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TX, USA
Posted: 8/28/2024 11:14:33 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Hydro_BxR][Edited]
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I graduated the academy on August 2nd. I recieved high scores throughout the entire academy. Only thing j struggled with was being a fat fuck. I have never been to jail, my record is clean outside of being questioned. I was charged with something in 2017 but it was dropped and expunged the same day. I did normal teenager things as well. So I started applying at some departments, and I'm getting rejected immediately. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'm just told the generic "thank you for your interest but we're going with a different canidate" every single time. I actually applied somewhere yesterday, and got that answer in an email today. I filled out every single thing on my PSH, not leaving a single thing blank. I was honest about my past as well. I made the mistake of not putting the thing that was expunged in my 1st app and was denied because of it. However, ever since that I've just gotten the generic response. My instructor and director at the academy have offered to talk to any department I apply for, but I feel like that would he pointless and was probably just them being nice. At this point I'm feeling like I wasted the last several months of my time as well as all the money I spent to get in there. I live in TX, about an hour away from the DFW and Waco areas. Anyone have any advice? Should I just move on to a different career path? |
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Are you a white male? How old are you? Some places aren't looking to hire older candidates. What the 2017 thing drug related? --- eta I did the academy thing myself as well. It took me seven months after graduation before I got my first job. Then six weeks later I went to a new PD and have been here for 26 years. |
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TX, USA
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Yes I'm a white male. No it was for assault. I called the cops because I got attacked, and they charged me. Saw the judge about 4 hours after, who was pissed and I think fired the officer that arrested me, dropped the charge and expunged it for free. And I am 29 |
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Originally Posted By mojeb21: You ain't telling us something op .. people are hiring like crazy. To get immediate response like that ain't normal. U sure ur packet is filled out correctly? Maybe you typed in ur on drugs.? The classes since 2019 or so have had less than a dozen people in them. There was excitement this year because they were back up to 15. You can hire straight from academy to FTO on the road. Hell, even then they can't keep people. |
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Originally Posted By motoguy: Feels like this. My dept in central MO can't can't find enough people to stay fully staffed. Of course we're a small rural Sheriff office. If you're applying at the larger DFW Metro they may have more stringent requirements...or you may be disqualified by being a WM (only slightly joking). The older guys at my dept talk about the heydays of academy having hundreds of applicants, only 25 or so were picked, after you were hired you had to go to the bull pen (jail) for a year or two before going to the road, etc. The classes since 2019 or so have had less than a dozen people in them. There was excitement this year because they were back up to 15. You can hire straight from academy to FTO on the road. Hell, even then they can't keep people. My class was 6. I've been applying to the smaller departments. I was thinking that may have been the issue. I was a jailer, quit to do the academy, I didn't apply for the county of the jail I worked at because I don't really want to work for them, but maybe I should. I might have a better chance since I worked for them as a jailer. I know a lot of people that went from CO to patrol there. |
| Small departments hire people they know. If they don’t know you it’s much more difficult to get on. Pick an area you want to work and apply for Jailer or TDC and then move up. Moving from TDC to Game Warden or to DPS will be one more academy but it will be easier for you because you have already studied it. Air Guard can be done at the same time as one works for an LE agency. |
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We won’t hire self sponsored recruits but that might be a regional thing. How fat are we talking? What’s your height/weight? Do you interview well? There is either something in your background you aren’t telling us, look so off putting that you aren’t considered, or interview horribly because we are hiring everyone who meets our already lowered standards. |
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Originally Posted By Hydro_BxR: My class was 6. I've been applying to the smaller departments. I was thinking that may have been the issue. I was a jailer, quit to do the academy, I didn't apply for the county of the jail I worked at because I don't really want to work for them, but maybe I should. I might have a better chance since I worked for them as a jailer. I know a lot of people that went from CO to patrol there. Apply where you can get in (ie, your old department), then lateral from there. Or you may just have to move. And are they asking your ethnicity on the application? Put whatever you want. If boys can be girls, white can be black. They can't prove your maternal great grandmother isn't Hispanic or whatever (I pulled that card in college, but it was my grandparents). |
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Originally Posted By Urimaginaryfrnd: .... Better to work for a large department. You can also consider applying to large departments in other states. This is true and it's only been one month. You did not waste your time and money. You provided yourself exposure to the academy process so when you have to complete another one you'll have a leg up over someone coming in with no exposure. My old department looked for a minimum five years with no further law enforcement contract. 2017 assault arrest... I can't call it. |
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Every half-decent sized agency is hiring like crazy and struggling to get enough people to apply. Something is up. You might need to move but there are plenty of agencies that you can make damn good money at that will make it worth it. First, start working on your physical fitness. Just about every agency worth working for is going to have a physical fitness requirement. Second, start working on civil service practice tests to score as high as you can. Most civil service agencies put certified at the top, but do everything you can to put the odds in your favor. |
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Originally Posted By Hydro_BxR: Yes I'm a white male. No it was for assault. I called the cops because I got attacked, and they charged me. Saw the judge about 4 hours after, who was pissed and I think fired the officer that arrested me, dropped the charge and expunged it for free. And I am 29 Yeah no, that's not how that works. |
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Originally Posted By Hydro_BxR: No it was for assault. I called the cops because I got attacked, and they charged me. Saw the judge about 4 hours after, who was pissed and I think fired the officer that arrested me, dropped the charge and expunged it for free. Absolute bull shit story... there, I said it. |
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Originally Posted By Hydro_BxR: Yes I'm a white male. No it was for assault. I called the cops because I got attacked, and they charged me. Saw the judge about 4 hours after, who was pissed and I think fired the officer that arrested me, dropped the charge and expunged it for free. And I am 29 Case in point, they wanted to have 2 Somali officers. Neither one would speak to a female recruit or training staff member. They made exceptions and tried to force them through three times. The last time one of the female recruits was also National Guard with something to prove. I guess during the boxing she took both of them to school, and offered to do it again for both of them at once! They haven't been back. |
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Originally Posted By Hydro_BxR: Yes I'm a white male. No it was for assault. I called the cops because I got attacked, and they charged me. Saw the judge about 4 hours after, who was pissed and I think fired the officer that arrested me, dropped the charge and expunged it for free. And I am 29 25.5 year cop here. Judges can't fire a cop...so that isn't true. In years past, being white could be a hinderance. Nowadays most every agency is hurting and don't care your color because they need qualified people. If you are truly getting rejected immediately then there is something big going on. |
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More to this story we arent getting...? Self described as a"fat f*ck" could mean 6'2" / 280lbs, or it could mean 5'7" / 310lbs... may be the issue, may not be. How old are you? Although looking to hire, most agencies would rather hire for long term career, not just a few years. Young and fresh means more easily molded. Old and stubborn can be a problem for someone just starting out in LE. Every local LE agency is struggling to fill ranks all across the country. Even many state PDs are having problems maintaining numbers... If you are getting rejected right off the bat without even so much as an interview or an initial psych exam, you have something popping up in your background with very little digging. Most likely, there is something with that arrest you haven't mentioned, or it wasn't actually expunged like you think it was. |
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Originally Posted By Hydro_BxR: Yes I'm a white male. No it was for assault. I called the cops because I got attacked, and they charged me. Saw the judge about 4 hours after, who was pissed and I think fired the officer that arrested me, dropped the charge and expunged it for free. And I am 29 Did you have any issues getting on in the jail? |
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Originally Posted By Hydro_BxR: I graduated the academy on August 2nd. I recieved high scores throughout the entire academy. Only thing j struggled with was being a fat fuck. I have never been to jail, my record is clean outside of being questioned. I was charged with something in 2017 but it was dropped and expunged the same day. I did normal teenager things as well. So I started applying at some departments, and I'm getting rejected immediately. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'm just told the generic "thank you for your interest but we're going with a different canidate" every single time. I actually applied somewhere yesterday, and got that answer in an email today. I filled out every single thing on my PSH, not leaving a single thing blank. I was honest about my past as well. I made the mistake of not putting the thing that was expunged in my 1st app and was denied because of it. However, ever since that I've just gotten the generic response. My instructor and director at the academy have offered to talk to any department I apply for, but I feel like that would he pointless and was probably just them being nice. At this point I'm feeling like I wasted the last several months of my time as well as all the money I spent to get in there. I live in TX, about an hour away from the DFW and Waco areas. Anyone have any advice? Should I just move on to a different career path? Dpd/dart. Always hiring |
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Well, if you're a fat fuck you are a liability to their medical and work comp insurance. When I took my FD medical exam I went through all the vision, colorblind test, drug screen, blood draws, xrays, hearing yada, yada yada. I was then told to come back in 2 weeks for for the strength and cardio fit test. Well, I figured I was in so did the burger, pizza, all you can eat pasta, beer etc. 2 weeks later I come back and I get weighed in AGAIN. I'm one pound over and am told I won't be able to continue today. I almost shit myself, I thought I was toast. They let me come back and after a week of eating clean I got through it. What they used back then was a life insurance actuary chart that called out height and weight. I knew a couple guys that had to go get a variance because they were body builder types and their weight was out of proportion to their height. You can do it if you really want it. |
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Originally Posted By Urimaginaryfrnd: In Texas in the 80’s for those who paid their way through the Academy there seemed to be three avenues that worked to get the first Police Job. 1. Reserve Police or Reserve Deputy (unpaid) 2. Jailer 3. Dispatcher. Big departments have their own. Academy, and a long hiring process. Better to work for a large department. One other path is join the Air National Guard as Security Forces . Not only will that get you in shape it will give you experience and will help pay for college. You can also consider applying to large departments in other states. Get your foot in the door. Ears open mouth shut. Air Guard Great advice get your foot in the door especially if you are younger you have to show you are an adult |
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If you are sending in an application and are getting rejected prior to any other steps. You either have a history you aren't telling us about. Or maybe you are ridiculously obese and pulling up your DL photo tells the story. I'll wager fatness might be a factor. Image is extremely important. Yeah, some departments will hire fat/sloppy looking guys. But its not a good look. And its looked down upon big time for a new recruit. I firmly believe cops should be in good shape. And look good in uniform. Your appearance in uniform should portray confidence and command respect. With shift work and especially law enforcement. It is extremely difficult to eat healthy, workout regularly and stay in tip top shape. Chances of you improving your diet/workout routine over time as a cop and getting in better shape is not great. So that means when you arrive to the job. You should be functionally fit. Look good. Smell good. And be competent. To give you a baseline of where you should be physically. I believe as a new police recruit you should be able to run a 1.5 mile in under 15 minutes. You should be able to do 50 pushups or more. You should be able to do 40 situps or more. You should be able to do at least 5 dead hang pull-ups. If you make make those standards. You're a slow runner and you're physically weak. But at least those standards imply you are somewhat trained and have put some kind of effort into being in shape. You may just need to relocate. Most agencies have manpower issues. They are hiring all around the country. |
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Originally Posted By ICEAGE: To give you a baseline of where you should be physically. I believe as a new police recruit you should be able to run a 1.5 mile in under 15 minutes. You should be able to do 50 pushups or more. You should be able to do 40 situps or more. You should be able to do at least 5 dead hang pull-ups. If you make make those standards. You're a slow runner and you're physically weak. But at least those standards imply you are somewhat trained and have put some kind of effort into being in shape. . wow. is that the standard these days? it's been 27 years but when i was taking tests, it was 100 push ups, 100 situps, 1.5 miles in 11.5 minutes. i think. it's been awhile. i know the 1.5 miles in 11.5 minutes was the standard. doubt i can do it anymore. i'm 50 but i can still do the 1.5 miles in 15 minutes. my oldest is 33 and he can still do the 2 miles in 12 minutes. |
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I'm going to go with you are either leaving something out or aren't being honest. If you went through an academy surely you would know that a judge cannot "fire an officer". We can't hire fast enough, and give some of what we've hired recently, I'd say we've lowered standards significantly. Perhaps the fact you can't be forthcoming here is indicative of what part of the issue is. |
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Originally Posted By John-in-austin: The only ways we would dump a candidate as fast as you describe would be either due to active warrants, an involuntary mental commitment or a violent criminal history. What are you not telling us? Ehhh, I'm pretty sure all three of those can get waived in some areas.  One of the academy classes I taught last year had a kid who used to sell drugs, allegedly. He got hired on with a local agency...and honestly is probably a totally fine hire knowing some of the background story. |
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Originally Posted By WesJanson: Ehhh, I'm pretty sure all three of those can get waived in some areas. One of the academy classes I taught last year had a kid who used to sell drugs, allegedly. He got hired on with a local agency...and honestly is probably a totally fine hire knowing some of the background story. Originally Posted By WesJanson: Originally Posted By John-in-austin: The only ways we would dump a candidate as fast as you describe would be either due to active warrants, an involuntary mental commitment or a violent criminal history. What are you not telling us? Ehhh, I'm pretty sure all three of those can get waived in some areas. One of the academy classes I taught last year had a kid who used to sell drugs, allegedly. He got hired on with a local agency...and honestly is probably a totally fine hire knowing some of the background story. |