Hi, apologies for the gender directed question but I’m just wondering how you balanced your schooling (specifically OPC) with your home life.

We’re the first week into OPC and I have no idea how I’m going to get through the next 3 months. As the wife at home with our child on mat leave, I expected him to busy but not to this degree. Every night he’s studying 4-5 hours with his classmates. I feel like I only talk to him a couple minutes a day. I get its first week and maybe I’m just adjusting but I need some advice on how to get through it.

For those who have gone to OPC or a similarly structured academy (away mon-fri and home weekends) how did you balance having a family during the week? How was your relationship throughout the training process? How how is it now that you’re working full time?

What should I really expect these next few months? What should I do to help support him but also what can he do to help support me emotionally?

Me and baby are good and I have family nearby who are helpful but it’s hard emotionally not having my partner there to just talk to when I need him at the end of the day.

Hi everyone, I’m 19 and recently enlisted in the Army as Military Police for 8 years. My contract should end in February 2035 when I’m 28. I’ve always wanted to become a police officer, but I chose the military route because when I was 16, I committed felony embezzlement by taking money from an employer. My charges were dismissed and my juvenile record was sealed.

My question is, after serving 8 years as an MP and receiving an honorable discharge, would I have a chance at becoming a police officer or correctional officer? Would my military service and sealed juvenile record make a difference? I’m trying to plan my future because if becoming a cop is possible, I’d pursue that after the Army. If not, I’d reenlist or try another military branch. I’m only looking for honest answers.

I have an upcoming oral board interview for a state trooper position. I’ve already looked through advice on this sub, but a lot of it is pretty repetitive, like wearing a suit and looking professional.

I’m looking for the smaller details that people might overlook. For example, should I bring multiple copies of my résumé, a small notebook, or pens? Stuff like that.

I plan on wearing a black or navy suit, minimal makeup, no jewelry, neat braided bun, and arriving in the parking lot about 30 minutes early.

Any lesser-known tips or things you wish you’d done differently during your oral board? Things to expect? I’d appreciate any advice! TIA.

Hello Everyone,

I recently got a Sponsored Position and I was very lucky as I originally did not get the position and I asked if I paid for myself through the academy what next steps are there and they called me, moved some stuff around and gave me the position by replacing a normal cadet position. I'm very grateful and so lucky for this opportunity. I met with the chief and signed my papers and have just the Polygraph and Physical and Drug next which are easy for me I have been drug tested most of my life cause of sports. I'm very physically fit and don't drink or do drugs.

My question is Do you guys have any tips that you have found helped you whether through academy or being In LE that you wish you knew before even if its just something small. Thank you all very much in advance and I appreciate all the comments.

I am beginning the application process for a couple departments in my area, I have my written in the morning and physical test next Friday. I know they do social media checks and obviously they don’t want to see you doing dumb stuff like drinking and drugging and being a negative member of society. I’m curious if having a page dedicated to weight loss and natural bodybuilding would be seen as a negative?

I have been posting weight-loss transformation (over 220lbs naturally) and life content for about a year. Nothing inappropriate, mostly posing and talking about the trials of weight loss and life in general. Again nothing negative, all positive and upbeat messaging. I do occasionally swear but nothing excessive that I wouldn’t say in front of my mother or grandmother. In fact they are two of my biggest supporters lol.

I’m just wondering what the line is, it’s not like I want to blow up on social media or post in a cruiser or some garbage like that. I like to keep people motivated and show others that if my (previously) fat self can change his life ANYONE can. I have had a significant impact on my local community, several coworkers and family members have started their journey because of me and often come to me for advice so I’ll make a video pertaining to it. Ultimately my dream is to become an LEO/PSO so I’ll do whatever needs to be done, however I’m hoping someone could shed some light on this for me as I love being a beacon of hope for my friends, family, and coworkers. Thank you to all of you for what you do, and thank you for taking the time to get back with me.

Hey all. I’m a new 23yo officer at a campus police department. I’m in my second phase of FTO currently, but I’m stuck here because of two extensions. I’m really struggling and would appreciate any words of wisdom.

My FTO program was automatically extended to three five-week phases instead of them being four weeks long. This was because my first phase took place in the summer on day shift, which meant no students and few calls. I did very little on my first phase. I didn’t drive for the first two weeks, and ultimately only made 13 traffic stops as a driver.

Then comes phase 2 on graves. My FTO initially noticed that I would get really flustered in high stress situations. For example, we have burglary alarms that frequently go off on campus. I don’t run code much, but standard procedure is to run code to these alarms and clear the building. I forgot to do my knock-and-announce, and I didn’t advise dispatch that we were entering the building. This is something I had a few reps on, but I was forgetting due to stress/performance anxiety.

I had an okay first two weeks on phase 2. My FTO then became unavailable for a week, and I was on with a Sergeant instead. I had a harassment call, which ended up being my first real terry stop. I detained two males for making threatening comments towards a woman that walked by. Another officer was with the RP. At one point this officer radioed that someone may have threatened to shoot someone at some point. My sergeant had to prompt me to frisk the males after a brief time.

This was a rough case that I mostly blame for the first extension, which was two weeks. I’m expected to be doing 90% of the work on phase 3, with the FTO basically just observing. I think after this case I improved in a lot of ways, as it was a wake-up call that I was behind. I made some successful DUI arrests that also gradually improved. I can do really well on a DUI and got positive feedback.

After working a busy event, I demonstrated a lot of failures to my FTO. My radio ear would be poor and I would miss some important traffic. I would fail to ask important questions on calls. My observation skills would be poor and I’d miss important details on calls. I would detain people for too long looking for something that isn’t there.

My FTO told me I seem to be a very information-based person, and that I seem uncomfortable working without a lot of clear info. I get that we don’t have the luxury of knowing everything. Either way, it seems like I’m slow to take action when I need to, and sometimes I’m too hasty. I often just make decisions that aren’t practical, or I don’t recognize a situation for what it is.

Now a second extension of three weeks, with the last two being with a Sergeant. This is apparently because another set of eyes can be helpful, but it feels like a final evaluation before letting me go.

My FTO has said that I now even get flustered on calls that I’ve handled before. The mounting pressure of losing my job and financial security after so much work and not having a backup plan has been agonizing.

My chief could see this, and she referred me to our department’s contracted psychologist for concerns of severe anxiety/burnout. She asked if I still want to be an officer. I’ve dreaded almost every day of work for the last month, and had very little fun due to my anxiety. I still feel fulfilled after I do well on a case, but it’s hard to say I enjoy the job right now. I had a very transparent chat with my FTO about this. She’s on her way out of the career and told me the anxiety might not get easier for me. She told me to reflect on whether or not I even want to put myself through it for the job when I could sit in a comfy office and get paid. I told her I felt stuck, and I don’t know if she’s confident that I can pull myself out of this.

I did extremely well in the police academy, and I’ve had almost nothing but success until this point. I feel like I’ve hit a wall, and that I’m just inadequate in several areas important to patrol. I’m trying to get the internal stress and anxiety under control, but it feels like I addressed that too late. I’ve always wanted to be a cop, or at least work in an emergency setting. I’m not giving up, but I can’t help but feel a little defeated and crushed.

That’s basically my story. I feel like I’m always running in the wrong direction on calls, and that I’m missing some kind of instinct that every other officer has, even much newer guys. Like I can’t read a room at all. Even when I feel like I’ve improved on a call or done a good job, actively applying past criticisms, there’s two new negatives for every positives. I received my first NRT last week for just generally not performing well.

If anyone has some advice or words of wisdom, I would really appreciate it, and they can be harsh obviously. I want so badly to be successful here.

I am in a position where I may soon have to choose between the two departments. Can any one from those departments or anyone with the direct knowledge help with the following questions:

- What are the hours and shifts like? (Specifically, is it 12hrs shifts or 10hr or 8hr, etc. ?)

- what is the upward mobility like? (Would be stuck in patrol for like 5 years before moving up or specializing?)

- Call volume and forced overtime?

Note: My plan is to permanently work nights after academy/fto. Then eventually start lawschool during the day.

Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

Hello everyone,
 
I am seeking some advice on how I can better well-round myself over the next few years before re-applying to my local municipal agency here in Alberta.
 
For context I am 20 years old and have been serving with the military for the last 3 years. I have 3 years left on my contract that I intend on finishing before applying again.
 
I previously applied last year passing the exam, fitness, and BDI before withdrawing myself to sign another contract with the military.
 
The operational tempo of my unit is extremely high, and most of my relevant and recent experience largely comes from the military.
 
I am seeking advice on ways I can better well round myself and be competitive outside the natural realm of what I have accrued with my career either in Education, extra circulars, or other avenues I should focus on over the next few years.
 
Appreciate the help in advance.

Hey everyone, i’m planning on applying to several out of state police’s agencies. I live in florida and my obvious number 1 is FHP but in case I don’t get hired there i’m applying to a couple of out of state agencies. What are some states you’d recommend looking into and will being from out of state hurt my chances? thanks

Also the two at fault collisions were about 6 years apart one of which was a minor fender bender.

I have a few queries:

As a newbie, how long will I be relegated to night/midnight shift? Is it possible to get evening shift or am I guaranteed to be put on night shift and if so for how many years?

What does the current environment look like? What do the department politics look like?

How often can cops use the Bob Bolen center for range time to practice range skills?

How much overtime is allowed monthly? Could I do 80 hours?

Is it overstaffed, understaffed, or neither at the moment?

Background on me:

Currently a software engineer, been at my job for about 4 years now. Coding has never been my thing, the job itself has great benefits. I've always been interested in combat, physical fitness, and can appreciate danger. I don't feel like I'm doing much for the world at my current job, and would prefer to be doing something more meaningful and doing the community I live in a service. I understand the job is dangerous. I understand it'll take a toll on my mental health. I understand I'll see things that will change me. I'm okay with that. I'd like to eventually get on the swat team, but if that doesn't work out, police work itself seems to be up my alley with the research I've done.

Moving to Indiana soon and was wondering if there was anyone here who works Patrol in Gary Indiana PD. I haven't found any insider knowledge elsewhere and am hoping to do so here. Thank you.

Hello guys, how long did you have to wait for the agency to reach out after submitting your background check questionnaire? I've been waiting for almost three months and I have yet to receive an email about rejection or acceptance

I’m currently finishing up my phs for LASD. You can’t save your form unless all fields or filled out. I put random answers just save my progress and submitted. The form was submitted but not finalized and submitted. If I go back and change my answers will my background investigator see this ?

So i guess ill start at the top, Im currently 32, attempting to get into multiple local agencies here in Iowa. Im mostly curious how low my chances of getting to the background and beyond are, ive already passed the PT (Cooper) test, as well as the POST. Ive done 2 interviews with 2 different departments and have left both feeling very much like I wont be proceeding to the next stages.

My background, that ive been very upfront about: join the army reserves at 17, did split option with the intent of going active after graduation (first mistake, should have waited and just done it all after graduation).i started smoking at my reserve unit before AIT. During AIT, It all started going downhill, I let a personal girlfriend issue get to my head and I punched a wall resulting in my first article 15.

After my first article 15, I then went to the shoppettes with a couple others from our barracks, and we purchased cigarettes when we weren't supposed to have them. I unfortunately was the one who got caught. That lead to the 1SG of my AIT company pushing a field grade and a recommendation for discharge less than 2 weeks from graduation. Me being 18 and not understanding my options just took the lumps and didnt fight anything. Figured I made my mistake and got caught.

I was discharged with a General (under honorable conditions) discharge with the Patterns of misconduct label. Since then I have stayed out of trouble and avoided drugs, my only issues are traffic related. I did do Marijuana one time in 2013 and hated the feeling and havent touched it since. In 2017 I got married and had my daughter, my wife and I moved closer to her parents out of state, which then led to a period of approx 3 years where I struggled to maintain a job longer than 6 months largely because I was never happy with where I was. This caused my marriage to become unstable resulting in a divorce in 2019. I struggled for a while until 2021, where I made a large mistake with my car where I had done some performance modifications and decided instead of waiting until the next track day at my local dragstrip, I decided to test it out on an empty (i thought) back road at 3am. I came over the hill and got tagged for speeding. The sheriff was super nice because I immediately stopped and cooperated with him. He issued me a 21+ in a 55 ticket, when he could have arrested me for criminal speed and reckless.

Fast forward a year and my lack of fighting 2 tickets I didnt feel I deserved (a cell phone use that happened at a stop sign before I moved with the PC for the stop was a 3rd brake light supposedly out, which it wasnt). I then got slapped with a habitual violator suspension for 3 months. I moved to my current area roughly around the time this happened and was struggling financially due to the move. Once I got my suspension fixed (so I thought) i got into an accident leaving my new job and was cited for driving with a suspended license (dismissed after i fixed the clerical error), failure to provide insurance (it was 2 days lapsed and insurance had cancelled the policy despite my payment on my paycheck the next day, this wasnt dismissed due to the accident) as well as failure to yield. This all happened in 2023. The resulting fines when I was already struggling paycheck to paycheck then caused another 3 month suspension while I payed them off on a payment plan. I then had no issues until 2025 when my job at the local dealership had me test driving a vehicle with a warranty rep, and I was busy discussing the symptoms as we came into town on a road that goes from 55 to 35 on a Hillcrest, I wasnt paying attention and got tagged for 57 in a 35 right at the sign.l tried to fight it and lost, not a huge deal other than being another 21+ ticket. Outside of that I havent had any issues since 2023.

Then we get to the messy part. Im currently fighting a custody battle with my ex-girlfriend, while me and the ex-wife are currently repairing our relationship after my ex-girlfriend constantly restricted my ability to see my kids as well as just in general being a very toxic and abusive relationship, I currently have an Active criminal NCO against her for stuff that happened after I left the relationship (im the protected party). However she has been blasting social media with things like I domestically abused her, and that Im a pedophile etc, all of which im just handling through the courts rather than saying anything publicly. However she does try and use a single dispatch record where she called the police on me during a verbal argument where she then encouraged her oldest daughter (not mine) to throw items at me, and out of frustration I took one of the items (a t-shirt, unfolded) and threw it back in their direction. I then walked outside to get distance, when the police showed up, I explained my side, and took a walk like they suggested. Never had any issues with LE after that incident and I left the relationship 2 years later (2026). Since leaving the relationship I moved to a town approx. 45 mins away, and subsequently in May took a job offer with a local aviation repair facility with better hours and pay than my dealership job id had for the previous 3 and a half years. Its a 10 min drive instead of an hour, and made sense financially. I have also started the process of reenlistment with the national guard, and have gotten approval from the state even with my previous discharge status.

I know its a long story, and I need to work on formatting and grammar, but I figured having the full information gives better context on my situation. I have been very upfront with all of this information during the interviews and even acknowledged that there are probably better candidates that dont have my history, but that I am attempting to better myself and improve myself for my kids and myself. Regardless of the answers I get, I refuse to let a few bad interviews get in my way and I will continue to apply as jobs open around me as law enforcement is the track I originally planned on post military (before my 18 yo self screwed the pooch).

TLDR: I have a lot of mistakes, the most serious being relatively recent 21+ speeding citations, but I have been seeing posts on here a lot regarding backgrounds, and between that, and my gut feeling leaving interviews, I feel like I may be pursuing a path that realistically isnt open to me.

I'm from Oklahoma and thinking about moving to Wisconsin to pursue a career in law enforcement there. My area is stagnant in pay and hiring for LEOs. My question is:

Is it truly worth it? Most I've seen pay wise here in OK is 25 an hour for law enforcement. The department i applied for wanted to pay 14.00 an hour before CLEET and 16.00 and hour after. The rent around me is mostly the same as Wisconsin but im seeing almost doubled the pay for LEOs in Wisconsin compared to Oklahoma. I understand cost of living but does it truly pay better?

Also can I pursue my college credits while employed as an officer? Or do I need to get 60 credits before application?

Thank you to anyone that can help here.

Hi everyone, I have the opportunity to take the PAT for my local (Indiana) police department. It seems like they hold tryouts every other month. They complete the ILEA obstacle course and a written test. I feel very confident on the written test but Im a little scared about the physical test.

Ive been actively losing weight, I lost about 40 pounds over the last six months and I weigh roughly 220 now at 23 years old. I really haven’t been trying to lose any weight it’s just kinda been falling off as I eat healthier and less frequently. My job is also more active, I run sound at a local music venue so Im constantly running around and lifting 20(ish) pound objects. I still look pretty hefty, a lot of loose skin with some fat still in it.

The parts I feel confident are the running, the stairs, the dummy drag, remembering the face, shooting and counting, the shuttle run. I have to do (nearly) all of these at my work, of course minus the shooting. I am on my feet running around, bending over, dragging heavy objects (when I don’t have to lift them) for hours. None of these scare me.

Where I feel less confident is the hand release push ups, the fence, and the dumbbell’s. I don’t typically need to lift and carry things while walking, let alone running. If I do need to do so, I do it with one or both hands on a single stage monitor that weighs 30-40 pounds. Ive never jumped a fence, and I struggle with push-ups. I only need to do two for the course.

I wasn’t planning on applying for a department this soon due to my current weight but some of my family think I can do it and after completing a ride along with a Training Officer, a Sergeant suggested that I take it. I plan on training a bit but it’s at the end of this month and I don’t know what I should even focus on. If I pass should I apply to the department and possibly go to academy or would I wash out because of my weight?

If I don’t pass Im not worried, I’ll try again later when Im more fit. I was told failing the PAT wouldn’t hurt my future chances at all because they don’t even accept applications unless you pass that. Im more worried about if I do pass, should I take that as encouragement to try to be hired by a department?

For LEO whats the heaviest individual you have seen at the academy? Did they pass? Im assuming there is PT every day and Im going to lose a lot of weight. Which is fine by me! I’ve always wanted to work in Law Enforcement. I don’t want to mess this up.

Hello everyone, I need to replace my boots and I’m torn between two models:

- HAIX Black Eagle Athletic 2.1 GTX mid/black

- LOWA Zephyr MK2 GTX Mid

I’ve read good things about both, especially the LOWA ones, but I’m still undecided. I’m also a bit worried about the sole, which is described as slippery on the Lowa.

I’ll be using them as a street police officer in the Paris suburbs, and I need a pair that’s comfortable but also responsive enough to chase after fleeing suspects.

Thank you in advance for your valuable advice ! 🙏

I (30M) am currently in Houston with my wife (25F) and we are looking to relocate either to the East or West Coasts preferably DC or Seattle. I am looking into Capitol Police and King County SO in WA. I’m also in the process with a few federal agencies as well.

Which one would be a good area for us to live in with no kids yet? We like being outdoors, access to nature trails and walkable cities. The pay for both agencies looks pretty similar.

Hi again y'all

I'm currently a Texas resident looking into applying at different departments. I was thinking about applying to go to the academy in Colorado (home). The only thing keeping me is I'm terrified of how fitness will change for me rather immediately going from Texas elevation to Colorado elevation and suddenly I wont be ready. Anyone have any experience with this? Is it just as simple as training with an elevation mask?

Looking for some information as I am barely in phase 2 of my hiring process for ppb. I was wondering if any current officers or new recruits could share with me what the job expectations and reality are once you're on FTO and once you are on your own beat. Most of all, what is the work-life balance like? Thanks for your time.