FHP Troops

[jb2000]

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[J-ville 5-0]

Why FHP?

The city/county has much more to offer....and better pay/pension too!.

Just read thread http://forums.officer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68306

All the cities that you're interested in have city/county agencies that are hiring.

[towncop]

Guys, as a police officer for 9 years.....I would LOVE to get on with FHP. Why? Cause it would be so nice to just write tickets all day and work accidents!!! No BS domestic calls with the same people over and over. Would be a nice career change.

[J-ville 5-0]

Guys, as a police officer for 9 years.....I would LOVE to get on with FHP. Why? Cause it would be so nice to just write tickets all day and work accidents!!! No BS domestic calls with the same people over and over. Would be a nice career change.

Can we say, BURNED OUT?

The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

[ftlaudcop]

to start out and you don't know any better fine and dandy,

all state agency's are bad paying, unless ya wanna work off duty details

to make some money, and thats only in a populated county.

[agcop]

Low Pay!!

to start out and you don't know any better fine and dandy,

all state agency's are bad paying, unless ya wanna work off duty details

to make some money, and thats only in a populated county.

I agree with ftlaudcop we are very low pay, but in my case I work more than enough off-duty in J'VILLE, FL. I have made up to 15k in off-duty work thanks to my dear friends (SGTS, LTS, OFCS) that work with JSO.

[J-ville 5-0]

I agree with ftlaudcop we are very low pay, but in my case I work more than enough off-duty in J'VILLE, FL. I have made up to 15k in off-duty work thanks to my dear friends (SGTS, LTS, OFCS) that work with JSO.

That's great that your making a boatload in off-duty. But the key is to work less and get paid more. Personally, I'd rather be fishing than sitting on the side of the road, with your blue lights on, watching a DVD. Five days off means five days off, not three or four days working off-duty.

I work about thirty or forty hours a month, usually just one day an off cycle.

[agcop]

That's great that your making a boatload in off-duty. But the key is to work less and get paid more. Personally, I'd rather be fishing than sitting on the side of the road, with your blue lights on, watching a DVD. Five days off means five days off, not three or four days working off-duty.

I work about thirty or forty hours a month, usually just one day an off cycle.

You are 100% right big money!! But boys will be boys and we like to have our toys!! BTW I can't pass up those $24-32/hr gigs. One day it might not be there!!

[Joe906]

It's really up to you. If you want less pay, just do traffic and have them send you whereever they want in the state then go for it. However the local agencies are going to pay better and you will have more room to move up or to move within the department in case you find out the drug thing isn't your cup of tea. Just my 2 cents though again it's your decision.

[FullGrownBear]

I think you might want to try the Florida Turnpike in Orange County or Interstate 4. There's a lot less crashes which means more time to do contraband interdiction. If that doesn't work out, Miami or Ft. Myers (Alligator Alley) would be the second best on your list.


In Orange County itself you'll probably be just working crashes! Visitors + Tourism = CRASHES!


Also, don't mind some people on here discouraging you from an outstanding accomplishment of being selected to attend the FHP academy! Congratulations!! I know they mean well and want you to make and informed decision! But only You will find out on your own if you are meant to be a Trooper or a Deputy! Wish you the best of success!

[dogma vs karma]

congratulations!

[PD602]

Hey guys,

I have been a reader here for quite a while, but never had a reason to post anything. I just graduated from college and have been an LEO outside of Florida for a very short time.

I just found yesterday from my BI that I have been accepted into the September 2, 2007 FHP class. I am pretty psyched about it!

I was hoping to get some insight from some seasoned Florida LEO's on the best FHP Troops or areas to be in. I will at some point get to select three Troops that I am interested in, but am in no way guaranteed anything. My BI told me that the areas I am interested in though, are high demand for new troopers.

I am interested in Orlando, Orange county area. Ft.Myers (Lee County); and Miami, (Miami-Dade)... I am looking to become more involved in highway narcotic interdiction among my other duties.. But from what I'm told by various sources, Ft.Myers and Miami would be the best area's for that. At this point in my career I want to be as busy as possible, I'm in my early twenties and I want to make the most of the early years of my career.

So if anyone could give me any insight, or personal reccomendations, they would be appreciated.

Thanks guys, and stay safe.

I would reccomend Orange county because i believe you would have plenty to do and i am sure many opportunities for narcotic interdiction. Plus, I think it is a better area to live and work than Miami or Ft Meyers.

Congrats on FHP and I won't persuade you to go work for a city or county. You sound excited to be working for FHP and I don't want to discourage you because troopers are needed and just as important as the county and city police. Enjoy your career and have fun while staying safe.

[Florida Smokey]

Here isa great article regarding our interdiction units. As mentioned in the article, we usually stay pretty quiet when we make a good drug arrest.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070613/COLUMNISTS02/7

06130362/1002/NEWS01



Jurisdictions for law enforcement agencies are traditionally easy to define.

Police departments in Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Sanibel Island fight crime
in their cities.

The sheriff's office combats crime in the rest of Lee County.

What about the Florida Highway Patrol? It appears defined.

Florida.

Highway.

Patrol.

Troopers patrol highways.

But Federal Public Defender Martin DerOvanesian says troopers took a wrong
turn last month when they arrested his client for marijuana cultivation in
Lehigh Acres.

"What are they doing?'' he asks. "I was fascinated to learn the Florida
Highway Patrol had so much free time on its hands it could go chase down
grow houses in Lehigh Acres.''

Holy Broderick Crawford!

(Younger readers alert: "Highway Patrol,'' starring Crawford as Chief Dan
Mathews, hasn't yet made it to TV Land, but it was a hit from 1955-59. The
portly Mathews, wearing a jacket, tie and hat, pulled over drivers and
handed out tickets - sometimes with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.)

Mathews was DerOvanesian's kind of trooper, sticking to highways and not
patrolling the sticks of Lehigh.

But FHP Sgt. Dan Hinton says marijuana processing wasn't a concern when
Mathews enforced the TV highways.

"Grow houses are epidemic,'' he says. "They're out of control. The drug
problems coming from the east coast to the west coast are already here.''

Hinton says FHP and the Drug Enforcement Administration organized a task
force to target indoor marijuana cultivation operations.

"We had 18 marijuana grow house busts in Lehigh Acres for April, May and
March,'' he says.

I didn't know that.

"That's because we don't call a press conference every time we make a
bust,'' Hinton says.

Yet DerOvanesian wonders who is minding the roads while troopers sniff out
dope houses.

"It's no wonder no one is out enforcing the traffic,'' he says. "It looks
like an impressive number of FHP officers were off the streets for a
considerable amount of time on this one.''

His client, Jovany Aleman Noriega, 33, 829 Aprile Ave. S., is charged with
possession of 156 marijuana plants with intent to distribute.

Hinton says his five-member troop isn't neglecting highways. Troopers patrol
highways four days a week and bust grow houses the other day.

Malcolm Rhodes, who retired as FHP spokesman three years ago and works at
the federal courthouse as a guard, says troopers get tips during traffic
stops that lead to grow houses.

"It almost seems farfetched, but someone a trooper stops may have
information,'' he says.

Hinton says highway stops of marijuana transporters also lead troopers to
grow houses.

"We're talking about 250 plants,'' he says. "Those plants have to go
somewhere.''

Noriega's house is off the beaten path, not far from the Lee-Hendry county
line.

"Do you think FHP made a deal, and that the DEA is now writing traffic
citations?'' DerOvanesian asks.

Hinton laughs at the attorney's sarcasm.

"My guys' job is interdiction,'' he says. "We're getting (marijuana) before
it hits the streets. Tell Mr. DerOvanesian I put a lot of his clients in
prison.

"If he's got a problem, he can certainly call me directly.''

[towncop]

Can we say, BURNED OUT?

The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

I hope you're not saying I'm burned out, because I'm really not. I love this job more than anything. I just wish I worked for a bigger department with a traffic unit as that would be a nice break.

[J-ville 5-0]

I hope you're not saying I'm burned out, because I'm really not. I love this job more than anything. I just wish I worked for a bigger department with a traffic unit as that would be a nice break.

TICKETS, CRASHES, TICKETS, CRASHES, CRASHES, TICKETS, TICKETS, TICKETS, CRASHES, CRASHES, CRASHES.........That's what the majority of what FHP does, hence the name, Florida Highway Patrol. Do they have a few specialized units that handle drugs, sure. But it takes time and experience to be selected to one of them. In fact, I recently had to handle a dispute on I95 that FHP was original called to. The complainant dialed *FHP to report the dispute. The FHP dispatcher patched the call to us because the dispatcher told our HQ that "FHP doesn't handle disputes". Do I respect the job FHP does? You bet, they handle most of the crashes on the interstate that I get dispatched to, which gives me time to be a proactive police officer.