So You Want To Be A Police Officer?

COPJOBS TM

"SO YOU WANT TO BE A POLICE OFFICER?"

By Tony Wright

Reprinted from the January 2000 issue of Copjobs magazine

Many readers of this publication are seeking their first position as a police officer. Others are looking for greener pastures at a different agency. For the past thirteen years I served as the recruiting officer for the Stillwater Police department. I watch applicants unfamiliar with the ritual of seeking employment in law enforcement make mistakes that kept them from serious consideration. Others present themselves in such a way that eliminates any chance of getting the job.

I don't understand why a person would want to go into this profession with no more of a goal than "I want to help people". Yeah, right. I also don't understand why anyone would apply at a police department without knowing the first thing about the community or the agency other than, "It pays better than I make now". That type of logic will certainly leave an impression with an interview board or Chief of Police. Unfavorable.

Every good ad man knows if you want to sell something to the masses, you have to put it in a pretty package and sell it where there is a market. (I wouldn't try to sell cheese burgers at a vegetarian convention). As an applicant, the commodity you are trying to "sell" is yourself. You have to stand out in a crowd. What makes you unique? Are you the "right" person for this vacancy at this department? To answer the first one, you have to put yourself in a "pretty package". The second requires you learn about the agency and community and profession that you are pursuing a career in.

Let's talk about you first. You should begin with an examination of your motives for going into police work. If the excitement of television programs like COPS or LAPD-Life on the Beat, motivate you please apply down the road. I don't need excitement junkies. Keep in mind that very few cities or counties in Oklahoma or our surrounding states have that type of intense activity. It is much more likely that you will spend your career without ever firing a shot. Even in locales that have a higher activity level, the average call is service related not enforcement related. You will help stranded motorist many more times than you will apprehend fleeing felons.

What have you done to prepare yourself for a career in policing? There are dozens of text books that discuss crime scene investigation and issues pertaining to search and seizure. These may sound dry, but they are the meat and potatoes of our profession. If you have no training, the fact that you have read several college level texts and spent time observing officers in several departments put their skills to work will impress some interviewers. Learning street survival is exciting. However, I don't need paranoid rookies drawing down on the hardware store owner at closing. I need someone who has common sense and strong interpersonal skills. In communities where the agency is lucky enough to have a department training unit, perhaps you can entice the department to loan you a video or other training materials.

Many agencies require that you are CLEET certified to apply. This is an obvious catch 22. You can't get trained unless you get the job. You can't get hired unless you have the training. There are many small towns that cannot afford to send an officer away for over two months and pay their salary. Several may take a chance on hiring you if you get to know the agency and community. They are more likely to take the chance if you earn their trust and make a personal commitment to them to stay for two years or more.

I strongly suggest that regardless of where you would like to work that you spend a great deal of time first laying the foundation for that trust. "I want to help people" does not impress interviewers. You should have some concept of what the agency does. If it has a written mission statement, you should read it. You should spend time riding with officers from a multitude of agencies. While you are with them, don't become impressed with the pretty lights and siren. Listen to them complain. Find out what they like and don't like about their agency. How do the citizens treat them as they go about their duties? Ask about the other agencies nearby and several of the larger agencies. Include questions about the agencies you have targeted to apply at and several others.

You should look at the agency's equipment when you are on a ride-along or site visit to an agency. Even second hand equipment should be clean and operate well. Equipment in good condition shows the agency cares about the employee and the employees are proud of the agency. It is more than salary or size of the staff or what gun they carry that makes a good agency. I was in the men's room of a small agency recently, and had to look twice to be sure I wasn't in some high class hotel. It was spotless. I can say the same for the lobby, the offices, the hall, and cars. The officers took care of the equipment. The officers looked sharp in uniform. That department reeked of pride in their organization. I've been in others that simply reeked.

Next, it is time to actually contact the person with that department that reviews applications. When you go to meet the recruiter, call for an appointment first. When you go, don't show up in blue jeans and an Eskimo Joe's T-shirt. A suit is not necessary for this visit. Even khaki slacks and a knit polo style shirt will leave a positive image. However, at the formal interview, treat it formal and dress accordingly. I have actually had applicants show up for their Oral Assessment Board wearing blue jeans and cowboy boots with cow dung on them. When we asked the applicant, he said he wanted us to see him as he really is. We saw him as unemployed and he remained that way.

It is only natural that an applicant should want to put their best foot forward. When you get an application, you should read the entire document carefully prior to filling anything out. Our agency's application asks for you to fill the document out in your own handwriting. Since a large number of police reports still must be handwritten, we want to see your penmanship. One male applicant had his spouse fill the form out. He decided to fill part out himself after his wife was halfway through. Very impressive. We didn't hire him (or her). Others have changed ink colors two or three times. Others ignored the instructions and typed the form. If you can't follow instructions before I hire you what should make me think you will after you start to work.

There is one absolute. Never lie. The only commodity a police officer has to sell to the agency or community is the individual integrity of the person wearing the badge. If you will lie to me to get a job, then you would lie under oath to get a conviction. As an employer, I am intelligent enough to look at your past actions in the context that they occurred. I can forgive indiscretions. I cannot forgive lying. One applicant was a shoe in. He had a very high written score, a very high interview score, and seemed a good moral person. During his background investigation (my agency interviews before we do the background), we discovered that he left out six months of his life. (We have you list your employment and residence in chronological order.) During that time, he had moved to Arizona. He got fired from a delivery job because the owner suspected one of the two delivery persons was stealing. The owner fired both of the delivery workers. Later the owner hired back the other delivery person. The owner discovered that the person he hired back was in reality the thief all along. The police applicant was so embarrassed by being fired he left the entire time period off his application, even though he did nothing wrong. We disqualified him for withholding information. A week later the OHP background investigator was inquiring why we disqualified him as thy were doing his background for their agency also. They did not hire him either.

You should prepare for the testing. There are several self help books that will prep you for taking a written exam. These books will give you several opportunities to practice at home. The interview is a test also. To prepare there are several things you can do. One thing you might do on a site visit or ride-along is to ask the host officer what type of questions they ask at the oral board at that agency. That isn't cheating. It is smart. Some agencies use a very confrontational style. Some are very low key. Many agencies ask situational questions. Each agency uses a style that is unique to them to find the best applicant. Many smaller agencies that don't use written tests, use the casual meetings with applicants as well as formal interviews to assess the candidates. The first impression that you leave with the agency is the one that they remember.

Every department is different. Think about it. Tulsa cops are different from Oklahoma City cops. Woodward cops are different from Edmond cops. Dewey cops are different from Cherokee cops. They aren't necessarily better, just different. There is a fast food chain that got rich with the slogan that different is good. Each town has its own personality and, therefore, the police of that community are a reflection of that community. Many officers at one agency could also succeed at another agency. However, others would not succeed. I have friends that are high ranking officers at their current department that could not succeed in mine. I also would fail at their agency because my personality is not suited for the way their department serves their community. You should find a department that you believe you will do well at. Then you should learn what it will take to make yourself the best applicant for their opening. That may take some time and effort on your part.

Many applicants will not be successful in their attempt to be an officer at a particular department. That does not make them a bad person. It also does not mean the applicant is not suited for police work. The department is looking for someone to fit their specific needs and the applicant is not that person. Tenacity is a virtue. I have officers working for us that applied as many as four times (and we only test once each year). Had they given up, we would have hired someone else. An officer that gives up will not apprehend many offenders. (I did not get hired the first time I applied at Stillwater either.)

If you do not have a college degree and are in the position to do so, go to school and start working on a degree. More agencies now require a degree. Even agencies like mine that don't require college education hire very few applicants without some college. Any education you can get will be helpful. If you cannot type or are unfamiliar with a computer, go to the nearest vo-tech and enroll. Computers will be here long after I have retired.

Don't be discouraged by the large number of veteran officers applying at the same department you are. There are only three reasons an officer leaves their department: 1) Relocation. Their spouse may have received a transfer, or they may wish to return to college themselves. 2) Personal needs. This could be that the department doesn't pay enough to feed their family. that is certainly a need. It could also be there is not room for promotion, or the department does not have opportunities for career advancement such as assignment to criminal investigation or receiving advanced training. 3) The final reason for seeking another job is they got ran off. Many agencies prefer not to hire former officers because often the other agency is trying to get rid of the person.

In conclusion, you can have a significant impact on your own success in gaining employment by simply doing your homework and working hard to get the job. Those on the other side of the interview table will recognize your efforts. Good luck!