NYPD Questions

[Police101]

I have an associates degree in computers but that field is kind of dead, and I have decided to explore other areas. I have always had an interest in law enforcement, and at 24 have applied to the PD. I am not a citizen which will prevent from becoming an officer. I can however become a cadet. I have one previous moving violation (No Seat Belt) in 1999. I have experimented with marijuana in the past but no longer smoke. I disclosed this information on the initial application - and I know many an officer have tried in the past. One of the officers told me, "It's up to the Captain now." The captain?? Not Sgt. or Lt? Have to call my BI on friday and don't think I'll have all paperwork done. What kind of pressing questions will they ask about the usage & people I smoked with?

I have to take the physical eventually and am not currently in the best physical shape. I'm wondering if I should withdraw and sign up again in the future. I don't want to get DQ'd for any reason. The LE process is such a rollercoaster!

Previous employment - had 2 serious jobs since HS. 1st one was 4 years, left on unfriendly terms. 2nd was 1 year & had a few arguments w/a co-worker. He was a "pric" in my opinion, always pushing & the boss seemed to support him. Once I told her I was quitting, she took on a hostile attitude towards me. I'm worried about what kind of reference she'll give me. What happens at the Medical examination? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[metallicat]

You should only apply once you feel confident that you can pass all the portions of the hiring process. Good luck.

[siberianexpress]

Are you not a US citizen?That will hinder you in most if not all cases.

[911]

That's not accurate, there are plenty of depts you can apply to, (just not in NY) but I'm assuming you have only a few yrs to wait to get citizenship?

[hwpd]

San Diego PD wil hire non citizens yet, who are legally in US, and have applied for citizenship prior to application for emplayment.

Quote from their web site...
San Diego PD, Clifornia
Citizenship: U.S. citizenship or permanent resident alien who is eligible and has applied for U.S. citizenship prior to application for employment.

[HamptonTravels5]

Police101, nobody is perfect, we all made mistakes in our lives and any PD that looks for perfect people will probably have much trouble hiring many. We all did something in our past that we are worried would disqualify us, but my advice is that if you really, really want to be a cop, don't let a few past instances stop you from applying. You just might be surprised at what happens.

Of course, if you're not a US citizen, that will definitely disqualify you, but there are departments that will give residence restrictions such as living within the city you'll serve. And some departments, like the Philadelphia PD, could require you to be a resident of that city BEFORE you're hired and other departments wouldn't care as long as you become a resident of their cities after you're hired. So, if some departments are strict as to where you'll live before you're hired, then they would be more so if you're not a U.S. citizen, in which case your concern should be more about not getting deported than on getting a job :-)

Keep in mind that all departments are different, some more picky than others. Some may say that you shouldn't have used drugs in the past, let's say, three years before hired, some may say three months before hired, and some may be VERY loose on the drug restriction. (Chesapeake, VA, police department would hire people who are currently in a drug rehibilitation program. Now that's being loose, don't you think??) If a department is really needy of officers, it may not be too strict in the hiring process (Portsmouth, VA, PD had the easiest application that I ever filled out!) Then you got those places that may be hiring, but are not in a big need to have officers, so they could afford to be stricter...at least in my theory :-)

As for the physical agility test, again, every department is different. The Gainesville, FL, department simply had an obstacle course that you had to complete and it wasn't even timed. The general idea was to not take forever to complete it. Hampton, VA, department's ''sweat test'' wasn't too difficult, except for the sprinting and I was told that the Norfolk, VA, police department's sweat test was easier. Richmond, VA's was a bit on the traditional side, push-up's, sit-up's, stretching, and a 1.5-mile run. Atlanta's is also on the traditional side too, but whereas Richmond wanted you to do 40 push-up's in one minute, Atlanta just wanted you to do about 20ish in about one minute.

So, again, it just simply depends on the departments, so don't get discouraged, buddy. Apply anyway and see what would happen. I saw on jobs4police.net that on January 10th, there will be a police fair in Parsippany, NJ and you could apply to a number of positions all over the country. All you need is a few copies of your resume. If you're in NYC and have a car, it looks like that West I-80 would take you there. Call 1-866-308-TEST for more information and to register (it cost $20) or visit www.jobs4police.net.

But also have this in mind that on certain applications, you'll see a section where you would be asked to lists all the departments you applied to. I didn't know why a department would care about that, but one investigator in Hampton told me that he liked to see if a person applied to a few places because it shows that being a cop is something that you're serious in becoming. If you're serious in police work, apply everywhere :-) One thing you could show that's attracted is that you're serious in police work.

Hopefully, this helps :-)

[siberianexpress]

Hey, there's only about 32,110 people signed up for the Feb. NYPD test, but only half are expected to show....16,000...well, that's MUCH better.......the up side is they are probably looking for about 1,000 recruits, so if you think about it, it isn't that bad.

[aopena70s]

The physical agility is not that hard so do not stress too much about it. Since you are not in your best shape, just remember to stick your toes into the chain link fence and kick yourself up. The reason I am bring that up is because I have seen a lot of people waste valuble time on climbing over the first fence. As for the 1.5 mile run all you have to do is just pace yourself.

Expect to spend the whole day at Lefrak Plaza for the medical exam. Wearing proper business attire is very important, trust me. You will start off with filling out a stack of paperwork (forms, statements, notices and etc.) After all the paperwork is done you will stand in line to take a exam, for example: vision test, after that you will stand in line for another test for example: hearing test. This process will continue until you have completed all the required exams. Oh and before I forget, there is no more pissing in a cup for the drug test, they only need 120 strands of your hair. Hope the hair on your head is longer than an inch. If not then your arms, legs, chest, or worst case scenario pubes will be shaved.