Texas officers.

[Matto]

What are some good departments in the Dallas Ft worth area that impress you? I know I've heard good things about Richardson, Flower Mound, Rowlett and Colleyville just to name a few. Any opinions?

[BikeCop501]

Southlake is good, having a few problems with upperranks but still good, Grapevine is a great Dept. so is some of the ones you said. DART is ok, as is DFW DPS

[Matto]

Southlake is good, having a few problems with upperranks but still good, Grapevine is a great Dept. so is some of the ones you said. DART is ok, as is DFW DPS

Appreciate it, Southlake does look pretty nice, haven't contacted them yet. I've emailed Grapevine twice now and they haven't emailed back, not sure whats up there. I've looked at Bedford, too, but I've heard they are having money problems, not sure. I'm really gung ho on Flower Mound, though. They would be my goal department, but there is a really great selection in the area. You mention DFW DPS, your just talking about DPS, right? People I talk to from that area say they rarely see the DPS, not sure why. Maybe because the cities tend to monitor the interstates that run through or outside?

[Wilco5o]

The DPS he is refering to is the Dallas Fort Worth Dept. of public safety. It is the Dallas airport and they do the police fire and ems at the airport. They use to rotate through all three service so you would have to do them all, but now the police just do law enforcement there. I have heard it is a pretty good place to work and pays well if you don't mind doing the airport thing.

[PhilipCal]

Texas Officers

Dallas PD is currently having some problems. It's got some great people, but upper command/leadership is ?????? Take a look at Irving, Arlington, or closer to Ft.Worth, Euless, North Richland Hills, Haltom City. Lots of smaller agencies in the DFW area as well.

[Matto]

Dallas PD is currently having some problems. It's got some great people, but upper command/leadership is ?????? Take a look at Irving, Arlington, or closer to Ft.Worth, Euless, North Richland Hills, Haltom City. Lots of smaller agencies in the DFW area as well.

Appreciate it guys. Yeah I've looked at Euless and Hurst as well, they seem like pretty good cities, seem to work a lot of traffic as well, so I guess it's good they're proactive. Any more suggestions do share.

[Matto]

Come on guys gotta be more Texas folk than that. How about Mckinney or Allen or North Richardson?

[tex pd]

Richardson, Carrollton, Plano (probably the highest pay), Garland, Mesquite, Arlington, Addison, those are the ones that come to mind without really thinking too hard. Research them and decide which would be the best fit for you. All have good and bad points.

Those are all PD's, there are also Dallas County SO, Tarrant County SO, and all of the Constable districts. I wouldn't try Dallas County unless you want to do a great deal of time working in the jails, not sure about Tarrant County.

[Matto]

Richardson, Carrollton, Plano (probably the highest pay), Garland, Mesquite, Arlington, Addison, those are the ones that come to mind without really thinking too hard. Research them and decide which would be the best fit for you. All have good and bad points.

Those are all PD's, there are also Dallas County SO, Tarrant County SO, and all of the Constable districts. I wouldn't try Dallas County unless you want to do a great deal of time working in the jails, not sure about Tarrant County.

Thanks man, any opinions on the ones I named off? Allen, Mckinney, Flower mound, bedford, euless, hurt, north richardson, rowlett, frisco and I am sure I'm leaving a bunch out.

I've heard Carrollton is pretty good, Plano I'm not sure if I could ever get on because like you mentioned they pay really well and the hiring list is VERY long. I've heard good things about Garland but I hear they have quite a bit of crime and a rough crowd to deal with. Whats the situation with Addison? Seems like a nice city but they've got quite a few robbieres and 2 murders here lately (reading off a crime data site) for such a small city.

I appreciate the help man./

[CrymsinSky]

I've been through several schools with Flower Mound, Carrollton, and Lewisville PD officers. All of them were really professional and personable. I think an officer will speak volumes about a department and they usually spoke well of their departments. I've heard some bad things about Plano PD, but you know what they say about what you hear. I am not too keen on Denton PD BUT I also work closely with them so that may be part of the problem, not too sure I can be objective.

Addison is a unique city in that they are only about four square miles in size but they have a TON of restuarants and people coming in and out of the city. Could be why they've had some violent crimes lately. They don't have a large resident population but with the corporate offices, clubs, and restuarants, you have a lot of 'transients' coming through the city. I like going there personally.

It all depends on what you're looking for. I personally work for a university PD where we're actually allowed to be the police. Works for me but may not be a good fit for you.

[Matto]

I've been through several schools with Flower Mound, Carrollton, and Lewisville PD officers. All of them were really professional and personable. I think an officer will speak volumes about a department and they usually spoke well of their departments. I've heard some bad things about Plano PD, but you know what they say about what you hear. I am not too keen on Denton PD BUT I also work closely with them so that may be part of the problem, not too sure I can be objective.

Addison is a unique city in that they are only about four square miles in size but they have a TON of restuarants and people coming in and out of the city. Could be why they've had some violent crimes lately. They don't have a large resident population but with the corporate offices, clubs, and restuarants, you have a lot of 'transients' coming through the city. I like going there personally.

It all depends on what you're looking for. I personally work for a university PD where we're actually allowed to be the police. Works for me but may not be a good fit for you.

Appreciate the reply man, it's always good to hear response from Police officers about surrounding departments. Like I said if I had my choice most likely I'd go with Flowermound, I emailed a BI from there and he seemed like a really good guy and helpful. I don't think the pay is as good as the other surrounding departments, though. What do people think about the Hurst, Euless, and Bedford? Rowlett.

Thanks again for all the help.

[tex pd]

Rowlett PD is a good department along with Rockwall PD and SO. From what I hear from friends who work at these three, pay is pretty good also. You have to remember any of the cities that share a border with Dallas all have the same crimes as are being committed in Dallas, just on a more infrequent basis. I don't personally know any officers from the mid-cities area (Hurst, Euless, etc.) but I haven't heard anything bad about any of those departments. Carrollton and Richardson, last I heard, are both very much into community policing. If I had to pick between the two I would pick Carrollton, but their badges are the size of small hubcaps. Garland is a good department with a fairly new chief and a new station house. Heath is supposed to be a good department in a growing area, but I don't have any idea what they pay. Mesquite is hard to get on with, but I hear that they don't loose many once they hire on there. I hope this helps!

[Matto]

Rowlett PD is a good department along with Rockwall PD and SO. From what I hear from friends who work at these three, pay is pretty good also. You have to remember any of the cities that share a border with Dallas all have the same crimes as are being committed in Dallas, just on a more infrequent basis. I don't personally know any officers from the mid-cities area (Hurst, Euless, etc.) but I haven't heard anything bad about any of those departments. Carrollton and Richardson, last I heard, are both very much into community policing. If I had to pick between the two I would pick Carrollton, but their badges are the size of small hubcaps. Garland is a good department with a fairly new chief and a new station house. Heath is supposed to be a good department in a growing area, but I don't have any idea what they pay. Mesquite is hard to get on with, but I hear that they don't loose many once they hire on there. I hope this helps!

Appreciate the reply, and yes it helps. Yeah I understand the scum will slither over to departments bordering but thankfully from the crime rates it's not nearly as bad as Dallas where crime is through the roof. Rowlett is another one on the top of my list, I like Carrollton although I can't say much for their cars . Richardson is into community policing? When I went down in like 2002 to pick up a car from a guy that lived in Richardson he kept freaking out about us speeding in the city there, he said Richardson was really hard on speeding but I guess that may not have anything to do with the whole community thing. Haven't heard of Heath, guess I'll have to check it out. Appreciate the help man.

[CrymsinSky]

Appreciate the reply, and yes it helps. Yeah I understand the scum will slither over to departments bordering but thankfully from the crime rates it's not nearly as bad as Dallas where crime is through the roof. Rowlett is another one on the top of my list, I like Carrollton although I can't say much for their cars . Richardson is into community policing? When I went down in like 2002 to pick up a car from a guy that lived in Richardson he kept freaking out about us speeding in the city there, he said Richardson was really hard on speeding but I guess that may not have anything to do with the whole community thing. Haven't heard of Heath, guess I'll have to check it out. Appreciate the help man.

Really, it's just going to boil down to politics and pay. What I mean is, every department is going to have it's share of drama/politics. The turnover will probably determine how bad and/or tolerable it is. The second, is the pay...it's hard enough working 40-50 hours a week without having to get a second job to suppplement to make ends meet. Most of us do the second job thing to get ahead or to get some nice things...not so much to make ends meet.

I've heard in Gainesville...bordering TX and OK....they pay something like $22-25 a year for a patrol officer! I work with two guys who came from this dept and you wouldn't believe some of the stories. Some county deputies get paid less than that. So, you know what I mean by pay but DFW area departments usually pay pretty well in order to stay competitive.

Personally, if I were in better shape to pass the agility course, I would apply with the DFW airport DPS...the pay scale for a patrol officer is crazy! In a good way too...but you may not get to see a lot of action.

[Matto]

Really, it's just going to boil down to politics and pay. What I mean is, every department is going to have it's share of drama/politics. The turnover will probably determine how bad and/or tolerable it is. The second, is the pay...it's hard enough working 40-50 hours a week without having to get a second job to suppplement to make ends meet. Most of us do the second job thing to get ahead or to get some nice things...not so much to make ends meet.

I've heard in Gainesville...bordering TX and OK....they pay something like $22-25 a year for a patrol officer! I work with two guys who came from this dept and you wouldn't believe some of the stories. Some county deputies get paid less than that. So, you know what I mean by pay but DFW area departments usually pay pretty well in order to stay competitive.

Personally, if I were in better shape to pass the agility course, I would apply with the DFW airport DPS...the pay scale for a patrol officer is crazy! In a good way too...but you may not get to see a lot of action.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah DFW departments pay pretty good, generally they all usually pay 40k a year starting out which is perfectly fine with me, my dad's been a cop for 21 years, is now actually a Captain and I believe his pay is somewhere around 44 or so.