Baltimore City Police Department Q&A

[LightsOut]

nevermind- figured it out

[jvegas]

we started with 39, are down to 35.

WOW, thats insane. usually they only lose 1 or 2 within the first week and start with closer to 50. the smallest class i have seen since i went through was about 45. any other jurisdictions? i will say that i didnt see anyone that looked too out of shape. i heard E talking about not pushing someone along, im the guy that was wearing a green sweatshirt.

[fabolous084]

went and saw the new class today just as they got back from a run and were lining up in the gym. looked like a small class, how many do you have?

I probably said good afternoon to you hahah

[MeBPD]

4 people quit already?? Damn. Its so watered down from what it used to be too.

[jvegas]

4 people quit already?? Damn. Its so watered down from what it used to be too.

i was thinking the same thing when i was there watching. wasnt much yelling going on.

[mdterp12]

Dude we barely have enough cars to cover a shift and most of the time were always down cars and are forced to double up

In my opinion they should stop hiring people and take that money and buy more vehicles. But I don't work with the BPD so I don't know the situation there. Is BPD desperate for people?

[Friday, Joe]

Dude we barely have enough cars to cover a shift and most of the time were always down cars and are forced to double up

I would think that you might like partners in that city. Replace the rear seats so you can put a few more units in the back too

[jvegas]

I would think that you might like partners in that city. Replace the rear seats so you can put a few more units in the back too

they tried having two man cars and it didnt work out from a productivity stand point. its nice to have someone to talk to, sometimes, but from a safety standpoint, its not worth having less cars on the street. usually, your squad will listen to calls and respond as backup without you even asking. when i was in patrol, i never felt like i (needed) someone riding with me all day. i didnt mind being doubled up with some people, but others i would rather walk foot than ride with for 8 hours. part of what makes this job so fun is that you get to decide how your day goes and how some calls are handled. certain officers have a way of stepping all over your call and making mountains out of mole hills. id rather see 2 cars on the street than 1 car and 2 officers in it.

in reply to tpdman: most people being hired now are funded by federal grants that only apply to people, not vehicles or equipment. the cars are there, they are just in the shop being serviced for routine maintenance or in the body shop from being wrecked. unfortunately, the police dept has no say in how fast the cars get back on the street. the general consensus is that some of the "technicians" at the garages would be better off flipping burgers than fixing cars.

[Friday, Joe]

part of what makes this job so fun is that you get to decide how your day goes and how some calls are handled. certain officers have a way of stepping all over your call and making mountains out of mole hills.

Most definitely.

[mdterp12]

in reply to tpdman: most people being hired now are funded by federal grants that only apply to people, not vehicles or equipment. the cars are there, they are just in the shop being serviced for routine maintenance or in the body shop from being wrecked. unfortunately, the police dept has no say in how fast the cars get back on the street. the general consensus is that some of the "technicians" at the garages would be better off flipping burgers than fixing cars.

Ah, that makes sense. I wasn't aware that they were being funded by grants.

[APO Jay]

Took the written psych last week and handed all my stuff in. Now comes the 100 year wait to get a call from a B.I.
I'm a little confused though. Why would BPD put in a class of only 39 if they are looking to hire 400 something people? Are they having budget problems despite the funding for new recruits?

[m3grady2]

Took the written psych last week and handed all my stuff in. Now comes the 100 year wait to get a call from a B.I.
I'm a little confused though. Why would BPD put in a class of only 39 if they are looking to hire 400 something people? Are they having budget problems despite the funding for new recruits?

This is what im thinking? I'm still waiting to hear something back too and they're putting in a class with under 40 people? But back to waiting

[Friday, Joe]

The estimated 400 is for the newspapers. You can't trust that. The fact is that unemployment is at an all time low. BPD is getting app after app of people way over qualified. They can afford to be picky at this point in the economy.

A bit like supply and demand. The demand for jobs is high. If they squeeze the supply (amount of positions) they can increase the caliber of recruit

[jvegas]

Took the written psych last week and handed all my stuff in. Now comes the 100 year wait to get a call from a B.I.
I'm a little confused though. Why would BPD put in a class of only 39 if they are looking to hire 400 something people? Are they having budget problems despite the funding for new recruits?

i forget the numbers, but they had a much smaller quota for 2010, i think it was around 100 more, minus the current 39, so that leaves 61 before 2011. i doubt it will happen, though. theres probably some deal where additional govt funding doesnt come in until 2011 to cover the remaining quota of 300, which is feasible if they run the number of classes as in years past... used to be a new class of between 40-55 every 2 months.

[APO Jay]

Oh okay. I hope they do do that. When I was at recruitment last Thursday I saw on the board that they wanted to hire 350 next year. Maybe they will roll that remaining 61 into 2011. We'll see.