Finding the part-time job...

[Lictalon]

Hey, congratulate me

[shooter1201]

It took 5 YEARS of badgering my Chief before I got hired. I made apoint of stopping by the PD once every couple of weeks, inquiring about a PT position, BSing, etc. I also made a point of writing very PRO-LEO letters to the editor whenever the opportunity to do so arose.

I'd actually given up, when one day at school...totally out of the blue...I got THE phone call.

[deputy37]

weeeeeelllll....

I did the casual stop-by-and-chat for the one... for the other am paying my dues doing Admin Assist work.

Around here it's pretty competitive, because you have to have a dept send you to the Academy. So you get on PT and then pray for the FT. For those of us like me who aren't leaving their FT (Dispatch) but want a long-term PT position... it's a long wait.

Does your state have a Pre-Service Cert? I did that on my own time and dime, and it has paid off in spades.

[Deputy Joe]

quote:

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Originally posted by shooter1201:
It took 5 YEARS of badgering my Chief before I got hired. I made apoint of stopping by the PD once every couple of weeks, inquiring about a PT position, BSing, etc. I also made a point of writing very PRO-LEO letters to the editor whenever the opportunity to do so arose.

I'd actually given up, when one day at school...totally out of the blue...I got THE phone call.

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Shooter is right, brown nosing works.

It is when you least expect it. And believe it or not, it still may be who you know.

[lone ranger]

Not to dampen your spirits, but...

In Pennsylvania you're pretty much not going to get part-time police work unless you've already been through the police academy.

Kind of a Catch-22, The departments that hire for full-time will pay for you to go through the police academy, the departments looking for part-time wont.

But if you're working full time and have already been through the academy then you probably won't be looking for part-time work.

It may be different in your state.

Don't give up on a full time position just yet. A lot of Baby Boomers will start retiring in the next couple of years.

[Deputy Joe]

Our department doesn't have part timers. You might want to look for a small town that has part time protection. Put some calls out to Chiefs. They might be able to lead you in the right direction. Find out where the jobs for LE are posted in your state. In Wisconsin they are posted in the state law enforcement bulletin. Even taking a job as a reserve might be a good thing to look into.

Good Luck.

[kirch]

Finally, a topic I'm well-qualifed to answer (not that that has kept me from commenting in the past ). Apologies in advance for the length of my post. All of this is from a Wisconsin point-of-view. I'm sure things work differently in other areas, but this is how I did it here.

STEP 1: Decide Your Ultimate Goal
Decide early on if you're planning on working towards a full-time position in LE or want to remain part-time. It can help you make a lot of decisions down the road. I personally wasn't ready to take the pay cut that full-time law enforcement would require, so I decided that I wanted to be a long-term part-time officer.

STEP 2: Get Certified
I've never run across a department that would put a part-timer through the academy. In fact, most don't even put their full-timers through up here. So most of us have to go through the 600-hour academy on our own. I found a tech school that offered the academy in twice-a-week four-hour sessions at night. It took me a year to get through it, but it didn't encroach much on my regular job.

STEP 3: Start Looking Early
The hiring process never goes as fast as we want it to. Even after I found the agency that I wanted to work for, it took a good 6 months before I actually started field training. Background checks alone can last 4-6 weeks. The sooner you start the search, the better.

STEP 4: Contact Likely Departments
I started out by writing down every law enforcement department within a reasonable distance from my home. I included police departments, sheriff's offices (I happen to live in or close to 3 counties) and other LE opportunities (for example, Conservation Warden positions at the nearby state parks and forests). Then I started making phone calls. I normally started out by talking to the chief. If he (or she) wasn't the one responsible for hiring new officers, I found out who was and called that person. I asked if they hired part-time officers. I asked if they were looking for part-time officers. And I explained my situation to see if I was a match for them.

STEP 5: Application
From my phone calling, I identified about 10-12 agencies that might be a decent fit. Further conversations (both with the departments themselves and with other cops I know) helped narrow the field down to 5 places that matched up with what I was looking for. Then I started filling out and sending in application materials.

STEP 6: Follow Up
About a week after I sent each application, I called the department back and spoke with the person I'd sent the materials to. Did he get it? Did he have a chance to review it? Were there any questions or clarifications I needed to make? When could I come in for an interview?

STEP 7: Interviews
I ended up getting interviews with 3 of the agencies I'd applied at. I did my homework beforehand. I spoke with officers I knew in the area and found out that there are 2 main problems departments have with part-timers: 1) Keeping them around for an extended period of time (as most part-timers are eventually looking to work full-time and many drop or significantly cut back on the part-time work once they get a full-time position), and 2) Availability to work shifts. So, in the interview, I played up the fact that I was looking to only work part-time, do it for a long time and work at least 1-2 shifts per week. Plus, I could only work nights, weekends and holidays, the shifts that many agencies have a harder time filling. I also stressed my maturity (I was 35 at the time), my public service experience (volunteer EMT, local police commission) and my dedication (a year of night school).

STEP 8: Accept the Job
When it was all done, I had offers from 2 departments. I chose the one that worked best for me, schedule-wise. Plus, it paid more.

STEP 9: Keep Your Promises
If you are looking to eventually go full-time, don't lie about it. If you give a 3-year committment to a department to work part-time, fulfill it. Word gets around about cops that say one thing and do another. You may find that the guy you worked with at one department ends up moving on to another department where he's in charge of hiring. LE is a small community.

The key, I believe, is in the research. You have to know what the agencies in your area are looking for. Then you have to do your best to become exactly what they want. You do this by talking to other cops, talking to some departments and learning all you can.

[Lictalon]

Thanks all for some great help

[kirch]

Ride-alongs would be an excellent way to not only learn a little more about potential departments, but also get a feel for what it's really like to do this on a regular basis. I strongle encourage it. You can even try to do multiple ride-alongs with one department. Just make sure they know you're considering a career in LE, so they don't think you've got a 'cop-bob'.

[PeacefulDragon]

quote:

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Originally posted by kirch:
Ride-alongs would be an excellent way to not only learn a little more about potential departments, but also get a feel for what it's really like to do this on a regular basis. I strongle encourage it. You can even try to do multiple ride-alongs with one department. Just make sure they know you're considering a career in LE, so they don't think you've got a 'cop-bob'.

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You know, I was just about to post a question about "ride-alongs". I had a friend who went on a couple when we were back in college, and I've seen them mentioned here a few times, and I was curious what LEO's thought of them (like, its something I might want to do out of curiousity, but only if it was welcomed by LEO's). But, I think I have my answer now: I mean, I don't know what a 'cop-bob' is, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to be one (I also don't want to be a cop, though I respect those of you who do).

[Deputy Joe]

I know that some of my coworkers don't like ride alongs. I don't mind as long as the rider has a genuine interest. It is kinda nice for me to get someone in the car and get a fresh perspective.

[deputy37]

I did hundreds of hours of ride-along, mostly with the one dept I eventually was hired to work PT Admin Assist/Reception for. It helped that I dispatch for them through the regional comm ctr.

Just wanted to give you a glimmer of hope... yesterday while I was shovelling through a week's worth of catch-up with paperwork at the PD (ft receptionist is on vaca, I could only work 2 days the other days filled by brand new non-NCIC cert guy... TONS of stuff backed up) word came that one of the Reserves has gotten a FT position... which should in THEORY open up the reserve position I've been waiting and working towards. In THEORY. On paper, budget etc., I expect it will be a couple of months more... but there *is* light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not a train...