Questions about Wyoming

[MN Cop Hopeful]

Hello,

I have some questions regarding becoming hired in Wyoming. According to the WY POST, it sets and maintains standards for law enforcement personnel, i.e. police officers & deputies, dispatchers, and correctional officers (county and state).

My questions are as follows.
Does one have to attend a police academy first prior to being hired? Or does one apply, test, interview, and be offered a position as a peace officer with an agency, and then they send that newly hired person to a police academy.

Reason for asking is I have an Associates in Applied Science degree in Law Enforcement from a college here in Minnesota which encompasses both the academic and technical portions with it. Academic being how to write reports correctly, learning Constitutional Law (AZ v. Miranda etc.) , Juvenile Law, History of Law Enforcement (Sir Robert Peel). The technical portions being defensive tactics, firearms, batons, chemical agents, taser, and handcuffing.

I have spoke to a city police department, they did say that I would most likely qualify with an enhanced hiring wage concerning I have previous experience (4 years as a Police Reserve Officer), but they could not give an exact percentage of what the hiring increase would be, not that it matters, I just want to be a peace officer.


If these questions sounds strange, there is a reason for them. In Minnesota, before you can even apply to become a police officer, you must have an Eligibility Letter issued to from the POST Board. To get that letter, you must past the state’s mandated POST Test.

To take the POST test, you either have to complete a minimum of 2 years of college, majoring in criminal justice, law enforcement, or police science and have graduated from the learning institution (all on your own dime), or pass the reciprocity test, in which you already are a peace officer from another state or in the military.

Thank you for any assistance.

[GroundPounder01]

Ooo, One I can help with..

You will have to go through the POST academy regardless of your acreditted degrees or backgrounds. Now, unless you are LE form another state, in which Wyoming recognizes as same standard, then you can get in as a "lateral".

As for the POST cert.. many Wyoming LE agencies hire those who are not POST certified, and send them to the academy in Douglas Wyoming. The only agency in Wyoming presently that does not send their "new hires" to the Douglas Wyoming POST academy, is the Cheyenne Police Department, as they have gained acreditted and recognized POST certification in-house through the state of Wyoming.

You can put yourself through the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy, to the tune of about $4000, and this will increase your chances of being selected at an agency, and gives you additional overall scoring seleciton points.

You can become POST written exam certified at any time on your own however to help speed up your hiring process, by taking the Wyoming POST written exam ($35) and it is good for 1 year. Then you can continue on through the rest of the process. You will be charged at the agencies or sent to the POST written exam center to take the written anyways if you have not already.

I hope this helps!

[1042 Trooper]

Ooo, One I can help with..

You will have to go through the POST academy regardless of your acreditted degrees or backgrounds. Now, unless you are LE form another state, in which Wyoming recognizes as same standard, then you can get in as a "lateral".

As for the POST cert.. many Wyoming LE agencies hire those who are not POST certified, and send them to the academy in Douglas Wyoming. The only agency in Wyoming presently that does not send their "new hires" to the Douglas Wyoming POST academy, is the Cheyenne Police Department, as they have gained acreditted and recognized POST certification in-house through the state of Wyoming.

You can put yourself through the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy, to the tune of about $4000, and this will increase your chances of being selected at an agency, and gives you additional overall scoring seleciton points.

You can become POST written exam certified at any time on your own however to help speed up your hiring process, by taking the Wyoming POST written exam ($35) and it is good for 1 year. Then you can continue on through the rest of the process. You will be charged at the agencies or sent to the POST written exam center to take the written anyways if you have not already.

I hope this helps!

A couple of notes -

The WHP regardless of past experience and POST cert, still requires about two months of specialized training at their own academy, held at the state facility. Immediately after appointment, prior to the road.

Also, smaller depts have up to one year to send you to the academy. So being hired doesn't guarantee the academy. They will FTO and observe you in the time prior to the academy, then if their happy, you're off to school.

I have heard some bad stories about self-pay academy grads finding work.

[Mystikal]

when you go thorugh the WHP post douglas county academy is it primarily bookwork or is it still part of your "basic training" with PT and in your face stuff? i've considered WHP a few times and came close to applying once.

[GroundPounder01]

Well, my brother is on with a SD in Wyo, and got back from Douglas a while back. I am sure the HP's have more EVOC and situational training that goes on from there where other agencies would leave off.

You have to take your PT test right off the bat when you get there (they use the Cooper Standard Exam). Then you go into book work, PPCT, OC, Firearms, and all the general knowledge skills training. They do have barracks you reside in during the week, but weekends are off. It is a No tabacco facility (many times they let the smokeless stuff around). Umm.. trying to think of what else there was I had been informed of..

As for the whole 1 year to get into the academy, and some agencies giving the shaft over it.. I am sure that can happen, but thats in your probationary period, so while FTO'ing if you come across "ate up" or not really getting with the program you can get released. But as far as I know with the southern agencies, they have been pretty good at selecting candidates through the hiring process that have grounds for success.

One thing to be aware of, which I found interesting, is with the SD's, you go to the academy, but for a shorter time to become detention qualified, then after your required detention term and selected for patrol, you go back to the academy for the rest of the patrol cert.

I think the self pay candidates that have had no luck afterwards seem to be lacking in some important areas that are essential for LE work, but this is only my opinion. Which kind of supports what was stated. I guess a person would have to knwo themselves and take a gamble.

WHP huh? Wow.. They are pretty strict with their selection requirements. I thought about them once too, but being stationed somewhere off in no-mans land didnt appeal to me! LOL! Good luck!

[Mystikal]

being stationed somewhere off in no-mans land didnt appeal to me! LOL! Good luck!

thats the only thing holding me back at this point.

[MN Cop Hopeful]

I have heard some bad stories about self-pay academy grads finding work

I think the self pay candidates that have had no luck afterwards seem to be lacking in some important areas that are essential for LE work, but this is only my opinion. Which kind of supports what was stated. I guess a person would have to knwo themselves and take a gamble.

Basically what I am hearing is that folks who invest their time and money putting themselves through the academy have a hard time getting hired. Sounds like the same problem, different state.

As I said in my first post, in order to become hired in Minnesota you must have at least an Associates Degree in Law Enforcement, Police Sciences, or Criminal Justice - different names, same training. Some skip the Associates and go for their BA/BS degrees and their final year they go and do all of the tactical exersizes, firearms, EVOC, crime scene investigations, etc.....

Here, a lot of people don't really want to move out of state so it makes finding a job much more difficult. It's not uncommon here to see 70-100 people just for 1 job and some of them are already law enforcement officers from another department.

[GroundPounder01]

There are alot more openings then that here! LOL!

I am still getting bugged alot by Torrignton PD. They cant get any applicants really, LOL!

[MN Cop Hopeful]

GroundPounder - do you have any contact information you could share via PM? If they are looking I'd like to fill out an app and send them my resume.

[GroundPounder01]

Yes.. I will drop you the PM!