Questions about academy preferences...

[armydiver]

Hello,
It has been many months since I have posted on here. I am still in Afghanistan for a few months but will be returning in the near future. Upon my return, I will be finishing school and possibly attending the academy. I am looking to go to school in the Florida Keys. (I've spent entirely too much time in the desert during the last 8 years) The school I am going to (FKCC) has an academy. I will be going for multiple degrees (both are associates) as to not put all my eggs in one basket. Now that the background is set, my questions are:

Do departments show preference to certain academies over others? I'm sure many people feel that their academy has better training or produces the best officers but, do the hiring agencies have a tendency to lean toward a certain academy? Be it the local one or a specific preference for an academy in that state.

Secondly, Is there a time limit on the certification? Meaning, is there a set amount of time that you must apply and be hired after completing the academy? My reason for asking is, I am hoping to try my hand in the SCUBA industry as I am an avid diver. This is not a very high paying job and can be very difficult to make a carreer out of. It is however a love of mine that I would like to pursue. Law enforcement being a very close second. I will be going to school using my GI Bill and the Criminal Justice program uses the academy as half the credits required to attain the degree. I will hold off on that if there is a time limit on certification.

Finally, Has anyone known someone, or attended the academy themselves at FKCC? If I do go, I want to go to the best possible. Another option is the Broward county academy as I have family that I can stay with while attending. If anyone has attending either academy and can give me information on them I would greatly appreciate it!

As always, thank you for your time and answers!

[CincyCop]

Greetings...

Regarding the second question bullet...I believe that you have a year from state certification to getting hired/sworn at a respective agency in that state...at least that's the way it works in Ohio...Florida may be different. Also, I believe that some states may have reciprocity with other states regarding recognizing certification. The admissions office at FKCC should be able to relay the specifics regarding these matters.

I thank you for your past and continued service to our country...stay safe over there.

[armydiver]

Thank you for the information and kind words. I'll see what the university can tell me. Plus I'm sure a more thorough google search can probably answer that portion of the question. I'll be sure to keep my head down.

[CincyCop]

Hey, no problem.

I have been thinking about your first question regarding academy preferences at LE agencies. I have graduated from two LE academies...the first being a community college academy but shortly after graduation there I was hired by the Cincinnati Police Department and then went through their own academy. There are only three community college academies in this area but I had called several local LE agencies (we have about 45 agencies in metro Cincinnati) to see if a certain one of the three was preferred regarding hiring...there didn't seem to be a preference. I had applied to a handful of the smaller agencies in the local area. I will suggest possibly calling LE agencies that you are interested in (in the future) and ask them about preferences...they may be able to shed some light on the matter. Larger departments will have their own in house academies but to this day I believe that one of the reasons I was hired by Cincinnati was that I had attended the community college academy which showed an genuine interest in an LE career and provided some experience in the LE field (although it was LE training only).



Note: Something else came to mind regarding the one year from certification matter...in Ohio, an individual can go through a short refresher course to extend the certification if that individual is not yet a hired/sworn Officer...I believe the certification refresher is good for a year thus providing additional time to get on with an agency. Florida may have something like this as well.