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Thread: Going through police hiring proccess...

  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Gadfly View Post
    Learn to help everyone check each other out in the parking lot, before you go into the class room building.

    Finally, I would advise "don't be that guy".
    No direct LE experience here, but based on personal and related experience in medium- and high-speed military courses, if you're always helping your classmates, and especially if you're the guy who's encouraging others to help each other out, you will make friends and influence people.

    That Guy: it's great to be quick with a joke, but it can easily be overdone. Questions should be relevant. No matter what "they" say, there are dumb questions. If you have an insight, as yourself if it's relevant and whether your classmates will benefit from it. If not, save it.

    And @Gadfly is right, running in formation is a different experience than simply running. You have to run at the same pace and with the same length of stride as a bunch of other people. Even with 20 years in the Army, at times it was painful.
    Last edited by Drang; 09-06-2018 at 03:11 AM.
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  2. #12
    Site Supporter Rex G's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    SE Texas
    Congratulations on making it this far!

    I made the mistake of too much endurance and cardio, and too little strength training, before starting the academy. I lost endurance and cardio condition in the academy, because we did relatively little of that, but I suffered trying to play catch-up with strength training. (It is difficult to build strength while living with too little sleep, for recovery.)

    Ironically, I very nearly set an academy record for the pull-up-and-hang, in the “up” position, which was, supposedly, a test of upper-body strength, but in reality, at least for skinny guys, like me, really just a test of hand grip strength per pound of body weight, plus, a test of will, against pain. Had I known I was seconds away from a record, I could have held up longer. Had the test been based upon the total number of normal pull-ups, I would have performed relatively poorly. The academy later abandoned the pull-up-and-hang test, replacing it with other tests.

    Of course, your academy and my academy may be worlds apart in physical training/testing.

  3. #13

    Minimalist Weight Training

    Pavel Tsatsouline:

    Kettlebell swing
    Kettlebell overhead press

    Personal experience: While it's difficult to gain strength on this program, it's a good way to maintain the strength you brought to the Academy. The swing is a splendid anaerobic exercise, and that may be very helpful.

    Dan John:

    Barbell deadlift
    Barbell overhead press
    Farmer's Walk

    Personal experience: I've gained strength on this, and use it without reservation when time is short. John's expected strength standards are: dead @ bodyweight; farmer's walk @ half-bodyweight per hand. No expected strength standard for the overhead press was indicated in my notes. As a personal note, for a complete-er program I add pullups. John's expected number of pullups is 5. Fifteen is a game-changer, he says.
    Last edited by Duces Tecum; 09-06-2018 at 01:44 PM.

  4. #14
    I would talk to your buddies that went through the Academy to try and find out what the experience is actually like.

    Down here in South Florida it seems as though the Academy experience changes on a class by class basis.

    When i went through almost four years ago if I didn't greet every single person with a "good morning sir or ma'am" a drill sergeant would magically drop out of the sky and murder me.

    These days, when I go to the college the recruits are walking down the hall in uniforms that look like trash bags and saying "sup bro" as I walk past them.

    Aspire to be better even if the standards don't require it. Be proud, don't be arrogant. Dress smart, look smart, exceed the standard even though you will be ridden mercilessly. In the grand scheme of things, the Academy means nothing and it will train you to a VERY low standard but the one thing that you can take away from it is a sense of pride in that you exceeded the standard. Carry that with you throughout the rest of your career and never forget that.

    As far as gear goes, don't buy anything until the Academy tells you to do so. Agency policy changes, issued gear changes. You will be provided with a basic duty belt setup that you will modify as time goes on based upon your needs and the standards and policies of your Agency. Its not like any of the gear we need is hard to acquire so dont feel as though you need to have EVERYTHING on day one of FTO. Have your basic required items available to you and build as you grow.

    IF you can, get an academy training manual from a recently graduated recruit. Read it now, read it twice, read it three times. In order to pass the state qualification, you need only be able to regurgitate bullcrap that has almost nothing to do with your actual job. Start reading your search and seizure case law, read about Terry stops. The website case law for cops is fantastic. Actively participate in your academy class, ask questions, talk to the instructors during class time (Q/A time allowing) and then after class is over.

    Just be aware of the fact that whatever you read, for most people it is not put into perspective until you're actually elbow deep in it on the street. At least if you have SOME semblance of an idea of what you can reference, you're going to be ahead of the curve.

    Remember, you represent an institution of brothers and sisters. Never forget that our job is to serve the people by preserving life and property. Our job is not to bully, not to intimidate or scare people into compliance. Be a multitool, not a blundgeoning device like a hammer or a sword that merely cuts.

    Good luck on your journey. Enjoy the process, dont get frustrated with the repetition and futility that is the Academy. It is a means to an end and in the grand scheme of things, a relatively easy endeavor. Focus on excellence every day and not the end goal. If you do that, the duldrum of the daily grind will FLY by and before you know it, you will be out there on the streets.

  5. #15
    I wanted to separate this out of my above post.

    Regarding training.

    Don't start doing things you wont do for the REST of your life. Whatever your physical fitness routine is now, maintain it. Don't start adding miles in anticipation of being beat to shit in the Academy. This is how you end up over trained and injured.

    IF you have no physical fitness program in place then obviously, get one, stick to it and ensure that it is a progressive program to build a functional athlete.

    Cardio vascular health and endurance is important, being able to run fifteen miles at a blistering pace is worthless if you have nothing left in the tank. A foot chase is fantastic right up until the point that you catch the dude and you realize you're weak and tired.

    Compound lifts with TONS of stretching.
    Low impact cardio via a bicycle to get the heart going.
    Run a few times a week or whatever your body is physically capable of withstanding.
    Brazilian Jui-Jitsu for the endurance aspect and SOME skills you may be able to use, policy allowing.

    Killing yourself to get into the best shape of your life for the Academy is a waste of time UNLESS you maintain this and continue to exceed whatever standards you set forth after you get hired and you're on the job. Be REALISTIC. You MUST maintain.

  6. #16
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    Texas
    Shaving the night before in place of every morning is a poor idea. If you can afford it, a 2nd pair of boots may be a good idea. Rotating them will allow one pair to remain dry. One may take shine easier than the other. Extra socks would be convenient.

    In my corrections experience, I noticed that the profession has more than its share of tattle tales and complainers. Nobody likes either, especially snitches. If I were in any training or academy class, I would not volunteer any information on another student regardless of his offense. Some adults--like kids--swell up to show displeasure when offended. That's a bad sign.

    You will do well. The fact that you have been succesful in another field
    is a good sign. That you can follow directions and keep your mind on tasks is another. I suggest taking an old school dictionary and a few legal pads with you.

  7. #17
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Location
    Dallas
    To echo, stay off social media.

    The only acceptable place to drink is at home, that's if you can drink at home and not get into with your old lady. If you can't, just don't drink. If you and the old lady have a "volatile" relationship, find a non-murderous way to fix that or move out. If you don't have an old lady, keep your dick in you pants. That'll save you from 99% of the pre-hire pitfalls.

    You have advantage over most cops/future cops. You have truly universal job skills, if police work just ain't your thing, you can go back to being a lineman. They are in short supply everywhere. Try to end things on a good note with your current employer, and keep your certifications, tools and gear.

    Try to read a book for at least 2 hours a day, it'll help develop study skills. I doesn't need to be police related material, but it needs uninterrupted reading time.
    Whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right.

  8. #18
    Site Supporter SeriousStudent's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Quote Originally Posted by txdpd View Post
    To echo, stay off social media.

    The only acceptable place to drink is at home, that's if you can drink at home and not get into with your old lady. If you can't, just don't drink. If you and the old lady have a "volatile" relationship, find a non-murderous way to fix that or move out. If you don't have an old lady, keep your dick in you pants. That'll save you from 99% of the pre-hire pitfalls.

    You have advantage over most cops/future cops. You have truly universal job skills, if police work just ain't your thing, you can go back to being a lineman. They are in short supply everywhere. Try to end things on a good note with your current employer, and keep your certifications, tools and gear.

    Try to read a book for at least 2 hours a day, it'll help develop study skills. I doesn't need to be police related material, but it needs uninterrupted reading time.
    Seriously, that sounds like excellent advice for anyone.

  9. #19
    Site Supporter Hambo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
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    Behind the Photonic Curtain
    Quote Originally Posted by Magsz View Post
    As far as gear goes, don't buy anything until the Academy tells you to do so.
    Great point. At some point after academy classes started I used to see young dudes in the local gun shops trying to ditch an almost new pistol and 070 holster because 1) their department didn't use either 2) nobody hired them even though they went to academy 3) they didn't make it through.
    "Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA

  10. #20
    Thank you to everyone for the advice, it is greatly appreciated!

    Since my last post, they have completed my background investigation and I completed and passed my polygraph. The final two things I have to do are psychological evaluation and medical physical, then it will be up to the Merit Board as to wether I get on the department.

    I was able to get last years code law book and have begun reading that and my buddy that is currently on the department has given me a lot of good info about what to expect in the academy. As far as working out, here is what my workout routine looks like now:

    Sun/Tues/Thurs
    Run 1.5 miles
    Bench Press
    Curls
    Push Ups
    Fly's
    Pull Ups
    Squats

    Mon/Wed
    Run or ride stationary bike

    Prior to this I was lifting 3-4 days a week and not doing much of any cardio. I was doing close to max weight on all barbell lifts (squat/deadlift/bench/OH press) but, decided that lower weight and higher reps might be better and I needed a change anyways.

    Hopefully all goes well and I will be starting after the 1st of the year!

    Thanks again to everyone

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