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Thread: "Becoming a Police Officer"

  1. #1

    "Becoming a Police Officer"

    As some of you may have seen my recent postings, I've been researching and inquiring about the LE profession this weekend. Tomorrow on Monday, I will go sign up for ride-alongs with the local PDs. And like I've mentioned, I am not opposed to leaving the Golden state.

    An acquaintance of mine who used to be some kind of cop here in the Bay Area told me this:

    California is essentially where the entire concept of Peace Officer Standards and Training began. Our academies are, almost without an exception, longer and more comprehensive than many states. And officers with California experience are often looked at with a better eye.....
    With that being said, is POST the same thing as the "police academy"?

    Are these schools fairly similar across the nation?

    This Sunday, I've spent most of my day watching a documentary on YouTube about the Austin, TX academy which lasts 8 months, but I am under the impression that most of these classes do not take as long? Either way, I've been learning a lot simply by watching these videos.
    Last edited by Chuck Haggard; 07-16-2016 at 09:07 PM. Reason: Request by OP

  2. #2
    Member L-2's Avatar
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    https://www.post.ca.gov
    California has a Peace Officers Standards & Training commission, aka POST.
    A police academy needs to be somehow recognized, accredited, and in accordance with "POST".

    Most, if not all, states have something similar.
    Last edited by L-2; 06-06-2016 at 12:06 AM.

  3. #3
    Site Supporter Lon's Avatar
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    I believe POST is the standards that must be taught in the academy. Essentially making police training standard across the state. Although OH isn't POST, per se, we have a state standard curriculum that must be tightly adhered to in any of the basic academies.
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  4. #4
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    IF I really correctly, in CA is you need to complete a POST certified Academy and then complete FTO with an agency to get your actual POST certification. I believe you can either get hired and put through an academy by your agency or you can put yourself through the Academy.

    POST also mandates minimum in service training standards including mandatory topics and number of hours.

    A plus for the POST system is once certified you can lateral to most other departments without doing another academy. The downside of this is you sometimes get an angecy which becomes the department of last resort for officers who were forced from other departments but managed to hang onto their POST certification.

    Some departments will make you go through short a lateral academy for agency specific training and some do not hire laterals and require everyone to go through their own academy.

    Texas has a similar system called TCOLE http://tcole.texas.gov

    CA also has a reserve system. Not every agency participates but it can be a good way to get experience and let any agency see your work ethic etc.
    Last edited by HCM; 06-06-2016 at 01:07 AM.

  5. #5
    Site Supporter Coyotesfan97's Avatar
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    Arizona has AZPOST. It used to be ALEOC if IIRC. Its just whatever the state standard is for law enforcement.
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  6. #6
    My state has the Police Standards and Training Council. It is the certifying body for all LE in our state, and they put on the only academy. There is one academy for full time certification (16 weeks overnight paramilitary), and another for part-time (200 hours nights and weekends, academic model). Part time cops have full statutory authority, but cannot work more than 1300 hours annually. All cops, from municipal, county, and state (including natural resources) attend the PSTC academy. Some agencies have in house "academies" before or after the PSTC academy, before beginning the FTO process.

    Certification is mobile from agency to agency obviously, so lateraling is quite common. Especially since there is one state run pension system that all agencies (except one university PD) participate in.
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  7. #7
    Modding this sack of shit BehindBlueI's's Avatar
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    My state has ILEA as the equivalent, and most departments accept laterals. Some, such as mine, will take officers from other departments but will not do true laterals as you still have to complete our own academy. The best "lateral" transfer will get you is maybe an abbreviated FTO.

  8. #8
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    Rojocorsa...HCM was pretty spot-on. The California Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) sets the standards for LE training and certification for the state. Academies must abide by their guidelines to maintain certification. Some agencies have their own academies, while others send their people to or hire graduates from Regional Academies (which are usually associated with a local college for academic certification). Examples of the latter in the Bay Area would be Evergreen Valley Training Center in the South Bay, and Santa Rosa Training Center in the North Bay. In our area, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and Alameda County are all agencies that have their own academies. Completion of an academy gets you a Basic Academy Certificate. For the POST Basic Certificate, you need to complete a year of work, post academy. Basically your probationary year.

    Academies differ in style and length. Our own is I believe 29 weeks currently (might be longer), followed by a 17 week FTO program. The probationary year here begins after FTO. We're one of the best compensated agencies in the state, and our retirement is 3% at 58 for new hires, topping at 90%. It is also a city-based retirement system that is, surprisingly, doing quite well (but isn't transferable). That said, I would advise anyone seeking an LE career to RUN, DON'T WALK away from this town. We have no idea how our "re-engineering of Force" is going to turn out, but the odds are not in favor of officer safety being a concern at all.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by AMC View Post
    Rojocorsa...HCM was pretty spot-on. The California Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) sets the standards for LE training and certification for the state. Academies must abide by their guidelines to maintain certification. Some agencies have their own academies, while others send their people to or hire graduates from Regional Academies (which are usually associated with a local college for academic certification). Examples of the latter in the Bay Area would be Evergreen Valley Training Center in the South Bay, and Santa Rosa Training Center in the North Bay. In our area, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and Alameda County are all agencies that have their own academies. Completion of an academy gets you a Basic Academy Certificate. For the POST Basic Certificate, you need to complete a year of work, post academy. Basically your probationary year.

    Academies differ in style and length. Our own is I believe 29 weeks currently (might be longer), followed by a 17 week FTO program. The probationary year here begins after FTO. We're one of the best compensated agencies in the state, and our retirement is 3% at 58 for new hires, topping at 90%. It is also a city-based retirement system that is, surprisingly, doing quite well (but isn't transferable). That said, I would advise anyone seeking an LE career to RUN, DON'T WALK away from this town. We have no idea how our "re-engineering of Force" is going to turn out, but the odds are not in favor of officer safety being a concern at all.

    Thank you for chiming in. I make sure to read all your posts about those things and I've made up my mind that SFPD sadly is the last place I'd want to work. I'd be afraid of being thrown under the bus or something along those lines. Moreover, their culture about not being proficient with firearms alarms me, as carrying a gun isn't a game and it has deadly consequences (so one should be as professional as possible with them when carrying).



    Today, I went to three different cop shops in my area and signed up for some ride-alongs. I figure this is the first step before any others. I can't wait.

  10. #10
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    rojo,

    The concept of police professionalism was created by Sir Robert Peel: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/histori...r_robert.shtml

    All modern law enforcement standards and training were originated in England by Sir Robert Peel.

    Scientific policing and criminology are centuries old with practitioners from various countries contributing still-valid techniques. Scotland Yard and RCMP preceded the FBI. In fact, I believe Scotland Yard is still the gold standard of criminology, forensic science, and criminal investigations. Germany might have surpassed both. BTW, the FBI laboratory, while still eminent, has had more than its share of validity problems. But FBI scientific law enforcement training is right up there among the world's best.

    For liability reasons alone, I'd go with every state and territory has its version of POST. Were I still a cop, I'm sure that I could do a felony car stop with a cop from Oklahoma, and we'd do it as though we had been partners for years.

    I attended a CA academy. Your friend's hyperbole is akin to college alumni. A graduate of University of Mars will believe that his school is superior to University of Saturn. It's merely opinion based upon loyalty. While it is true that I have no clue of other states' standards and training, liability is controlling. Therefore, I'd go with all states having essentially equal standards of training. I'd bet that heads of states' and territories' POST commissions meet annually to collaborate.

    LAPD used to be the gold standard for CA law enforcement academies. Its was longest, most thorough, and was greatly dedicated to college-like classroom instruction. I believe its graduates were fluent in Spanish. But then again, prior to Rodney King, LAPD was the preeminent law enforcement agency in the nation. BTW, I've never worked for LAPD. LAPD had the envious advantage of having many colleges and universities within its city from which it could recruit. Many USC & UCLA graduates worked for LAPD. I'm not sure if post-Rodney King LAPD has been able to attract college graduates like it did prior.

    Academies facilitate identifying who might not be good cop candidates. The reality is a sharp cop will be a sharp cop regardless of academy he attended.

    Cops must be able to perform myriad tasks proficiently. However, from my experience, the single dominant criterion of whether a candidate will become successful driving a black-and-white is ability to write. A cop must know elements of crimes, be able to link suspects to crimes, and cogently yet succinctly document crimes and arrests, or he'll become unemployed. A written report reflects a person's thought processes.
    Last edited by SansSouci; 06-07-2016 at 11:17 AM.

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