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Careers: Police/becoming a police officer

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Expert: - 12/5/2006


Question
hello my name is josh i am from columbus ohio. all my life i have wanted to be a police officer.i am 18 years old and attending community college to get my degree in criminal justice i would like to know if having this degree will help me get hired and would it be harder to get on as a police officer or as a sheriff. also i my goal is to one day get on the k-9 unit. if i were to get hired how long do you think it would be before i could expect to get on in that department.thank you for your help

Answer
Josh,

    I certainly am not going to discourage you from getting a degree in criminal justice but if you do get hired by a police department I think that you will be surprised about how few of the people do not have degrees in that subject.  Once again.....go for it but having college a degree is much more important than having half of the credits necessary for a criminal justice field.




   Sorry I missed the part about K-9. You will be on the street for many years before you would ever be considered for a position like that.  How many years?  Have no idea and it would depend on what department, staffing, retirements, etc.

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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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