California law enforcement agencies

[wolve]

I live in New york and over here it seems there are not many lawenforcement opportunities compared to california. Many agencies in New york state tend to only want to hire city residents especially in upstate ny, i noticed in california anyone can test regardless if there residents or not. In my opinion it seems that California might be better place to apply because thats a very large state where many lawenforcement agencies are constantly testing. I have family there and preety much like that state, If i do move out there and apply is it tougher to get into lawenforcement out there compared to the east coast.

[Toeknee112]

I believe that California POST has tougher requirements than some of the East Coast agencies...?

[Stump]

Be careful not to generalize too much, wolve. I live in NY also, and all the departments I know do not require you to live in the city you serve -- just the same county. However, the town pds do not have that requirement, you can live out of the county.

[wolve]

toeknee112, im not sure what you meant. Did you mean the requirements to get into lawenforcement are tougher or that the west coast academys are much tougher than east coast academies

[Toeknee112]

Originally posted by wolve
toeknee112, im not sure what you meant. Did you mean the requirements to get into lawenforcement are tougher or that the west coast academys are much tougher than east coast academies

Sorry, I might have misunderstood your question. Have you already completed the academy from your state? California does not recognize training from other states for first time officers, unless you were already working in LE and were a lateral transfer. This is from the California P.O.S.T. site:

Q: I have completed a basic course in another state, can I transfer my training to California?

A: California POST does not have reciprocity with other states, nor do we have a challenge process. California POST has a Basic Course Waiver (BCW) process for those individuals who want to become California peace officers and have completed a 200-hour-or-longer general law enforcement basic course and have enough additional law enforcement training to meet California POST's 664-hour minimum basic course requirement in specific Learning Domains (areas of instruction). The BCW is a 5-step process that includes a self-evaluation, POST evaluation, written examination, skills component, and issuance of a Waiver letter. Once completed, the BCW process waives the California Basic Course requirement; however, acceptance of the Waiver is at the discretion of the employing agency.

Wolve, Hope this helps and I didn't cause any confusion.

[dizza]

If you currently have a POST Certificate, then getting hired might not be that bad. Now, if you do not have a POST Certificate, you need to apply with every agency just like everyone else out here. LAPD has a 3 day hiring test if you want to test with them, before moving out here. Other than that, most agencies around here spread out the testing dates and interviews over months. Huntington Beach PD took 4 onths to do 5 tests/interviews that was only half way of the hiring process.

And a side not about CA agencies, a lot of them are between a rock and a hard place. Two reasons... 1) The officers that joined up in the 70's, are now retiring, and there are lots of them. 2) The State budget is hurting LE out here. Most agencies are having to leave spots unfilled right now until they know the money will be there to staff the spots opening up.

On the other hand, a local agency I just did a ride-along with is hiring up a lot of guys. They employ 220 sworn personal, 20 of which are out on disability or injuries, and 24 are retiring before the end of the year. That is putting the hurt on the department.

If you are interested in some websites of local pd's, let me know. I live in Orange County, which is just South of LA.

David

[richjorg]

Here is a long list of Police dept links from The CA POST website.

http://www.post.ca.gov/library/other/agency_page.asp

[sbrad]

"They employ 220 sworn personal, 20 of which are out on disability or injuries"
Holy crapola. 10% of their department is out on disability. Can you say hostile work environment? ;)

[dizza]

Scary huh? Some of it was on the duty injuries, mostly hand to hand fights, and the rest was off duty injuries. Playing too hard I guess. If I were the Chief, it would be get your *** back to work or quit. They are just sucking money from the agency, and from what I am told, most of them, if not all, are completely capable to work again.

david