Hello again Dear Readers! How is everybody doing? It’s time for another installment in the saga that is Copcorner.net. This week I thought I would address some more things that are important if you’re shopping for a job in law enforcement. This kind of follows up on a few of the general points that I made in my last post. Since I know that countless agencies have job openings, and many squared away or about to be squared away readers will be looking into these opportunities, I thought it would be very timely to go into depth on just how to market yourself to a police agency. These are some of the things over which you have direct control as the applicant and how you can make yourself look a little better than the next guy or gal. So, read on and I hope these points will help you!
Once you commit to seriously pursuing a job in law enforcement, you can begin to decide on other possible courses of action. As stated in my previous post, working in law enforcement is very physical work. Therefore, the first thing that you need to do is put together a realistic physical regimen for yourself. If you haven’t been engaging in regular physical exercise for some time, then maybe a visit to your personal doctor first would be a good idea. Let him know that a new goal of yours is to prepare for a rigorous physical approach to your work life and solicit his suggestions. Areas of concern for most people would be the lower back, knees and shoulders. These are the body parts where most injuries occur over the course of a career. I know firsthand as my lower back gives me grief every day!
After consulting with your doctor, buy yourself very good running shoes. This is important because you will be spending a considerable amount of time in your running shoes and they better do the job from day one. Personally, I used to be a Nike guy years ago but now I run in nothing but NewBalance. I have chosen NewBalance because I consider them experts in designing durable running shoes. That’s all they do and I think they do it the best.
Check out your present shoes. Look at the soles and figure out how they are wearing. This will tell you what your feet and legs are doing when you run. Visit your local specialty running store and have them analyze your stride. That way you can look for the best shoe for the way your foot impacts the ground. Also pick up some running gear that wicks away sweat as you run. Personally, I hate running in sweat soaked gear. There is some great new stuff on the market that is good for this and not very expensive. With the proper shoes and updated gear, you should be comfortable when you run. Good start!
A beginning to moderate running schedule will do wonders for your mental outlook. You will feel better about yourself and you’ll start to get that feeling of accomplishment. If you need to drop weight, you’ll begin to see results if you can be consistent. I know, it can be tough but take the first steps (you already have!) and stay with it. You’ll see yourself as a can do person instead of a can’t do one.
Okay, so you’re running. What now? Stick to basics which directly translate to doing the job. On the days that you don’t run, begin doing pull ups, push ups and sit ups. Again, there are ways to start slowly if you haven’t been active. For pull ups, you can place a chair back beneath and slightly in front of you. This will allow you to brace yourself with one foot while you pull yourself up to the bar. Don’t worry, you’ll still have to exert yourself plenty, but it will make something that is very hard and discouraging at first become very doable and fun. The chair assist will also allow you to vary your grips and widths on the bar. This will allow you to work a variety of muscle groups.
For your push ups, I recommend using handles instead of doing them flat on the floor. The handles protect the wrists from injury and also allow for a deeper range of motion. The handles make the classic push up more strenuous. Again, you can vary your hand placement, either narrow or wide, to fatigue different muscles. Use any kind of handles that you like. The ones I use cost me about $15 and should be indestructable. Not a big investment.
For sit ups, I do something a little unique. I use one of those big rubber balls and do my sit ups while maintaining my balance on top if it. I accomplish two things this way. First, I better isolate my abs instead of using lower back muscles which are involved in the classic sit up. Second, I improve core strength and balance because I have to maintain a position of balance on top of the ball while doing the movements. Basically, the rubber ball just supports my core area while I execute the sit up.
So I’m here to tell you that if you run, do pull ups, push ups and sit ups consistently at the beginning, after a few weeks and months, you will feel great! And remember, don’t overdue things. Keep the work periods between 30-60 minutes a day to start. But do them! Stay consistent and it will pay off. Try three runs a week along with three days of exercises, then take Sunday off. Even if you’re feeling energized, don’t increase the workload right away. Take the time to regrow the muscle fibers that your exercising is breaking down. This recovery time is just as important as doing the work. Overtraining is a very common, avoidable mistake that usually leads to injury and time lost.
Keep your goal in mind: to consistently improve your physical fitness in preparation for an academy and many years of police work. Don’t rush it in the beginning! You have months and years to get where you want to be.
What next? What do you think you should be doing next? How about variations of the following. Either enroll in a couple of junior college courses for A.J. (Administration of Justice) or law. Most local colleges offer these basic courses and you can either take them for general education and job knowledge or you can make them core classes toward a two year degree. Now, I know that many of you are probably working, you may have youngsters at home and have a full life already.
Remember, these are just suggestions on how to look good and sell yourself. At the very least, start reading about law enforcement in your spare time. Start becoming familiar with the language, tactics and requirements that the job brings. The first book that I read was “Street Survival” by Caliber Press. The follow up book is “The Tactical Edge”. While they both have some very difficult pictures of murdered officers, they both contain a wealth of basic knowledge for the law enforcement applicant. I consider them to be “must reads”. You should be able to find them in most uniform stores and in most major book stores. I would think that Amazon also sells them. Shouldn’t be hard to find.
This reading will serve yet another purpose. In this day and age, many people don’t read on a consistent basis. Because of this, their basic knowledge of grammar, spelling and proper punctuation are lacking. Reading will improve each of these. This is important because all agencies test for basic knowledge of the english language. So again, figure out what works for you and brush up on your basic english skills if you need to. This is something that you shouldn’t overlook.
What do you think so far? All very doable things, right? Basic preparation for your chosen profession, regardless of what area of law enforcement you choose. If you start doing these things today, or as soon as you make the decision to enter law enforcement, you will have a good foundation upon which to build. You will establish the necessary habits to successfully compete for a job opening, perform well in an academy and begin to build job skills as a working member of law enforcement.
Remember, it’s up to you! Just like it was up to me twenty some years ago. I made it and you can too! Stick with me here at Copcorner.net because I will be pursuing this train of thought on what to do to get hired. There is a lot for you to know and I hope to provide a reliable source of information. I have this theory. I like to believe that there are thousands of young people out there who want to be squared away and have rewarding, responsible careers serving in their communities. I have formed this theory because I have personally met many like you during my years of working the streets. So check out the info that I present here and let me know what you would like me to discuss in future postings.
We’re just getting started here but I hope that Copcorner.net will play a huge role in bringing good, prepared applicants to agencies in need all over the country. Stay tuned…
All the best,
Tim
Today I will begin discussing many of the things that a person must do to get hired by a police agency. Sure, you could skip a few of these but in my opinion a prospective new hire would then lessen his/her chances to be an attractive job candidate for law enforcement. As with any of my articles, I’ll throw the information out there and you decide how you want to utilize it. Also, keep in mind that, even though most agencies have many job openings to fill, things haven’t reached the point yet where just anybody will be hired. Once you enter the candidate pool, you are competing. In order to prevail (get hired) you must look better than the next person, in many significant areas. So, if you think that you have what it takes, read on!
My number one, above all others, is understand the importance of and commitment needed to work in law enforcement. As I’ve said in prior articles, no other profession (except our fine military) comes with a higher calling than law enforcement. Each year, on average over one hundred peace officers lose their lives doing this type of work. A peace officer loses his life somewhere in the United States on the average of every two and a-half days. Many others are injured in the line of duty, frequently shortening careers. These statistics have many causes (which I will break down in future articles). Just think about what I have just written and think about it good. If you’re hired, you’ll swear an oath to protect the public from all dangers foreign and domestic. In a typical career there will be many moments when the potential for making the ultimate sacrifice will occur. Thank goodness, it isn’t every day. When you are confronted with these moments, you cannot go back or hesitate. That could cost you your life or your partner’s or some victim’s. You have to have this part thought out before taking any steps toward entering the profession. If you haven’t resolved this within yourself, it will be readily apparent during the hiring process.
And remember what I’ve already said about the b.s. Hollywood image of law enforcement. They don’t portray this work anywhere near accurately. Don’t think things will be like you see them on TV. You’ll be in for a tremendous shock. This is where all pretense is stripped bare and you are operating in the open on the streets of America, confronting all comers. You have to know what you’re doing at all times, and why you’re doing it. Your actions and sometimes inactions will impact numerous other lives in countless ways. This game is for keeps, all time keeps. If you want to be a cop, you must understand this and much more. Enough for now.
My number two is know yourself well and be honest with yourself about whether you’re mature enough to be a cop. This work is not for everybody, that’s for sure. The police officer is the first level of government, and is the guarantor of everything. Without that officer on the beat, society would degenerate into chaos and anarchy. It would be impossible to carry on commerce, educate the population and maintain a system of representative government. The street cop enforces the laws enacted by the people and affirmed by the courts. Once again, something very heavy to think about. Do you have what it takes to represent our system of government and equally apply our laws to all segments of society? Has your personal life reflected a respect for law and order or have you constantly bent the rules to suit your own ends? Do you truly respect American society and the way it is organized for the common good? Can you fully understand that your ultimate boss as a cop are the many citizens that you will come in contact with every day? Obviously, you have to think about these things, and many others, before you take the first steps to begin the hiring process.
Without the proper mind set and mature thinking, the potential for public embarrasment is sky high. Officers who engage in misconduct or who operate with a sense of entitlement that they are above the law will eventually get caught. There is no doubt about it. With everybody carrying camera phones and other recording devices nowdays, your verbal and physical conduct are open to constant scrutiny. If you think that you’re going to behave in an unprofessional or unlawful manner and consistently get away with it, you are sadly mistaken.
Misconduct on the part of law enforcement personnel always leads to a loss of public confidence and paints us all in a bad light. The reality is the public does not differentiate between cops here or there. If someone is caught doing wrong, we’re all thought to be guilty. Even though it’s wrong, I think that it’s just human nature to say “Ah, they’re all like that!” Believe me, if you experience this during your career, you’ll be genuinely offended by this tag and you’ll be pretty pissed off at the officers who caused the embarrasment that you feel. Understand who you are, what you believe in and your motives for pursuing this career ahead of time.
Third on my list is familiarize yourself with the city, agency and work environment that you prefer to work in. Today’s job candidate has many choices. There is federal, state, county and local law enforcement. There are special cops such as school district, airport or port police. There are custody jobs. Each level, be it federal or local, have various types of jobs, such as narcotics enforcement (DEA), alcohol, tobacco and firearms (ATF), national and international investigations (FBI and CIA) and many many more. They all have their unique niche in the law enforcement landscape and yet they also seem to overlap. So, think this part if it through also. Where do you want to work, what part of the country, doing what type of enforcement? Wanna chase drug dealers, weapons violators, terrorists (oh yeah!), illegal aliens, smugglers or other common criminals? Are you willing to relocate after being offered a job and trained up? Are you willing to move your residence every few years?
Or, are you more like me? Do you want to make your own neighborhood as safe as possible? Do you want to confront and try to solve problems closer to home? I had the pleasure of serving on a drug task force many years ago and really enjoyed it. I worked with officials on both the federal and state level and gained a ton of respect for them and the job they do. It was a kick! However, I knew that I wanted to return to my agency and apply that new knowledge and skills in my own neighborhood. My team was highly successful and helped curb the drug problem on a much larger scale, some of which directly benefitted my city. I feel very fortunate to have had that several year look at another level of law enforcement. So take a good look around and decide which type of police work really turns you on! There’s something for everybody!
Number four: prepare yourself physically. Now, you’re wondering, do I really have to mention this one? You betchya. Just take a look around at our society today. What do you see? The reality is that a significant percentage (between 40 and 60 percent according to the experts) of adults today are semi-obese or obese. Does this describe you? It may, and you don’t need to feel ashamed but you do need to do something about it, probably before seeking employment. Once again, be honest with yourself.
Here are several measures to use when assessing your needs in this area. What is my overall appearance? Is my weight in proportion to my height? In police work, the first level of force usage is when the officer arrives on scene and gets out of the police car. This is the first glimpse that the public gets of you and it is your first opportunity to exert force or control. If the officer is relatively fit, not overweight, has some muscularity and tone, and looks like he/she has pride in themself and can take care of business, that officer will gain compliance and a measure of respect before the first word is spoken. That is your first measure, the classic first impression, which means a great deal more in police work. I’m not saying that you have to look like a model on the cover of “Muscle and Fitness” but you shouldn’t be ashamed to take your t-shirt off at the beach either, know what I mean? I’m talking about an above average level of fitness here. That will mean something different for each job candidate.
Your second measure is your level of cardio fitness. Without a doubt, this is the most important. How efficiently your body works under stress, how you control your heart rate and respiration and how fast you recover from bursts of high exertion are all very important to surviving day to day in this environment. Again, do I expect to see “Lance Armstrong” types coming through the personnel door every day? Of course not. But whatever you do to prepare, emphasize the cardio value to your routine. I will devote a complete upcoming article to preparing physically for law enforcement, so expect more detailed info here soon!
Lastly, work on upper body strength. This is very simple. Start doing pull ups and push ups regularly. Also work in sit ups. There are numerous ways to do each of these exercises so do the ones that you like. Again, I will share my favorites with you in an upcoming article.
Drop some easy weight right up front, unless you’re skinny and need to put on some muscle. This can be done by immediately increasing water intake, cutting out soft drinks and sugars, and decreasing your meal portions by half. Believe me, in a week you will feel a big difference. You can also consider using commercial products (many are safe!) for the purpose of colon cleansing which will take a few fast pounds off. But don’t go nuts and do something drastic. Remember that moderation and consistency are the keys. Check in with your doctor and advise him of your plan to reshape your body. Make changes for the long term that you are comfortable with and can stick to. After a week or two, you will see results and should want to keep going, revising goals and feeling good along the way. Again, more on this in the near future.
The fifth and last point for today boys and girls is mentor up with a current member of law enforcement. There is no better way to see if you fit in than to get to know and hang around with someone doing the job. This can be done through friends (everybody knows someone who knows someone who knows a cop), or go to your local police station and inquire how to become a volunteer, cadet or explorer (depending on age). This will give you an entree into the law enforcement world that the public doesn’t see. You’ll begin to see reality and you will enter the employment pipeline, whether you choose to work there or somewhere else. This step is a large one in many respects. You’ll be up close and personal with us, be able to ask your questions, see everyday public servants handle high stress problems and keep going on to the next ones. Developing a mentoring relationship will be one of the most important things that you do toward entering a very demanding field. Do not underestimate this one!
Well, there’s a lot of food for thought for some of you. As I’ve said, I will expound on some of these points in future posts. Sorry, I can’t explain everything in one article. Besides, my fingers are aching! This typing is hard work!
All kidding aside, I love doing this. I’m proud to have had a fulfilling career and I’m happy to be able to share what little I can pass on to the next generation of cops. I don’t consider myself an expert in any of these, but by now I know what works. Sometimes, serving as a kind of sign post is just as important as being the road. All I ask is that you think about what I have written and consider it when you make your decisions. I want to make Copcorner.net a reliable resource and a no b.s. place to go for the right stuff.
I intend to start increasing the frequency of my writings so the site will become more interesting. Check back frequently for all the latest and greatest. I welcome your comments and will try to respond to questions from you in a timely dialog. Stay tuned, there’s much more to come on Copcorner.net!
All the best, Tim
Today I am going to discuss one example of our biggest nightmare. My readers living in Southern California have probably heard about this incident. Those of you around the country may be reading of this for the first time here. This is not the topic that I had planned to discuss today. However, one goal of mine is to make this website topical, that is, I will discuss events as they happen and this one is definitely worthy of examination. I hope those of you already doing the job will understand the issues presented herein, and I hope that you casual readers or those planning to enter my profession will get an honest look inside of a high stress event.
Bear in mind that I was on duty when this event occurred. It actually began just as my shift was starting. So for the first four and a half hours of my workday, I was consumed by what was happening to the El Segundo Police Department, a very well respected agency in So Cal. It was a Friday night, around 10:20 pm. El Segundo has some fine entertainment zones which draw thousands on Friday night and the weekends. The weather was warm and it was the last Friday night of Spring Break. Many people were out and about all over the beach cities. This one was no different.
One of their theater complexes, the Pacific Beach Cities Stadium 16, was very crowded. Other nearby attractions include P.F.Chang’s and McCormick and Schmick’s restaurants. They were both crowded as well as other adjacent nightspots. This area was flooded with both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Two nearby multi-story parking garages were filled nearly to capacity. You get the idea, a few thousand people in a concentrated area.
Typically, under these conditions, not everyone can play in the sandbox together. A fight broke out in the theater and security called the police. It should be noted that the El Segundo Police Department takes the preventative approach and assigns two uniformed officers to work this location during the busiest time periods. They were nearby when the call came from security. For those of us who have done this job for any length of time, we have responded to calls like this many dozens of times. I sure have, having worked a major shopping center with a theater complex for many years. No big deal, an everyday call. The combatants have been separated and as the officers approach security there is one subject with them who was apparently involved in the fight. The officers direct this subject to the lobby area with the usual intent of ushering the subject outside and possibly sending him home.
The two officers determine that this subject needs to be patted down for weapons. I do not know the specifics here but, as I say I have been in this situation dozens of times. In some of my experiences, there were only one or two of us and at others, there were five or six. No difference, you still have to be on your toes at a moment like this. The subject is anticipating physical contact from you and may even be looking around to gauge your resolve, competence and position or may be looking for signs of weakness or indecisiveness. They know that a confrontation is about to occur and they are planning for it, believe me.
The officers apparently were going by the book and informed this subject that they intended to conduct a patdown for weapons. Apparently there was a verbal refusal by this subject and then he suddenly acted. Our biggest nightmare, without a doubt. The officers found themselves reacting to a split second close quarters gunfight, the kind that the experts tell us occur all the time in police work. Quick, close and lethal. A life or death moment. Kill or be killed. No other way to put it.
This subject pulled out a handgun and fired at both officers. An incredible advantage goes to he who gets off the first round. On the officers part, an incredible moment of heroism unfolded. As numerous rounds were fired, both officers were hit. One officer is hit in a shoulder and the other officer, a lieutenant, is struck in the jaw. Both hits could be potentially fatal, and have proven to be in the past. Incredibly, as their will to survive and their firearms training take over, both officers fire back numerous times. Their rounds cause fatal wounds in the suspect and he is killed at the scene.
As if the shock and anger at being shot by an armed assailant wasn’t enough, the lieutenant is able to get on his radio, put out the “shots fired, officers down” broadcast and get the cavalry rolling to them. He does this with a shattered jaw and blown away teeth. Unbeknownst to him, the bullet has lodged in the rear of his neck, near his spinal cord and arteries. Thank God that the shooter is lying dead in front of the theater complex, no longer an ongoing public threat. These officers did their job magnificently while almost paying the ultimate price to protect the public.
To any of you reading this who contemplate becoming a police officer, I have one question. Could you or would you risk physical injury or death to protect the public or your partner from an armed, determined criminal like this one? There is no doubt in my mind that these two El Segundo Police Department officers are heroes based on their decisive actions while confronting this lethal public threat. This is just one example, among hundreds of others, of the common everyday officer fulfilling his solemn oath and putting his life on the line for others. As the saying goes, “There is no greater sacrifice…”
I’m sure that you understand why I am not including any names of those involved in this shooting. As there is and will be an ongoing after shoot investigation, I don’t feel at liberty to put that info in here. I will defer to the agencies involved to release information as they see fit. It is also not my place to pick apart the subsequent responses by the surrounding agencies (which was very rapid and overwhelming) or the after action issues related to the missions handled by those responding agencies. Maybe I’ll discuss some of those points in a week or two, when the dust settles, but not now.
This moment belongs to those two courageous officers and a deep concern for their medical care. I’m sure that if you had the chance to speak to them they would tell you that they were just doing their job, as they’ve done it on countless other busy Friday nights. But this one was different, wasn’t it? So very different. In the least, possibly life changing.
As you know, I’ve done this job for many years. It never escapes you, that is, the thought of “will it be my turn tonight?” or “will some desperate criminal try to take my life or my partner’s in the next few hours?” If you don’t think about it, you aren’t practicing the hypervigilance that the job requires and someone might get the drop on you. It’s like skating on the edge. Will I get pushed over that edge tonight?
If you’re thinking about coming into police work, you had better think these issues through. Along with our fine military, there is no profession in society with higher stakes. You could potentially pay with your life. Understand that, very well. If you just want to look good in a uniform or enjoy free coffee once in a while, go do something else. I mean it. Not everyone is capable of heroism and understanding the will to live.
As I mentioned, there are many other aspects to an OIS (officer involved shooting) worthy of discussion. I promise you that I will talk about them in the near future. These type of incidents are the best way to learn to do better in the future, to better blend inter-agency assets at a critical time and place. So be patient, I’ll get to them. But for now, say some prayers. Pray for these officers and their families and pray that something like this never happens again.
We’ll chat again shortly. As always, thanks for visiting copcorner.net.
Tim