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Careers: Police/how to become apart of swat

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Expert: - 4/22/2011


Question
i am 15 years old and im am looking for a job when i get older so my question's are.
1. how long do you have to go to school
2. and is it very hard to get in?

Answer
Good morning Mitchell,

I think it's a great thing that you are looking forward to a possible career in law enforcement and already have your sights set on something like SRT, or SWAT teams.

In order to become a police officer the length of time that you have to go to school varies by what state you are in. Some states have very little training and other states have very long intense training. It all of depends on the state that you decide to become a police officer in. In the state of Florida you have to have a minimum of 744 hours (approximately 6 months) of training.

As far as is it hard to get in? Well that all really depends on your background and education many many other things. I have written entire website to give people an idea of what it takes to become a police officer and some of the things you may wish to consider when looking at education and other areas of your life that may affect you being able to be hired as a police officer.

Once you try going to this website and looking over it should have every question that you may come up with answered and if you find that it does not then please feel free to post a follow-up question to me here and I'll be glad to try and answer it more directly.

Go to this website: http://sites.google.com/site/flaleohelp/home

and after reading that let me know what you think.

Careers: Police

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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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