Police Officer

Police Officer

BlueSheepdog

10 Years Experience

Around the Way, FL

Male, 40

Cheating death and fighting communism: that is how a fellow officer once described our job. It was meant to be funny, but as time went on it seemed all too true.

I spent more than ten years in law enforcement, all of it on the street in uniform patrol. I've been a patrol officer, instructor, sergeant and lieutenant.

Do not report crimes here. Nothing here should be considered legal advice. All opinions are my own.

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Last Answer on October 29, 2014

Best Rated

When a police officer takes a civil service test to be promoted, does it take passing the test AND an appointment to the new rank, or is the test hard enough for anyone who passes it to reach a new rank?

Asked by Eagle over 11 years ago

No idea - I didn't work at one of those departments.

I would sincerely hope that people were not promoted based on a test score, but when you mix government and unions and there is rarely any room for common sense.  

Promotion should be based on ability.  Most tests are only analyzing a person's ability to memorize a set of facts.

I have just recently found out that a man that moved in to our neighborhood over a year ago is a convicted sex offender. Is it required for the police department to inform us somehow?

Asked by Concerned Dad over 11 years ago

Probably not.  Laws vary from state to state, but law enforcement has no duty to protect you.  Law enforcement has a duty to provide general protection to a community, but not to individuals.  Most (all?) states provide a sex offender database online that you can access to check things for yourself.  For example, this is the one in Florida:  https://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/

i want to go back to my country. i come from kenya in africa. i want to go back but my mom doesnt have enough money

Asked by wema about 11 years ago

Ok. I hope you are not looking for someone to hand you a wad of money because you want something. That's not how life works.

(Background for my last question regarding education and how you value it): You previously said that you think an Ivy league degree shows someone who can't be trusted to handle PD money properly. Also, assume that this person had a full scholarship)

Asked by ROB over 11 years ago

Education and college degrees are not the same thing.  Education is highly valued and has little to do with college.  A college degree is an expensive piece of paper that shows you stuck around long enough to get one.  I guess that could be called determination, but I'd much rather hire the guy who showed determination by humped a pack up and down mountains in Afghanistan, rescued idiot boaters as a Coastie or worked the catapult on a carrier for 12+ hours/day.  Those folks have learned hard lessons and know how to make sensible decisions under pressure.

If Uncle Sam paid your way via ROTC, that is a reasonable approach.  Assuming you are active duty upon graduation, you have a paid-for degree and a real education.  If you instead dropped $100k+ at Yale to get a $40-50k/year job as a cop - well, I'd question your reasoning and problem solving skills.  Even more if you went into debt to do it.

All other things being equal, a college degree is better on the application than not having one.  But, all things are not equal.  Few colleges teach anything about real life.  Take a look at the professors in economics and business schools, for example.  How many of them have run a successful business?  How many of the law school professors have spent any time in a courtroom?  

The sad reality is that college is a black hole in which money disappears, but little is returned for it.  

If I purchase a phone from someone, sent the money through Western Union and he/she collects it, but I don't receive the phone, is there a way of getting back my money?

Asked by Shan over 11 years ago

Probably not.

In my experience, a significant number of transactions handled via Western Union are scams.  Money sent through Western Union can be picked up anywhere in the world.  So a person sets up a Craigslist ad (or wherever) and says he lives in New York, Atlanta, or wherever.  However, he most likely lives outside the jurisdiction of the US - Europe, Africa, Asia.  He can pick up the money anonymously at any Western Union and you never hear from him again.

Unfortunately, I have seen too many of these cases and none of them are ever solved.

Feel free to file a police report, but do not expect that you will ever get your money back.

When applying to be a police officer you are asked if you had been involved in any criminal activity, if i answer honestly even though I have a clean record could it legally be used to obtain a search warrant or for a criminal investigation?

Asked by MICHEAL almost 12 years ago

Depends on the circumstances.  However, I'm not sure that you are describing the ideal police candidate anyway...

Hi. I'm 15 and I'm really interested in becoming a police officer. But I have straight-As in school and I hate to say it but I feel like no one with my grades would become a police officer. Any advice? Have you known officers that were very academic?

Asked by Phillip almost 12 years ago

I'm not sure why you would think that.  Getting good grades is very important if you want to be a police officer.

I went to a well known university to be an aerospace engineer (you know, a rocket scientist.)  I determined engineering wasn't much of a challenge and discovered law enforcement was a far more challenging career.

Fortunately, I am not the only guy to make good grades to go into law enforcement.  In the states I have worked (Georgia and Florida), most of the officers I have met/worked with are much brighter than the general public.  You have to be intelligent and quick thinking to do the job.  Idiots should not apply.

Do morons get into law enforcement?  Sometimes.  But, most of them are weeded out during training.  The few that are left tend to get promoted rapidly.

I'm a bit perplexed by anyone who thinks that no one smart goes into public safety (or the military.)  I guess it is watching too many movies.