Ride-along inquiry.

[Country_boy396]

As most of you know, I am a freshman in college, majoring in criminal justice. When would be a good time to ask about local ride-along policies, and/or to ask about going out in the feild with an officer?

Will it be considered premature or advisable to go early on in my education to see if police work is all I have heard that it is?

Also, could someone (who has been the officer in charge) give me a breif outline of what a ride-along consists of?

Any intelligent answers for these questions will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

[scott715us]

As most of you know, I am a freshman in college, majoring in criminal justice. When would be a good time to ask about local ride-along policies, and/or to ask about going out in the feild with an officer?

Will it be considered premature or advisable to go early on in my education to see if police work is all I have heard that it is?

Also, could someone (who has been the officer in charge) give me a breif outline of what a ride-along consists of?

Any intelligent answers for these questions will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

Somtimes ride-a-longs certain depts require the rider to be a specific age, particularly 21. If you are already interested in riding, inquire with the agency you want to do the ride-a-long with to see what the age requirements are, among other things. I would say go ahead and ride when you get a chance. This will probably give you a good idea if you are truly interested in becoming an LEO.

I have had riders from colleges that my Captain has put along with me. Usually you will want to ask the officer specific questions about the job, maybe why he/she got into the field, patrol questions, war stories, etc. The depts usually have a release of liability form that you will have to sign before riding and sometimes have separate forms to know what to expect during the ride, what to wear etc. If I have missed out on something, post another thread. Hope this helps. ;)

[JD45]

Will it be considered premature or advisable to go early on in my education to see if police work is all I have heard that it is?

If you're questioning if you should go into law enforcement because you think it might be different than what what you have perceived, then by all means go on a ride-a-long to really find out. If your taking CJ classes to help build a LE career and then you go on a ride-a-long now and find you don't like it, at least you can change your course of study now instead of later..

[Country_boy396]

Thank you all very much, I know the ride along questions are done to death, just worded differently. I am glad that there are people in the world who are willing to offer support to wannabes. Thanks again.