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Careers: Police/which stream to chose for becoming SWAT

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Expert: - 5/19/2011


Question
QUESTION: hello Sir , i'm currently studying in 10th standard . Which stream should i chose if i want to become a SWAT office? Please Sir , i need some guidencefrom you ...Please.

ANSWER: My friend it appears that you live in India.  I have no idea about Indian schools or the Indian police.  I would suggest that you consult with a police officer in India.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well , Thank You Sir , i appreciate your answer but i asked my father and he is ready to send me to a foreign country for my SWAT traning  . Now which stream should i choose ?

Answer
Are you an American citizen?  Probably not.  You must be an American citizen in order to become a police officer in this country.  Secondly you probably are not aware that SWAT team members are police officers first and have to spend many years as uniformed patrol officer before they would ever be considered for SWAT.  You are also most likely not aware that about 1 in 100 applicants to police departments are actually hired.

So if you are serious about SWAT (not a good idea because you are getting your ideas from television) you have to first become a citizen of the United States and then run the chance of being hired which is not very good.

By the way I told you that I have no idea what "10th standard" and "stream" means.  We do not use those terms in this country.

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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