How to Become a Police Officer in Your State
The selection process to become a police officer is not easy. In fact, the entire
process is a long and tedious one. Sometimes it can take up to 9 months before you are hired. I know that sounds like a long time, but if you stay the course, you’ll be glad that you did.
The requirements to be a police officer differ from agency to agency, but there are some general requirements most departments across the country use to measure a potential prospect.
- You must be a United State citizen
- You must not have been convicted of a felony
- You must not have been convicted of domestic battery
- You must not have had your driver’s license suspended or revoked at anytime
- You must not have been dishonorably discharged
- You must not have any cases pending
- You must be 21 years of age in most states
- You must not have a poor credit history
- You must have a high school and/or GED (some departments require at least 60 college credits)
Watch the video below for a quick overview on the process to become a police officer.
Those are just some of the requirements one needs to be a police officer in some states. There can be more or less requirements depending on the department. In most cases, some or all of the following steps will be involved:
- Completion of a detailed employment application and personal history statement
- You must pass the Police written exam (differs from agency to agency, depending on whether the department falls under state civil service regulations, and may measure basic reading comprehension and writing skills, general intelligence, and/or specific knowledge)
- You must pass the physical agility test (usually administered as a timed course designed to measure occupation-related tasks such as changing a tire, dragging of a dummy body a certain distance, sprinting, broad jumping, scaling a wall, etc)
- An initial interview with one or more police officials
- An extensive background investigation for the purpose of ascertaining an applicant’s character, maturity level, integrity and suitability for police work
- A physical examination by a physician to determine if an applicant is in sound health
- A drug screening test to detect use of any illicit drugs
- A psychological examination by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, usually including standardized tests to detect serious psychological disorders and potential psychological problems
- You must pass the polygraph examination (“lie detector”) validate applicant’s answers to interview questions
- You must pass the police oral review board (panel interview) often consisting of scenario situations and problem-solving exercises, designed to measure the applicant’s decision-making ability, knowledge of the law and general law enforcement procedures, and ethical factors
Once hired, a police officer generally will need to attend a police training academy. After the recruit has passed all curriculum course exams at the academy, they are then assigned to a field training officer. They will work alongside an experienced officer for a designated period of time before being allowed to function on his/her own.
Remember the requirements above can vary from department to department, but generally they are looking for the same qualified applicant.
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Hi, My name is William Lee Heath I’m 19 years old and I wish to fullfil my dream and become a Police Officer of Pennsylvania. But I don’t know how to get on the path to becoming one. So if you can email me or call me and help me get on the path to becoming a Police Officer I would dearly appreciate it. My email is lttl_dg14@hotmail.com and my phone number is 814-720-6072. Thank you
read the article, “how to become a police officer” on this web page
I have a question about the credit check…. Say i had terrible credit when I was younger but cleaned it up and paid off all my old accounts before applying as a police officer… Would that prevent me from getting hired? Even though I worked on it and was then in good standing?
If you’ve worked on fixing your credit,,,congrats… You should be fine.
hi! i like to become a swat but heard you have to become a police officer for at least 1-2 years. if you are finish withe the 1-2 years hoe do you get to become a swat? when you become a police officer do you get to pick your own vehicle because? i really want to ride a charger police car.please answer my questions.
ive recently been discharged from the military today, since sate police core is based on trust. im getting out because i cant pass the militarys standard pt test and wondering. if and when i get back in shape if i could join the pennsylvania police force. and in what directons should i go.
Great thanks!
I am a 38 year old male that has had a passion to help my fellow man. I have had martial arts training and have excelled to a very high level , that has taken me around the world and has opened my eyes to the corruption of our world. I know I can’t change it all myself but want to be a part of the team that is changing our world. How do I get started? And why has my martial arts training hindered me from just getting a security job? I have been told with the training I have had ” I would be more of an hinderence than an asset,
I had my license suspended a while back due to a DUI. Will this effect me a lot? I know that this will be on my record but what I really want to know is if I can still join the force? I just had that one little situation while the rest of my record is clean as a whistle.
affect* I just realized that I made a grammatical error.
Dennis, I’m not sure how things are in your City/County/State, but here’s how it is here: You go through the hiring process at the Sheriff’s Office, and if you want to know what that’s like, stay on this website! Here, our S.W.A.T team is called a Tactical Response Team, or the Tac Team. To be considered for the Tac Team you must have enough experience to be considered for Dectective/Investigator. Which I think is at least two years. Most of the time, The Tact Team will drive a Dodge Durango. The Officers that Drive the Un-Marked Dodge Chargers (Most people call them undercover cop cars) are Investigators. The Officers that Drive the Marked Dodge Chargers (Patrol Cars that actually say POLICE or SHERIFF in big letters on the side) are usually a Sgt. or higher. The Department will most of the time give the ‘fancier’ patrol cars to the Officers with the most experience.