only a high school education.  I am not sure but I believe that the ATF requires college and the DEA surely requires some college if not a degree.

There are some police departments that require only high school.  Most require sixty college credits.  But either way you would not be going straight from the Navy to SWAT.  Despite your experience you would be spending many years on the street as a uniformed officer before you would ever be considered experienced enough to apply for SWAT.  And this is not widely known but less than 20% of people who apply for law enforcement positions are actually hired despite their experience.  

So I'd say that you better get hopping on your degree so you will have something to fall back on and a degree in your resume.  

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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