Policing as a career has obviously been hurting due to events from the past year and that sucks. This is a profession that I am very passionate about as an active police officer who truly still loves this profession. As such, I want to see more good people who want to be cops become cops and have lengthy careers as cops. If this sounds like you, continue reading, if it doesn’t move onto the next article.
When I talk to prospective officers I hear all the terrible advice they have been giving about police hiring practices. From my time in recruiting, I have also seen a lot of good applicants do some pretty stupid things to kick themselves out of the process or down to a point where they are no longer competitive. Here is some good advice you’ll want to follow if you truly want to be a cop.
Be honest
If you think you can start your policing career off by lying on the application, you should stop now. I have heard applicants tell me others told them “don’t tell them you tried weed in high school, they won’t hire you!”, or “if you didn’t get a ticket they have no record of it!”. Guess what, things will come out one way or another. Every department does extensive background checks, so if something doesn’t flag on the computer it might flag in an interview of a person you know such as an old high school teacher or a neighbor. Just be honest, it’ll save you headaches down the line in the process.
You don’t need to be perfect
Don’t tell me you haven’t done something dumb in your past, and that’s ok! I mean don’t get me wrong, I have seen candidates who do have spotless records and history but that is very rare. The point is, it’s ok to have done dumb things in the past to an extent. In fact, you can use those past “dumb” experiences as a benefit of showing how you built certain character and competencies.
Prep for the physical
This one is pretty straight forward. There is a common saying in policing that once you become a cop you give up the right to be unfit. If you are going to do this job you have to understand that your life literally depends on your body, so it should really be in the best shape of your life when you are starting out at the very least. Not to mention, police fitness standards are generally low and you should be able to crush them. With that said, if you show up to a physical test date and bomb the run your recruiters won’t be impressed.
Follow directions
The basis of policing is following direction, whether its how you apply to the job or following policy on how to do the job. The role of a police officer requires you to do things in a specific manner in order to be inline with all laws, policies, and procedures. With that said, when you are applying you will be faced with submitting lots of documentation on yourself. The application forms themselves can be pages long and then you also have to deal with things like cover letters, resumes, reference lists, etc. If the application process says to submit these documents in a specific order, do it. If the application is asking for some information and specifically says “don’t leave blank spaces”, well you guessed it right you better not leave it blank.
Get into for the right reasons
For the love of everything, do not become a police officer just because you want to wear a uniform or look tacticool. Become a police officer because you want to serve, improve your community, help others, and generally be a good person. Whatever the reason is, just make sure its for one of the right reasons rather than to just cross something off a bucket list.
Don’t be discouraged if you get rejected
The application process for a police officer can be gruelling and sometimes harsh. If you get kicked out of the process at any point in time, it doesn’t mean it’s the end. In fact, I myself went through the process twice before I was hired. In this job, timing is everything and if it ain’t your time on this round it will be on the next!
Good luck!
Ben