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Howdy. I have a family member wanting to become a peace officer here. From my knowledge and everything I've senn Texas loves LEOs and they love Texas. We've o nly lived here for a year but the rest of my family is from here. Hes applying to San Antonio. I've seen a lot of internal issues with this department. Reading comments under these recent shootings are extremely negative. Where I'm from people just don't say things like this. I know its the internet but san antonio area seems to have real dirt bags and they seem to hate cops. It seems like a hostile environment.

With all thats going on what is your take on the san antonio area for a peace officer?

I've never worked for a big Dept, I've only worked for small sheriff office and university police. I will say that big depts had the advantage of pay, gear, and the opportunity to move up the ladder. Down side is their policy book is the size of the DFW phone book. Most all have a no pursuit policy and many liberal rules to go along with it.

There are scumbags everywhere and yes SAPD has some internal issues. There is a reason veterans are leaving that Dept that I am not aware of but for that reason I would look elsewhere. They are very shorted staffed for a reason. He needs to take a couple of ride alonbts and ask those questions.

SAPD has had a lot of internal issues. however if you can get over that then the pay is exceptional the longer you stay there. There are pros and cons to anywhere you go. With a sheriffs office you get more jurisdiction and usually a little more freedom. However with a PD you dont have to worry about as many politics and odds are you will be civil service after a while and wont have to worry about losing your job just cuz the head honcho loses theirs.

I can't speak directly for the San Antonio Police Department, nor against it, but I have seen a lot of news articles regarding the chief and others being severely left leaning. That said, being a police officer anywhere will have it's good and bad. Small towns will typically have more community support, but will also have "small town" politics to go along with it. As already stated, bigger cities will usually have better pay, more specialized areas for officers to concentrate on, better training etc.., But with larger departments, there will be more of a disconnect with upper management, the community, and other officers. I worked in a small department, I knew everyone there, I got to know all of our usual suspects, and felt embraced by the law abiding public. But I also had to deal with old equipment, small town bias, and prejudice, short staffing, poor training requirements, and poor leadership.

Small towns have come a long way in improving all of the faults I listed, and most are very competitive pay-wise. I would recommend a smaller department first, then your family member can always apply to a larger department later if they so desire. I'm glad to see that there are still those willing to put on the uniform, and put their lives on the line everyday, despite the recent events.