Expert: Jack Toomey - 12/6/2010

Question
im a 21 year old army infantry combat vet. the only thing iv ever known to do in life is help people by protecting them. after watching too many of my friends die i got out of the military and came home. i thought my thirst to help people had been quenched in the service but now that im home and i see all the crimes and dangers in my town i can no longer fight my desire to protect. i dont just want to become a police officer i need to be one. im very trained highly motivated and extremely dedicated. but in my experience it is never a good idea to go into a job blind. i always scope out the perimeters of a task. my task now is to become the best officer possible and one day a detective. iv tried looking every where online for a simple study guide of general study knowledge but no success so far. in my days as a team leader we judged are new guys on how fit they were and there common knowledge like weapons, sop, and procedures. i just need to know what to study and memorize so i can begin my journey before i try to be a officer. i want not only to be above the lower bar for new people but i want and am capable of setting the standers bar of all level of officer. i plan on studying these things while in college.weather its codes or acronyms i would love to learn it first. i have changed my degree from electrical engineering to criminal justice. i will also learn Spanish and any other languages i can fit in my schedule. if you have any idea of where i can get this information for me to study or if you know where i can obtain this info i would be more than grateful. as my 2 year old gets older every day i cant help but think what kind of world im sending him out into and what im doing to protect him in it. please if you can help or point me in the right direction it would help so much. i don't want to go in blind, i don't want just a paycheck for being a cop. i get enough money from the VA. i want this as a passion and as a servant to the people of my community. i am not looking for glory or praise. im not looking for recognition from any one for the good i will do. i have done many great things for my country that no one will ever know and i couldn't care less because i know at the end of the day that im a good person for it, and that's the thirst i cant quench. i don't care if i have to sit in a patrol car for ten or twenty years as long as one day i can make a safer place in my community. im no sure how you may see this or how you may perceive me or my mind set but even if this sounds corny or ridicules but this is how i think every second of every day and i need to get the ball rolling. please help me.  

Answer
Matthew,

Your zeal to become a police officer and to someday help the community is admirable.  However you need to know that there is nothing that you can do ahead of time to learn the ropes of police work.  There are no study guides or anything like that.  You learn what you need to know in the police academy and mostly on the street.  The street is the real study guide.

Just get your degree and upon graduation apply to the police department of your choice.