Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

In California, do you attend the Academy before or after being hired? I notice that you don't have o be a cop to go there. So, if it doesn't matter when, would it be a plius to already be POST-certified?

Think about it from an employer's view... would you rather hire someone you cant use for about 5 months who has to go to the academy, or would you rather hire someone who has completed the academy and is ready to hit the road?

You can pay your own way through the academies that will let you, this will get you CA-POST certified so you can get hired on with an agency. Many states are like this where potential applicants are desired to have already gotten their certs before being hired. However; some states; such as the one I'm in, require agency sponsorships in order to attend any academy.

I know in my area many smaller agencies are requiring that you be certified before you apply. Not only do they get use out of you right away then, but it also saves them money. Whereas its costing me about $3,400 to go through the academy it would cost a department about $10,000 ($3,400 plus salary). So needless to say they prefer certification. Also in my state (ohio) you get a 10% credit on your civil service exam for having completed the academy.

Rumor is that self sponsored recruits are treated differently in the academy. The DI's are more strict since you have more to prove compared to the ones who were sponsored and already went through the 6-12 months of backgrounds and hoop jumping to be hired by a pd. The DI's know that a lot of these self sponsored recruits have tried to apply but for some reason or another were not hired (not all but a lot). This is how it is in my surrounding agencies, I'm sure it's different everywhere else.

I see. Well thanks for the help, all!

iam in my 2nd week 28 to go , and thank god this dept not only hires you first, but all benefits and salary are paid from day one! :)