Becoming a Police Officer

Cop shows have always been a staple of prime-stime television. Modern hit shows like The Wire, The Shield, Law & Order, and CSI continue to bring visibility and an air of excitement and glamor to the profession.  Police work is a great career to get involved with, as work is always steady, benefits are good, and the job is never dull. If you are interested in exploring a career as a police officer, there are certain steps to take before you can be sworn in as a civil servant dedicated to protecting the public and preserving the peace.

It’s important to get an education, at least a high school diploma which is required by all police departments looking for new recruits. If you have a college degree in criminal justice studies, all the better for you to be selected for police officer training, because you will already have some background in such areas as psychology, law, computers and technology, subjects which police officers deal with on the job daily.

Police officer candidates must be very physically and mentally fit and often must pass rigorous physical and psychological testing prior to being accepted.

If you participated in team sports, or are still involved in athletic activities in your community, all the better. Police departments whether urban or rural also require a background check to determine if you have any criminal violations or reports of drug use in the past because good morals as well as good common sense are essential qualities for any successful police officer.

Check with the police department you want to join to find out about their next civil service exam offering which is a requirement for recruitment. Some departments only offer the exam when they have job openings, still others offer civil service exams on a regular basis to have a ready pool of applicants handy. There are several study guides on the market which will help you to pass this exam with flying colors.

A physical exam to test your vision, hearing, strength and overall agility is the next hurdle in the acceptance process, along with a drug test and lie detector test, followed up by one-on-one screening interviews.

Once accepted into a program, you will participate in police academy training, which usually lasts anywhere between three months and 12 months in order for you to study and be exposed to the wide array of duties and challenges that involve becoming a police officer. Even after graduation, learning never ends for a successful police officer, with ongoing seminars and courses offered to help officers remain on the cutting edge of law enforcement techniques.