Thirty five is a great age for entering law enforcement.  You can put in twenty and be at an acceptable retirement age.  It will not be an impediment in most places and it certainly is not at my Agency.

Good Luck!

Blackjack

Since I'm not in LE, I can't answer your questions but, if you speak and understand Spanish then you have a leg-up. If you do speak it, my sugestion would be to try the Border Patrol. This is a Fed. job and Bush is going increase that Dept. So he says.

Thanks again for the information. Is it easier to get on with a smaller department than a large one? Are the larger department more willing to take laterals than someone that doesn't have any prior LE experience? I know that trying to get on with a police department can be highly competetive and that is why I am wondering if I have much of a chance, since I don't really have anything that would make me stand out. I assume that I probably will look like any other Joe Schmoe that wants to be a cop.

Blackjack

From what I hear, from LE sources, rcop is correct.

I know more about the Austin area because I used to deer hunt west of there. Beautiful hill country. However, since I have such low regard for politicians, I could never live in a capital city. Texas doesn't have a state income tax.

I have relatives that retired to Minden-Gardnerville, NV. (from Cal) and just returned from a visit there. It's also pretty country and Lake Tahoe is just up the mountain to the west. You might try a small town first and then upgrade to a large city. NV doesn't have a state income tax either.

Blackjack,

If you are already settled in Southern California, you could do worse than start your law enforcent career here.  The pay and professionalism are excellent, as are the working conditions.  Working in the rain is a drag.  Alot of departments will actually hire you as a recruit and pay you to attend the academy.  If you are definitely looking to leave, I know for a fact that many departments in the Phoenix area, including the Phoenix PD, are looking to hire numerous cops.  The pay would be substantially lower, but so is the cost of living, especially housing.  The Austin PD in Austin, Texas is also hiring and has maybe the highest pay in Texas.  Austin is also a great place to live.

Dimas and Twoblock,

Thank you for the advice. It is something that I will take into consideration. I am not sure what I should do, or, where I should go. I know that I do not like L.A. anymore. It has changed a lot since I grew up here. I don't really like my job anymore (inner city school teacher). I have always had a passion for law enforcement, but it kind of got lost in the shuffle when I started teaching. I really feel that I could do some good as a police officer and I think that I would be good at it. I thought Oregon might not be a bad place to reside. I have been there many times and I really like the people and the lifestyle. I really want to have a job where I can do some good and make a difference in people's lives. I thought I could do that with teaching, but I have actually found out how many people really don't care. It's discouraging and now I am just tired.

Blackjack

dimas is correct.

A few years ago Multnomah County built a large facility, Inverness?, and is now sitting empty because there is not enough money to staff it. They are giving early releases to inmates with lessor crimes to make room for SO's, murders, etc. They have been doing this for a couple of years now. Sheriff Guisto? has the money to open 140 beds but, he's power hungry and thinks if he turns enough criminals loose the money will come. Most sheriffs and police chiefs in Oregon seem to be that way.

A couple a pluses. Polygraph is not part of their hiring policies and the sheriffs and chiefs really protects their officers no matter how bad they are. There are as many rogue cops as there ever was in Louisiana. As dimas said "not a good place, now, to seek LE jobs".

Blackjack,

I would think twice before moving up to Oregon just yet, I really think most of the cities there are having a very hard time balancing their budgets and you could ultimately end up like the 100 + state troopers in Oregon that lost their jobs due to budget cuts.   

While it is unfortunate that the most qualified applicant does not always get the job, I think it is also important to understand that Police Departments are under a lot of pressure to have a racial make up that mirrors that of the community it serves.  It is not fair and in all honesty is a stupid practice to exclude the best candidate in order to meet the mandate of hiring more minorities.   The city of Baltimore is one that comes to mind.   Black, white, bown, yellow or canine, the best candidate should always get the job, period.   

The only advice I can give is to not give up and keep applying until you can finally do the job which you feel you have a calling to do.

Thank you for your post oldguy. I was getting kind of worried, because I thought that you might have been talking about the police department. I really want to move to Oregon, but I have to wait to see if I get hired on somewhere....

No, it wasn't police employment.  This was back in the early nineties when I was recently discharged from the military, and looking for any civil service job I could get my hands on; a foot in the door so to speak.  I had a temp job with the building maintenance division, so I started applying for any job available to city employees only.  The job in question was for "public works inspector 3", a newly formed position that was to be a sort of "apprenticeship" to prepare the employee to pass the public works 2 exam within a couple of years.  Since I was filling out so many apps at the time, and quite bitter about affirmative action, and the fact that they would even have the gaul to ASK what color I was, I put down that I was "native american".  My young rationalization was that I was BORN here, that makes me NATIVE; go ahead and TRY to call me a liar.  Long story short:  I get a call back for interview, interview goes EXTREMELY well ( my late grandfather was once my two interviewer's supervisor and they both thought very highly of him ), interviewers go on to explain to me the reason for the new position of PWI 3 is to make room for two MINORITY applicants because historically minority applicants could not pass the exam.  This possed some sort of problem with the city's AA department, hence the creation of a job position for minorities only, whitey need not apply.  Me?  I am as white as the driven snow, light brown hair, blue eyes.  Since the interviewers are not privy to the AA questionaires that accompany the applications they were a bit perplexed by the cracker seated before them.  I asked them point blank at that juncture," So what you are telling me is that no matter how qualified or deserving you may think I am, I stand absolutely no chance of being hired because of my ancestry?".  This, as you may well imagine, created quite a bit of discomfort with them ( can anyone say " potential law suit? ), so they humm hawed around about me being a war vet and the probability that THAT was the reason I was there.  Answer your question?  Hey, lest anyone read this and get the impression that I am still dwelling on it ( not that anyones take on my inner state really matters to me ), please see my above post.  Sure, I have a vile distaste for AA as it is currently being implemented, and yes I feel as though I got burned for no other reason than being a white dude.  When I retell this story as it might happen to come up ( such as this site ) I DO end up back in the moment and get a little passionate about it.  But I stand by my previous statement that basically says " Live in the past, continue to fail ".  I won't, you shouldn't, and put your efforts into what is possible instead of on seeing the impossible.  So what if they will only be hiring one white guy out of ten hundred ( hypothetically ) positions filled?  I will put my focus on being the one.  Until the day comes that they declare being white a crime, i'll keep trying.  Sorry Blackjack about the soap box, i'll try to keep other posts shorter and less preachier.

Oldguy,

Can you please elaborate as much as you can on why you were not  hired? Was it The Portland Police Bureau that did not hire you? I am just curious, because I have applied with a couple of agencies in Oregon and I would like to know as much information as possible. Thanks.

If I remember right, US BORDER PATROL's cutoff age is 37 years old.

Thanks guys, that's definately encourageing to hear!  Glad I could give you a good laugh dimas, perhaps it should be oldERguy instead? 35 may not seem old to most of us, but when it comes to chasing crack heads around as part of the daily job  some might think otherwise.  Thank God for radios, eh?    Kidding of course; we all know crack heads are good for a short burst of speed, but usually lack the stamina to go the distance.  About the "white" thing... I certainly do appreciate your input regarding that matter, and that is pretty much the way I have been looking at it myself.  I have been blatantly denied employment by the city of Portland in the past due to my " whiteness", and was pretty peeved to say the least.  But in my humble opinion if a man( or woman ) is willing to give up too quickly simply because things get a little rough; then they aren't worth a damn.  I don't like quitters, and I won't ever use affirmative action or anything else as an excuse to give up.  I am simply a realist ( hence the nature of my original question ), so I like to gather as much info as possible when I am seriously trying to accomplish something so as to maximize the probability of success.  I have seen some posts on this site where people are complaining about the deck being stacked against them due to "AA", and how unjust it is etc....  While they may have a point, and I may even agree with it, the fact is that crying about it does not one iota of good for the individual.  You want to be a crusader, and have a petition you want me to sign?  Great!  I'll sign it!  But for the rest of us that are single minded in our desire to become LE officers I think adopting a " never say die " attitude will be far more beneficial to that end.  I am off the soap box now, God's peace to you all.  

"oldguy",


Thanks for the laugh, I never really thought of 35 as "old" and it really is not.  Heck Gene Hackman was 65 in Crimson Tide and I wouldn't say he looked like an old geezer.

Anyway,  most local departments will hire all the way up to age 55.  As long as you can do the job at the time you apply they usually do not have a maximum age.  The federal government does have a max age of 37 for Law Enforcement applicants as they require you to retire by 57 and have completed 20 years to do so.

So you are young enough for all the options.


Also, a word of advice is that you should never go into choosing a career thinking you will not get hired because you are white.  I really think this stigma needs to be removed from your mind and replaced with you qualifications as a person of integrity who wants to work in LE.

While some departments do have to meet quotas for minority employment, this in no way means that they will not hire caucasian applicants, it only means that they have to hire a certain amount of minorities in comparison with the caucasians they hire as well.


Good luck

35 is definitely not too old.  I was hired as a police officer at age 33, and at my academy about 30 percent of my classmates were older than me.

oldguy

There is a federal law prohibiting age discrimination in employment along with race, gender, etc. Title 7 I think. I can't tell you if it applies to LE. I know the race and gender thing applies. I know the quota system sure discriminates against whites in LE. One exception to age is airline pilots. They have to retire, from commercial routes, at age 60.

Having said this, I also know practices are in place that allows organizations to circumvent this law. If your PD doesn't want to hire a 35 year old, they will probably DQ you at the poly session no matter how truthful you are.

Hi everyone, my question has to do with police hiring and applicant age.  I am a 35 year old white guy.  I know that in most cases I already have the white guy thing working against me, but what about the age thing?  Will most depts. see this as "trying to teach an old dog a new trick"?  I am hoping they would see it more as "this guy has a proven track record, is more likely to know what he really wants out of life, and  is likely to be more mature both mentally and emotionally".  So which is it?  Answers from those of you in the know will be mucho appreciated. 8)