Becoming a LEO

[texanjoker]

The thread is long, so don't remember if it had been suggested, but you might think about keeping your regular job and going to the evening academy. While it will take you longer, you will at least have a paying job while you go through. After getting out, many departments have reserve units and some small towns hire reserve officers to fill in evenings or nights for their full time officers. This will give you experience needed to potentially get hired on full time with a larger department.

Im just worried about failing cause not having time to study or do homework. Also only getting 5-6hrs of sleep at best at night is not enough for me, after a few days I will be so tired I will not be able to pay attention in class. Ive always had to have at least 7-8hrs of sleep to perform my best otherwise Im very lethargic, Im just one of those that has to have a full good night sleep.

Im going after the full sponsorship at the moment and so is 100 other people. I will be taking the exams in October and if this don't pan out I may have to take a non-employed sponsorship and get with the county to become a jailer. The county said that they would keep my certification valid and I would work as a jailer till a position opened up, might take years though. Couple of problems with that is jailers dont make any money here and I would have to take a good pay cut that I cannot afford to do it. 2. I dont want to be a jailer, I want to be a cop. Another thing is Im a small guy,5'9 150lbs. All the jailers I know are big guys that can handle these inmates, Im worried about getting into a situation and being overpowered with no weapons to help me. Being a cop Ill have a gun, tazer, OC spray, baton, to be my force equalizer but as a jailer you have nothing. Am I a little scared to be in a pod by myself with 50+ inmates? Yep. All the deputy's that I talked too hated being a jailer, some did it for a few years until a position opened up.

If I can find a department to give me a intent to hire sponsorship I will go forward and enroll this fall, if not then Ill idk what Ill do.

Don't worry about the jail. IMO ALL, I repeat ALL leos' should start in a booking jail. In a busy area you deal with more drunks, wackos, ect in one shift then small town cops (and big town) see in many years if not a career... example in san diego we had 60 plus DUI's come in on a weekend night... If you worked that tank that is a LOT of exposure to the various demeanor they exhibit. Then add the drunks in public (PI here), under the influence of drugs, felons, mentals, ect you were exposed to a lot quick. You learn how to talk your way out of stuff vs. just going to guns and you get more hands on experience then city cops by far and learn how to take care of yourself. As far as pod size, 50 + lol think 150 plus in a big dept if not more depending on their size. Also I am 5-9 and I survived 6 years inside the system before being released. IN fact if you treat them right aka firm but fare, I have had inmates help me in need...many are just normal dudes that made a mistake. You learn the cons, the games, see them lie day in and day out, learn the tat's, see the gangs, and see how it is. It was a very valuable experience that trained me well.

[gigag04]

Weapons don't mean much. Sure they help, but if you have issues using your hands to manhandle someone, I might suggest another career. At some point, someone will land a punch on you during a fight and you need to know that you're not going to curl up in a ball. You have to be able to fight your way through that.

A badge and gun (and less lethal implements) don't make you any tougher/manlier/badder than you are in your underwear.

I wish you luck but if you want the top (sponsored) jobs, I suggest you start brushing up on your grammar, working out, and get comfortable tussling with folks.

[nightmare69]

My county said they have a 70% quit rate in the first 3 weeks. Working as a jailer would be a last resort to get into law enforcement.

[texanjoker]

My county said they have a 70% quit rate in the first 3 weeks. Working as a jailer would be a last resort to get into law enforcement.

Even if you go the jail route, IMO find a large agency. Here in Travis County the CO's start at $38,919 in the academy. They make more when out and have overtime on top of that. Every time I have gone to interview an inmate, the CO's seem very professional and polite. They also staff the courts as bailiffs.

What is the salary for an officer?

We offer a competitive salary starting at $38,919.50 per year for a cadet and $52,301.81 per year for a deputy.

https://www.tcsheriff.org/departments/a ... er-testing

https://www.tcsheriff.org/departments/a ... yment-faqs

[nightmare69]

Here in Gregg county jailers make around 26k witch is a paycut for me. I don't know what deputy's make. Ill call Monday and see what the average time is a licensed peace officer has to work as a jailer until he gets the badge.

[gigag04]

All peace officers in TX have badges.


Some still work in a jail as a deputy sherrif and not on patrol. Some do transport too (as far as SO's go).


Most places, even a detention officer has a "badge" per say. As do EMTs and security guards. And my 8 year old.

[nightmare69]

You know what badge I'm talking about. I just want the job that I'm going to school for but ill look into the county as a last resort.

[nightmare69]

I may be paying for a year to the police test website for practice test and study tips. I cannot find any law enforcement civil service test other than sample questions and ones from out of state, and the ones I did find are old. $25 bucks is a small price to pay and I dont see how it could hurt. Next month is when I will have to go take at least 1 test for now.

[Excaliber]

I may be paying for a year to the police test website for practice test and study tips. I cannot find any law enforcement civil service test other than sample questions and ones from out of state, and the ones I did find are old. $25 bucks is a small price to pay and I dont see how it could hurt. Next month is when I will have to go take at least 1 test for now.

Out of state exams also have practice value.

Entry level tests are looking for basic skills and thinking ability, not state specific knowledge. Working through lots of these questions, even from out of state exams, and checking the answers to get a feel for how they are constructed and the kinds of answers they want will certainly improve your score on the actual test.

[EEllis]

My county said they have a 70% quit rate in the first 3 weeks. Working as a jailer would be a last resort to get into law enforcement.

If you go county you will be working a jail at sometime in your career so suck it up if that is what you want to do. To be honest it may be very hard. You will deal with the worst people imaginable and some of the best people that are at their worst. You could see a beloved teacher brought in on a DWI and curing and spitting racial slurs, this happened to a guy I know, so it can really mess with you. If you can't make it in a jail for a year or two at different times in your career then you shouldn't be a cop. If you can avoid it then great but make your peace with the idea or move on. As Far as your size most jails even have women CO's handling men now. You will not be the smallest person there and you will receive some good training that, if you are on the ball, will allow you to handle things.

One good thing about getting stuck as a jailer is while the pay might be poor you will be adding time to your retirement and benefits from the day you sign on.

[LAYGO]

Don't worry about the jail. IMO ALL, I repeat ALL leos' should start in a booking jail. In a busy area you deal with more drunks, wackos, ect in one shift then small town cops (and big town) see in many years if not a career... example in san diego we had 60 plus DUI's come in on a weekend night... If you worked that tank that is a LOT of exposure to the various demeanor they exhibit. Then add the drunks in public (PI here), under the influence of drugs, felons, mentals, ect you were exposed to a lot quick. You learn how to talk your way out of stuff vs. just going to guns and you get more hands on experience then city cops by far and learn how to take care of yourself. As far as pod size, 50 + lol think 150 plus in a big dept if not more depending on their size. Also I am 5-9 and I survived 6 years inside the system before being released. IN fact if you treat them right aka firm but fare, I have had inmates help me in need...many are just normal dudes that made a mistake. You learn the cons, the games, see them lie day in and day out, learn the tat's, see the gangs, and see how it is. It was a very valuable experience that trained me well.

I think this is the best advice. I used to work in psych hospitals for years & while not as violent or dangerous as a pod of inmates, it had it's similarities. You had to be quick on your feet with your words/thoughts/actions. What TJ describes is indescribably valuable. Also realize, that in a jail setting, you've got a lot of other jailers. They should have your back. Learn to be fair & firm as described, the inmates will be good with & to you. Keep your nose clean & don't put yourself in a position of lose/lose or isolated, you should be fine.

Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.

[nightmare69]

I was talking to a young officer tonight at the football game I had to work. He was taking about how hard the police academy was. I said, it cannot be too hard, east Texas police academy
has a 93% pass rate. He told me that ETPA policy is any test grade under 80 is failing. He said if you make under a 80 on a test they give you 1 chance to retake it, if you make under a 80 on any other test they kick you out of the academy. Now I know that 70 and above is passing but it seems that ETPA turned that into 80 and above. So if this is all true then the reason the academy has a 93% pass rate is cause they kick people out before they have a chance to fail. In the gamer world we call that "stat padding". This really bothered me, the officer said a lot of people were kicked out in his class, they didn't flunk out but were kicked out. The 93% rating means nothing if this is true. Padded stats are a lie. Should I ask the academy about this? Every-time I talk to them they mention their pass rating, they are proud of it. What would y'all do?

[Excaliber]

I was talking to a young officer tonight at the football game I had to work. He was taking about how hard the police academy was. I said, it cannot be too hard, east Texas police academy
has a 93% pass rate. He told me that ETPA policy is any test grade under 80 is failing. He said if you make under a 80 on a test they give you 1 chance to retake it, if you make under a 80 on any other test they kick you out of the academy. Now I know that 70 and above is passing but it seems that ETPA turned that into 80 and above. So if this is all true then the reason the academy has a 93% pass rate is cause they kick people out before they have a chance to fail. In the gamer world we call that "stat padding". This really bothered me, the officer said a lot of people were kicked out in his class, they didn't flunk out but were kicked out. The 93% rating means nothing if this is true. Padded stats are a lie. Should I ask the academy about this? Every-time I talk to them they mention their pass rating, they are proud of it. What would y'all do?

The mindset that high performance standards are "unfair", and that rejecting people who fail to meet the academy's testing standards is "padding the stats" has no place in the law enforcement world.

The reality is that those who put in so little work that they scored below 80 on two tests failed to meet that academy's standards and did flunk out of that academy. The passing stats are not padded. They accurately tell you that 7% of the people who started didn't meet the academy's standards and 93% did.

If you want to succeed as a police officer, drop the gamer mentality. The street is not virtual, and mistakes can't be fixed by a restart. Reality is unforgiving. It takes consistently good decision making and superior performance to make it through to retirement.

Those who think meeting the lowest standards they had to meet in elementary school is good enough should find another line of work where messing up carries less severe consequences. A "70 is passing" mentality will get you killed, sued, or fired. On a really bad day it will get you all three.

Hiring agencies know the comparative expectations of the various academies and will almost certainly give preference to those who pass the tougher programs. They know that great officers man up and challenge themselves to meet the highest standards available because they know the best training is the best preparation for law enforcement work. Giving yourself an easier time in the academy will very likely earn you a tougher road to getting hired.

You have some things to think about.

Only you can determine if that makes sense for your situation. Assess whether you have what it takes to man up and join the 93% or if you're part of the 7%. Then do what is best for you.

[Excaliber]

I was talking to a young officer tonight at the football game I had to work. He was taking about how hard the police academy was. I said, it cannot be too hard, east Texas police academy
has a 93% pass rate. He told me that ETPA policy is any test grade under 80 is failing. He said if you make under a 80 on a test they give you 1 chance to retake it, if you make under a 80 on any other test they kick you out of the academy. Now I know that 70 and above is passing but it seems that ETPA turned that into 80 and above. So if this is all true then the reason the academy has a 93% pass rate is cause they kick people out before they have a chance to fail. In the gamer world we call that "stat padding". This really bothered me, the officer said a lot of people were kicked out in his class, they didn't flunk out but were kicked out. The 93% rating means nothing if this is true. Padded stats are a lie. Should I ask the academy about this? Every-time I talk to them they mention their pass rating, they are proud of it. What would y'all do?

Whining that high performance standards are "unfair", and that rejecting people who fail to meet the academy's testing standards is "padding the stats" will get you nowehre in the law enforcement world.

The fact is that those who put in so little work that they scored below 80 on two tests failed to meet that academy's standards and did flunk out of that academy. The passing stats are not padded. They accurately tell you that 7% of the people who started didn't meet the academy's standards and 93% did.

If you want to succeed as a police officer, drop the gamer mentality. The street is not virtual, and mistakes can't be fixed by a restart. Reality is unforgiving. It takes consistently good decision making and superior performance to make it through to retirement.

Those who think meeting the lowest standards they had to meet in elementary school is good enough should find another line of work where messing up carries less severe consequences. A "70 is passing" mentality will get you killed, sued, or fired. On a really bad day it will get you all three.

Hiring agencies know the comparative expectations of the various academies and will almost certainly give preference to those who pass the tougher programs. They know that great officers man up and challenge themselves to meet the highest standards available because they know the best training is the best preparation for law enforcement work. Giving yourself an easier time in the academy will very likely earn you a tougher road to getting hired.

You have some things to think about.

Only you can determine if that makes sense for your situation. Assess whether you have what it takes to man up and join the 93% or if you're part of the 7%. Then do what is best for you.

[Excaliber]

I was talking to a young officer tonight at the football game I had to work. He was taking about how hard the police academy was. I said, it cannot be too hard, east Texas police academy
has a 93% pass rate. He told me that ETPA policy is any test grade under 80 is failing. He said if you make under a 80 on a test they give you 1 chance to retake it, if you make under a 80 on any other test they kick you out of the academy. Now I know that 70 and above is passing but it seems that ETPA turned that into 80 and above. So if this is all true then the reason the academy has a 93% pass rate is cause they kick people out before they have a chance to fail. In the gamer world we call that "stat padding". This really bothered me, the officer said a lot of people were kicked out in his class, they didn't flunk out but were kicked out. The 93% rating means nothing if this is true. Padded stats are a lie. Should I ask the academy about this? Every-time I talk to them they mention their pass rating, they are proud of it. What would y'all do?

Whining that high performance standards are "unfair", and that rejecting people who fail to meet the academy's testing standards is "padding the stats" will get you nowhere in the law enforcement world.

The fact is that those who put in so little work that they scored below 80 on two tests failed to meet that academy's standards and did flunk out of that academy. The passing stats are not padded. They accurately tell you that 7% of the people who started didn't meet the academy's standards and 93% did.

If you want to succeed as a police officer, drop the gamer mentality. The street is not virtual, and mistakes can't be fixed by a restart. Reality is unforgiving. It takes consistently good decision making and superior performance to make it through to retirement.

Those who think meeting the lowest standards they had to meet in elementary school is good enough should find another line of work where messing up carries less severe consequences. A "70 is passing" mentality will get you killed, sued, or fired. On a really bad day it can get you all three.

Hiring agencies know the comparative expectations of the various academies and will almost certainly give preference to those who pass the tougher programs. They know that great officers man up and challenge themselves to meet the highest standards available because they know the best training is the best preparation for law enforcement work. Giving yourself an easier time in the academy will very likely earn you a tougher road to getting hired.

You have some things to think about.

Only you can determine what makes sense for your situation. Assess whether you have what it takes to man up and join the 93% or if you're part of the 7%. Then do what is best for you.