We don't believe in secret rules and bans.

A bit of background: I met the Chief the day of my test and we really hit it off, and I signed up for their department. It’s a small department with only thirteen people, and they are hiring one officer, but are willing to hire a second officer if they find the right candidate. The department contacted me two days before their panel interviews to get me scheduled. Boards went well, and the Chief called me the day after to schedule an interview. The rankings weren’t released until the next week, but I ranked #2. I think my Chief’s interview went well. He said he had to do a couple more interviews, said the department had to look into my social media, and told me two times that I would hear from him next week.

Problem is, that interview was almost a month ago and I haven’t heard anything. No news is usually good news, but it’s hard to not feel discouraged and worried. The way I see it, I have three options:

1. Do nothing and wait patiently
   
2. Reach out to one of the officers that gave me his card and schedule a ride along
   
3. Reach out to the person that scheduled my oral boards or to the Chief directly and politely reaffirm my interest in the position

Any advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

So I’m 21 YO. I’ve been involved with my departments explorer program since 2018 and have excelled and even earned some accolades and also made connections with the chief. And various members of the department and now that I’m 21 I’m trying to see about getting sponsored for the academy.

However here’s the issue. Back then about 18 19 years old my mom who’s a compulsive narcissistic. Addict and liar forced me to take out loans under my name for her gain and told me and gaslit me that I don’t have to pay it. And also forced me to take out 2 small credit cards under my name.

I also have a unpaid Verizon bill stemming from 2024 because my mom forced to take my phone to the local pawn for cigarette and soda money and told me not to bother getting the phone back

My credit score took a hit from this and I know for a fact that you have to be in a good standing financial position to become a LEO. And I’m worried that this will get me disqualified from my own department that I literally grew up with. Right now I have a job and I’m in a good spot but I don’t know where to start and I’m basically just looking for clarity on how to handle this.

I am seeking general procedural guidance, preferably from verified current or former law enforcement officers.

A former professional contact who lives in another state has repeatedly contacted me by telephone, voicemail, text, and email after being told clearly to stop. Some of the communications contain threatening and deeply personal statements. The person has also used additional telephone numbers after earlier numbers were blocked.

I reported the conduct to my local police department. An officer took a report and sent it to the police district where the person lives. I have preserved the original communications, voicemail files, screenshots, call logs, and a chronological evidence index.

When I contacted the receiving district to confirm that the report had arrived and ask what would happen next, I had difficulty obtaining clear information. I have since submitted a formal complaint concerning that interaction.

From a law enforcement perspective, what should a victim reasonably do next when the person making the threats and the victim live in different states?

Should I continue working through my local department, contact the receiving district again, request a detective or supervisor, or contact another agency?

What generally determines which department has responsibility for investigating repeated electronic threats and harassment across state lines?

What should I ask for, in specific terms, so that I can confirm the report was received, assigned, and reviewed?

I understand that no one here can give me official legal advice or evaluate the matter without seeing the evidence. I am looking for practical guidance about normal police procedure and the most appropriate next step.

A police officer approached me two days ago and asked if it was my truck in the driveway, I was walking my dogs at the time. But I said yes it was my truck, he said someone called in saying I made a left on a right turn only street about half a mile away. I told him it wasn’t me, he continued to question me and I told him I had been home all day and I lived alone. He said I smelled like alcohol and I reiterated I was home alone and not driving. This was around 8 PM. He did not give me a field sobriety test or a breathalyzer or arrest me. I never gave him my ID and did not have my keys on my person at the time. But he seemed very insistent and kept saying he didn’t believe me, my truck was warm. What’re the chances he continues some type of investigation? This was a couple days ago and I have had no police interaction since.

I called 911 on my neighbors today due to concern over their infant screaming for 20min straight. I called it in as a welfare check. I'm a mom and something felt incredibly off to me.

One cop showed up, two cops showed up, and then boom, there five squad cars in my apartment complex. We saw everything go down. Basically, parents left their children (10yo, 1yo,3mo) alone for who knows how long. They showed up while the police had the children in their arms and then EMS showed up. The police said there were "knives all over the place" inside the home. The mom argued with them and said they were only gone for 20min and whatnot, but the police had been there close to be hour, and it has been over an hour since I had called.
Both parents were arrested and the children were taken to the station and CPS was contacted. T' police have called me again and asked me to V everything again and asked me to tell them any and every experience I've seen or witnessed with the parents and children that seemed weird.

My question, how likely is it that the parents can get the children back? Or at least, are they able to get bailed out and take the children again? I am assuming the parents are being held on charges of child endangerment and neglect. They will absolutely know it was me who called due to the fact that I stated in my reports that I had my dog during an instance, and I'm the only one in our building that has a dog. My husband is nervous that the dad will retaliate against us. I have been concerned about the well being of the children for quite some time, but never imagined that this would be the outcome.

I’ll try not to make this long or complicated. I talked to my doctor about starting Lexapro. I started this in May. The reasoning was because I noticed I would get anxiety during testing and in my head I thought this would allow me to not overthink the process and stay with my gut on answers. Lexapro also helps with overthinking. I failed the written test for another department by one because I kept changing my answers.

My doctor was onboard and boom, I started a low dose of it. Prior to this, I have had zero mental disorders. I’m perfectly healthy physically and mentally. It seems like anti anxiety medications are a huge red flag in this field. When I had the psyche exam she asked me about it and I was upfront and honest. She still didn’t recommend me. Granted I have no idea if THATS the reason but my medical eval got flagged because of the medication as well. I’m thinking with the medication and only taking it for 4 months, she ultimately decided to not recommend me.

After going through various stages of the hiring process now, I feel as though I jumped the gun and may have screwed myself with this medication. What I described in May to my doctor was literally just general nervousness. I only experience mild anxiety when taking a test especially one that’s super important.

Going forward, would it hurt my chances to stop the medication and not list it? With my doctors orders of course or would it look bad to continue to use it and just have a doctor clearing me saying that it doesn’t cause any side effects or doesn’t cloud my judgement and such? Essentially I can stop it and not mention it or continue to take it and just create a longer history.

Just to be clear I believe I may not need the medication overall and will consult with my doctor about that.

It feels like a true damned if I do and damned if I don’t situation.

So, here's the situation in the story:

A main character relocates to a new area without telling anyone. I read that the police must respect an adult individual's request for privacy and simply let the family know that the person is alive and well. They won't tell the family any address, general location, phone numbers, etc. relating to the individual. What if the individual doesn't even want anyone to know that they've been found? Would police be obligated to tell the family that the person has been found at all? What would happen in that situation?

I wanted to ask an actual member of law enforcement since I get pretty serious about accuracy. Hopefully, someone can help me.

Thanks in advance.

I'm currently only 18 and planning to graduate college and then apply to a local police agencies around the bay area in California.

Being a police officer is something I've always wanted and dreamed about as a kid, but recently I put in some research and realized there's a ton of examinations during the medical examination phase. And with my luck, I have a bunch of medical issues growing up. It's not exactly serious issues, but they are basically borderline on failing the examination and I'm extremely afraid of not making it

To list ones that I know so far based off of check-ups at the doctor:

- Vision issues (I see and live a daily life perfectly fine normally without any correction because one eye is't affected, it's just the other eye is insanely bad and I would need it to be corrected since they test both eyes separately)

- Colorblindness (red-green colorblindness; I fail ishihara test and I believe some agencies allow a backup farnsworth d-15 test which I can pass maybe about 97% of the time but I only tested that on online tests, not any in person so I don't even know if I will pass a real in person test)

- Hearing issues (I can hear on a daily basis no issues, but I fail hearing tests at the doctors and not sure if I will meet HZ/DB standards on the test; I'm diagnosed with mild hearing loss)

- Spinal issues (scoliosis & hunchback; again, doesn't affect me on a daily basis but it's been mentioned at the doctors as something I have)

- High blood pressure (runs in my parent's genetics; I don't necessarily have high blood pressure, I just have a higher level of blood pressure than others my age and am reaching the level of high blood pressure; doesn't impact daily life)

- High Cholesterol (exactly same as high blood pressure; doesn't impact daily life)

It's the fact that none of those issues are affecting me on a daily basis, but I genuinely don't know if they will cause me to fail. And the fact that the medical examination is last would only add to it as I could pass everything and just fail at the last second.I know other medical issues can show up with the actual test

I was hoping that someone who has been through this same feeling can let me know if they made it or not in this career. And if they have any words of motivation/tips. It just feels insanely diminishing knowing this is what I want to do but what I can't control is potentially stopping me. Also the fact that there's people who don't want this career born with great health and then the luck I got with wanting this career with my given health... Honestly looking for some words of support with this

And I was also wondering if there are any other common things that people didn't know they had, that ended up being an issue and disqualifying them. I might soon be planning to go to my local doctor to test all of those before I start investing so much time and energy into looking into policing. I just feel insanely let down right now

I do have backup careers down the line, but my luck is killing me given health issues like this when I'm aspiring to be a cop

I know stranger danger is rare and uncommon and that most assaults happen by people the victim knows. But are there any common groups of people aside from law enforcement, bouncers, etc, and celebs who are much more likely than most to get attacked by strangers? What types of people in particular?

Also, is there any real world data on how effective some martial arts are vs others in the real world? I know a lot of martial artists say it depends on the person and situation they are likely to be in but what does the data show based on real world violence?

I see on the news all these cases happening of license plates being mistagged by ALPRs, so that innocent people get pulled over at gunpoint, or AI facial recognition misidentifying people from crime photographs or footage, and more and more demands to arrest people according to thought crimes (aka NSPM-7 vs Constitutional First Amendment protected political speech), and I wonder how LEOs feel about the direction things are headed.

I imagine a large part of what makes the job meaningful and emotionally possible to do is the ability of an individual officer to identify when a law is being broken and to make an internal and independent judgment as an individual about whether or not to intervene in the situation based on what they believe is best at the time.

But with algorithmic management, like how DoorDash drivers just pick up some food in one location and put it somewhere else and don't ask questions, I can easily see a day where LEOs are expected essentially to be non-thinking non-judging enforcers to carry out the will of an algorithm.

I've done a little DoorDash, and I know how it feels to be cornered into labor where there's no room for honor or advancement, just an endless list of thankless and arduous tasks to perform, so I'm curious if any of you are thinking about this in your current day to day.

I’m 21 and currently going through the process of becoming a NYS Trooper. I’m nervous about the medical and psychological portions and was wondering if anyone who has gone through the process could give me some insight.
When I was younger, I went through a difficult period with my mental health and was prescribed antidepressants. I have been off them for about three years now and have been doing well.
I also had a serious mental health incident when I was 17 that required medical attention. I’m 21 now, and I’m in a completely different place in my life. I’ve matured a lot since then and haven’t had another incident like that.
I fully intend to be honest about my history during the process. My main concern is whether something that happened when I was a minor would automatically disqualify me, or whether NYSP evaluates these situations individually and considers things like how long ago it occurred, current stability, and how someone has been doing since.
Has anyone gone through the NYSP psychological/medical evaluation with a past mental health history? I’m not looking for ways to hide anything, just trying to understand what to expect and whether my past automatically ends my chances.
Any insight would be appreciated.

A while back I ran into an uncover cop across the nation ( online chat site). We talked and got along and was somewhat digitally intimate. While we didn’t have consistent communication, but we would often find each other.
During that time I received information that I got unsettled about and decided to shred my profile on that site and essentially ghost him (since that was our only point of contact). Examples of information given to me: alias, real frist name and last initial, location, arrest recently previously done and what it was, and the upcoming time of a future arrest that would finish the case.

Was destroying my point of contact an overreaction that will end in unnecessary heart break for an otherwise good LEO? Or was this a real risk to my safety? How does a citizen properly look at a situation like this? Thanks for any response! 💙 keep being safe out there all!

Please everyone remember we are talking about real people even if this is not in your real life!

I saw something tonight coming home from work that I’m curious about.

Around 10:15 PM, I was driving home and came across two police cars parked at the dead end of a road (I came from a street that turns onto the dead-end road just 50 feet away from the end of that road). What caught my attention was that their headlights were pointed straight down the road. Police don’t normally park there, so their positioning seemed unusual. Two cruisers were equally odd to me.

I continued down the road and saw another police car conducting a traffic stop with its lights flashing. This is only about 500 feet further down, and those parked cops definitely had a view of the stop.

Given the locations and timing, I wondered whether the two cars at the dead end were intentionally positioned as a kind of containment point—essentially, if the vehicle being stopped tried to flee down the road, the other officers would already be in position to prevent it from getting away or turning off somewhere.

Does that sound like a plausible explanation for this kind of setup? Or are there other common situations where officers would position backup cars like that?

I realize there’s no way to know exactly what was happening from what I saw. I’m mainly curious whether the positioning is consistent with a coordinated/high-risk stop versus something super routine. It doesn’t take three officers to issue a speeding ticket.

I’m currently in the background investigation stage for a police department and I’m worried about something that came up.
My background investigator found information on a previous law enforcement application that I didn’t include on my application for this department. When she asked me about it, I answered everything honestly and explained that I wasn’t trying to intentionally hide or evade any questions I completed the questionnaire very quickly and didn’t go back and carefully double-check everything.

The things I failed to include were:
An unsatisfactory performance review at a previous job, although my performance improved
significantly afterward.

A situation involving damages/disarray at a house after a lease. I had already moved out before the
damages occurred and have photos/videos from when I left.

A college I briefly attended and only completed 3 credits at.

Two customer complaints from my job that I honestly didn’t think much about at the time. One customer, for example, complained that I wasn’t smiling.

My overall hiring process has gone really well. They let skip the written exam and the first interview. I crushed the senior panel interview, and I’ve been told that the head of recruitment liked my application. Is this omission going to cook my application and future applications? Or am I overthinking it.

I have a some questions for anyone working for the Alaska State Troopers or who have worked for them. I’m 36 years old, currently an E-8 in the Air Force and looking to retire in the next year and a half. I have 2 juvenile adjudications from my youth, the first when I was 9 years old the 2nd when I was 14. Received juvenile probation both times, no issues since. Joined the Air Force at 18, have had an incredibly successful military career, never once been written up or been in trouble, promoted fairly quick, always exceeded expectations, not even as much as a markdown on my military evaluations. How likely will my juvenile record be scrutinized? Will I be automatically disqualified? Am I even wasting my time trying to apply to be an AST?

Edit: when I was 9 I shot my buddy with a BB gun, got 2 years of juvenile probation for assault.

When I was 14 I was charged with assault for a fight.

Just curious if anyone has tried this boot.

Hi, I'm in the Silicon Valley area and I'm debating between some major police departments to chose (I'm going to apply to a lot of course, but this is just for a ranking in case there's multiple offers).

I'm from Milpitas and I'm deciding between Milpitas PD, Santa Clara PD, and San Jose PD. (I wouldn't mind adding in other departments such as Fremont and Mountain View and others close to Milpitas, but they would need additional reasons such as pay, opportunity for growth, etc. that put them up ahead)

I would want a department that has good opportunity for growth in specialized fields (narcotics, bomb, k9, etc.), decent pay (doesn't have to be tip of the iceberg pay in silicon valley), and having a middle ground between a shift having a slow downtime vs super intense back to back calls.

For Milpitas, it's the city I grew up in, so the geography would come easier in the work force. But I believe they don't have the most variety in specialized divisions ? (correct me if I'm wrong)

Santa Clara is definitely something I'm looking at as it has good pay as well, and I'm not sure if their 3 and 4 work weeks are a pro or a con. I believe they have better growth opportunities in specialized units compared to Milpitas

For San Jose, I know they are the busiest of them all, but the problem is I don't have a gauge to any of these departments to how busy they are. I know I can compare whether or not SJPD is MORE busy, but I don't know what that means on its own. I would love SJPD if it isn't a back to back call report call report call report over and over as it'd cause high burn out for me.

Honestly may even consider the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office ? I don't know much about deputies vs city officers and their differences in daily work

I'm looking to get some ride-longs to gauge their day to day intensity levels, but please let me know what you know so far, and if there are any other reccomended departments. If it's something that grants a big pro, then I can expand my reach to all of the bay area instead of just silicon valley

Thanks

TLDR: Debating Milpitas (for easier geography, but lower growth in specialized units), Santa Clara (better specialized units opportunities than Milpitas, mid sized amount of calls), and San Jose (most specialized unit opportunities, may be too many calls, would prefer this if calls really aren't that much). Please add any other departments that may be a good fit.

Currently sworn, I am thinking of lateraling. I’m interested in lateraling out of state and was curious if anyone has heard or been at the department. Just have a few questions. Thank you in advanced

Today I checked the mail and found a letter saying that the sheriffs in possession of a document that must be picked up or must be personally served. You may pick up this document in person at the county sheriff’s office.

Any ideas what they want?

I know it’s nothing divorce related?

Hi everyone,

I currently have a Green Card and I’m planning to apply to a police academy after I become a U.S. citizen.

I’m originally from Eastern Europe, and I’m wondering if there are any police officers here who were born outside the U.S., immigrated to America, became U.S. citizens, and then became police officers.

I speak English very well and have no problems communicating, but I’m curious about your experiences. Did being born in another country create any obstacles during the hiring process or at the academy? Did anyone ever have an issue with your accent or your background?

Also, I would be around 33 years old when I’m able to apply. Do you think that would be a problem for someone who wants to start a career in law enforcement at that age? I’d especially like to hear from people who joined the police in their 30s or later.

Thank you!

Copy and Paste from my Original Post in ProtectAndServe Subreddit.
TL;DR: Thoughts on requiring police officers to be 21? Is it still necessary?

Hey folks,

BACKGROUND:

I wanted to reach out to the law enforcement community regarding a topic that I'm researching. That topic is the minimum age to becoming a law enforcement officer with a focus on states that require applicants to be at least 21 years old.

That's the case for Arkansas. I'm 17 years old with the intent of becoming a police officer, but my biggest obstacle is finding a buffer career until I'm 21. This made me start to think why this is the case.

Per my research, Arkansas has had this requirement since the 70's. I assume, like Arkansas, this has been a long standing rule or even law for other states as well, not something that was implemented in the past decade or so. I understand that there is a national staffing shortage for law enforcement officers and I think that this restrictive age requirement is preventing a fairly large pool of otherwise qualified candidates from joining the ranks of law enforcement.

It's hard for me to understand the arguments of maturity and retention of training, especially when we've permitted 18 year olds to be firemen, members of the military, and EMT's—all of whom are in similar high-stress enviorements as law enforcement and make decisions that can alter a person's life forever. In Arkansas, an 18 year old can also carry a handgun and even run for Constable, an elected office with equivalent authority as a municipal police officer within their township.

MAIN QUESTION:
For the law enforcement officers out there whether you be on the front line or in administration, do you think that this evidentally long standing rule/requirement is still necessary for preserving the integrity of the law enforcement service?

I personally think that not only is it not necessary, it hurts more people then it's intended to help, whether it'd be adding to the decade's long recruiting struggle or by keeping highly motivated, otherwise qualified individuals from becoming police officers.

This is something I'd like to bring up with my local legislature, but I would love to hear your opinion first! Thanks!

I spent 26 years with SAPD, most of it working patrol, and one of the things I tried to do was treat people fairly, even when I had to arrest them or write them a ticket.

Obviously, somebody going to jail isn't always going to be happy with you. I never expected that. But I did want them to understand why I was doing what I was doing and, whenever possible, walk away believing that I had treated them fairly and with respect.

Later, when I became a Law Enforcement teacher, this was something I tried to get across to my students. The badge gives you authority. It doesn't automatically give you someone's respect.

Some of the interactions I remember most from patrol weren't the arrests or the exciting calls. They were the times when someone I had taken enforcement action against still shook my hand, thanked me, or acknowledged that I had treated them fairly.

I'm curious what the cops and former cops here think.

Have you ever arrested someone, cited them, or otherwise taken enforcement action against them and still had them thank you afterward or tell you that you treated them fairly?

And for everyone else: Can you respect a police officer who arrests you?