Criminology, completely useless?

OspreyCV22
Fri, 06 Dec 2013 17:01:52 +0000

At this point it would be better to have started a new thread.

I’m a retired detective sergeant. Way back when I was hired I received $600 more per year for a B.S. Now they expect you to have a degree or military experience. I have no idea whether the department you are applying to gives hiring points for minority status. I do know many departments greatly want Asian and Hispanic candidates. Every P.D. has different procedures for rank advancement. If you join a large police department as a patrol officer you can count on about three years before you are eligible for a detective position. In your case, though, they would probably be thrilled to have you in Youth Services/Juvenile Division. You should express great enthusiasm for it as it’s a great “hook” you have. If you join a small town police department there is less need for detectives or investigators and I would expect many years in patrol. If I were starting out now I would look for a large department in a major city with lots of crime. Consider that state police do mostly traffic work, suburban departments too. You can work on your masters after you are hired. My department paid 2/3 of my tuition. Rather than working on a masters now I would urge you to get in great physical shape; lift weights and run. Get your eyes checked to make sure you’ll pass the eye exam. Be completely truthful on all your application materials. Don’t get into debt and make sure your driving record is good. Consider applying to more than one police department. It takes about six months for all the background paper work to be completed on their end and you may end up in a “pool” of eligible candidates until positions are funded. Sorry if this is disjointed. I was interrupted 25 times writing it. Good luck.