Posted: 2/8/2016 5:30:40 PM EDT
| I applied for the state highway patrol recently so what am I in for? I really want to do well and feel like I will being retired military with a good sense of judgment and work ethic. |
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Their academy is live-in M-F. Might be tough if you have a family and kids. Weekends will be spent doing homework, studying, shining shoes, and ironing. Make sure if you have a wife/husband she/he is on board with basically being a single parent for the duration of the academy.
Their starting pay is around $45k a year. Pretty low compared to other departments in the state. Be willing to be relocated anywhere in the state |
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I applied for the state highway patrol recently so what am I in for? I really want to do well and feel like I will being retired military with a good sense of judgment and work ethic. If you have glasses or tattoos they'll need to be fixed. A family member of mine had to have LASIC and wait a year to prove that it took and have visible tattoos (wrist and arm) removed. |
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The OSP is taking retired military now? Maximum age is 35 so you were 15 when you entered military service? Disability retirement?
Minimum Requirements for Cadets
Age: A cadet must turn 21 years prior to commission. The Ohio Revised Code 5503.02 stipulates that applicants must enter academy training prior to their 35th birthday. There are no exceptions or waiver. -- Chuck |
| Being a OSHP Basic grad/ class Lt. I can tell you that having military experience is no guarantee of anything. Academy staff does it the OSP way, sometimes like the military sometimes not. The wash out rate effects all backgrounds. The training for the cadets now last six months. You may be on their potential hire list for close to a year like one of my co-workers was and then have to make a decision to take the job and go back to training even if you already got hired by another LE agency(say good bye to any seniority that you built up, it doesn't go with you) . Like someone else said its a live in academy. Report in on Sunday night and report out Friday at 1600 hrs, If you are single great, if you are married and then have kids its tuff. They try to give new troops a chance of picking the post they want to go to after graduation based on your class ranking but again they will send you where they need you and have vacancies. If you are not totally committed to maybe having to move all the way across the state or your family is well established where they are forget it, it's not really worth it. Find a local dept and work your way up the chain of command. |
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The disadvantages above can be crippling if you have a family. Starting pay is roughly $50K. Compare to local PDs. Columbus, for example paid a tad more in 2015. -- Chuck Some quick googling: Maximum pay for the following: State patrol: $66,500 Columbus PD: $77,500 Dublin Police: $88,100 Starting pay for the following: State patrol: $49,800 Columbus PD: $50,500 Dublin Police: $54,500 I believe all troopers get take home cars too so that's certainly a benefit too |
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Quoted: I would think you would need to have a "passion" for doing traffic... all the time.. If you're up for it, good luck! Be prepared for a long drawn out application, background, polygraph process. Contract negotiations are coming up soon so the wages posted above might change for the better by the end of the year. Good Luck  |
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Be prepared to work every holiday weekend "welcoming" travelers to Ohio.
Seriously, the OSHP does more to screw up traffic on major weekends than anybody. Michigan and Indiana don't have their interstates crawling with Troopers enhancing revenue, and the highways move faster. |
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From what I've seen working with them, there are very few jobs other than pushing a cruiser, which means running laser and taking accident reports until retirement.
I am not impressed with them outside of that environment. They absolutely can't seem to think outside the traffic box. The ones I know that worked at regular police departments, but went to OSHP for better job security and pay are frustrated and bored. If you want to be a highway patrolman, go for it. If you want to be a cop, go municipal, or look into the sheriff's office. SOs can vary a lot, though. Do some research. Added: there are much better opportunities for overtime and extra duty at just about every other department. |
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From what I've seen working with them, there are very few jobs other than pushing a cruiser, which means running laser and taking accident reports until retirement.  Don't confuse them with a state police agency like Michigan or Pennsylvania etc. The OSHP has statutorily limited off-highway police powers.
Ohio has no state police, just the highway patrol. But the legislature can create one at will or expand the OSHP mission. -- Chuck |
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When I was playing the, "Hey I want to be a police officer!" game in the late 90's I never saw much to lead me to want me to join the OHP. I commonly heard from many officers all they did was chase tail lights. That meant nothing but traffic enforcement. Then when I got to know a trooper he said the OHP was a good outfit but there wasn't much to do other than traffic. He also said the risk of being sent to a remote corner of the state and getting stuck there was a huge risk. He mentioned they had a resident trooper propgram where you worked out of your home if you're assigned to a rural area. I don't know if they still do that but no thanks.
Pay was mentioned as well, I remember years ago people said the OHP didn't pay well, I see that hasn't changed. I will give the same advice I got when I was looking to become a cop, go with a medium sized agency in a mid sized city. The pay is good, the diversification of your duties will allow you to learn more and become a more well rounded officer. I just don't see that with the OHP. |
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Quoted: From what I've seen working with them, there are very few jobs other than pushing a cruiser, which means running laser and taking accident reports until retirement. I am not impressed with them outside of that environment. They absolutely can't seem to think outside the traffic box. The ones I know that worked at regular police departments, but went to OSHP for better job security and pay are frustrated and bored. If you want to be a highway patrolman, go for it. If you want to be a cop, go municipal, or look into the sheriff's office. SOs can vary a lot, though. Do some research. Added: there are much better opportunities for overtime and extra duty at just about every other department.  |
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More gender equality! And they're officially "Troopers." I'm sure there are a bunch of deputy sheriffs running around in cars just marked Sheriff.
The rank of Trooper, the entry rank, in the OSHP dates to the mid 1970s when women were first allowed in the department. The badge was changed from Patrolman at that time. As to when it went on the back of the cars? My guess is circa Bert Reynolds and Smokey and the Bandit era. The state patrol were called "troopers" in the press and among themselves probably their entire existence. Their union uses the term. -- Chuck |
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Quoted: When did they start calling themselves, "Troopers?" I've noticed their new cruisers say Trooper on the bumper. I thought the Buckeye Sheriff's Association didn't want them to be called Troopers? My grandpa who retired from The Cleveland Police Dept in the late '70's always referred to them as State Troopers as I recall. |
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When did they start calling themselves, "Troopers?" I've noticed their new cruisers say Trooper on the bumper. I thought the Buckeye Sheriff's Association didn't want them to be called Troopers? Buckeye State Sheriff's Association has nothing to do with the Highway Patrol Sheriff's Office = Deputies with black cars that say SHERIFF on them. |
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When I was playing the, "Hey I want to be a police officer!" game in the late 90's I never saw much to lead me to want me to join the OHP. I commonly heard from many officers all they did was chase tail lights. That meant nothing but traffic enforcement. Then when I got to know a trooper he said the OHP was a good outfit but there wasn't much to do other than traffic. He also said the risk of being sent to a remote corner of the state and getting stuck there was a huge risk. He mentioned they had a resident trooper propgram where you worked out of your home if you're assigned to a rural area. I don't know if they still do that but no thanks. Pay was mentioned as well, I remember years ago people said the OHP didn't pay well, I see that hasn't changed. I will give the same advice I got when I was looking to become a cop, go with a medium sized agency in a mid sized city. The pay is good, the diversification of your duties will allow you to learn more and become a more well rounded officer. I just don't see that with the OHP. I think that is excellent advice. |
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did you get rejected and now you're a Tier 1 security guard? Quoted:
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From what I've seen working with them, there are very few jobs other than pushing a cruiser, which means running laser and taking accident reports until retirement. I am not impressed with them outside of that environment. They absolutely can't seem to think outside the traffic box. The ones I know that worked at regular police departments, but went to OSHP for better job security and pay are frustrated and bored. If you want to be a highway patrolman, go for it. If you want to be a cop, go municipal, or look into the sheriff's office. SOs can vary a lot, though. Do some research. Added: there are much better opportunities for overtime and extra duty at just about every other department. I never considered applying there, and thank God I didn't.. |
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No one should be surprised by this. This is the Ohio State Highway Patrol after all! Don't confuse them with a state police agency like Michigan or Pennsylvania etc. The OSHP has statutorily limited off-highway police powers.
Ohio has no state police, just the highway patrol. But the legislature can create one at will or expand the OSHP mission. -- Chuck Quoted:
From what I've seen working with them, there are very few jobs other than pushing a cruiser, which means running laser and taking accident reports until retirement. Don't confuse them with a state police agency like Michigan or Pennsylvania etc. The OSHP has statutorily limited off-highway police powers.
Ohio has no state police, just the highway patrol. But the legislature can create one at will or expand the OSHP mission. -- Chuck I'm aware of all that. They also don't have the peace officer certification. And, I have been told there are major problems for any trooper who tries to keep his certification as a peace officer. There appears to be a push by some of them to become a state police agency. |
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Quoted: This^ Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quick question. What is the current sidearm for the OHP? Last I knew stainless sig p226 DAK in fouwty This^ |