anyone work for pa law enforcement?

[97grnrs]

im tired of working for peanuts as a mechanic. i always wanted to be a cop or on a vice squad or some sort.. i dont really see any agencies hiring right now around berks county. Anyone know of any or work for any ? i gotta do something to make better money and i would prob like it alot better. i want to work for a dept with some action so to say. not just sit around and moniter traffic.. ive been on the reading police list for about a yr now but they arent hiring and who knows when they will

[unclejumbo]

Apply to PSP if you meet the qualifications. You have to have some college now.

As for other departments. If you can pay your way for the ACT 120 certification you will have a leg up on other applicants.

I can tell you though, unless you plan on going to Philly, police work is a lot of non-exciting stuff. It is just the nature of the job. Big cities are about the only places that are always hopping.

I did vice for PSP for a year, even that is a lot of non-excitement. Cruising York city for hookers isn't nearly as fun as it sounds.

Good luck, just be prepared, it isn't Cops or CSI.

[MuzzleFlash]

Apply to PSP if you meet the qualifications. You have to have some college now.

I still challenge that. Some stations require a bachelors degree, in anything. How a bachelors degree in music would make a more qualified officer I do not know. Unless by "some college" they mean the act 120 that some colleges offer.
Follow up question: When applying for act 120 they say that you can include a love letter from the chief of police to recommend you. Do you think a mayor would do? I don't know the chief that well yet.

[unclejumbo]

I still challenge that. Some stations require a bachelors degree, in anything. How a bachelors degree in music would make a more qualified officer I do not know. Unless by "some college" they mean the act 120 that some colleges offer.
Follow up question: When applying for act 120 they say that you can include a love letter from the chief of police to recommend you. Do you think a mayor would do? I don't know the chief that well yet.

Often, the college degree is required because any college degree broadens your outlook. If you grew up in bumfucknowhere and went to bumfucknowhere high school, your experiences are probably somewhat limited. By getting some college, you deal with a much broader swatch of humanity. You also learn some critical thinking skills that high school often does not provide. Beyond that, I think it can cull out the truly stupid.

I don't know too much about ACT 120. I looked at it briefly before I was hired by PSP. That was a lot of years ago. Best bet is to contact MPOTEC directly and ask them.

[normanvin]

Often, the college degree is required because any college degree broadens your outlook. If you grew up in bumfucknowhere and went to bumfucknowhere high school, your experiences are probably somewhat limited. By getting some college, you deal with a much broader swatch of humanity. You also learn some critical thinking skills that high school often does not provide. Beyond that, I think it can cull out the truly stupid.

I don't know too much about ACT 120. I looked at it briefly before I was hired by PSP. That was a lot of years ago. Best bet is to contact MPOTEC directly and ask them.

And you have a degree from bumfucknowhere community college adds what?

[TXDMERC73]

you only need bachelors degree to be a PSP plus act 120 but not for a township police dept, all you need is Mpoetc and the ACT 120 depend on the size of the township ,most of the cops in my town dont even have college they just have some military background ACT 120 and MPOETC training thats it. i know some PSP that i went to highschool with, and my brother in law is very close to the town police.

[Steve in PA]

Requiring a college degree or a certain number of college credits reduces the number of applicants. Instead of 5,000 people applying, you might get half of that.

[unclejumbo]

Actually PSP requires two years and then waives some of that for military or prior law enforcement. Also, PSP does not use the ACT 120 training, we go to our own academy. If you have 120, you still have to go to the PSP Academy.

Even some credits from bumfucknowhere community college still exposes you to a broader group of people than the ones you spent your entire school days with. It also weeds out the truly stupid as I posted. You can't pass college level classes without some intelligence. When I got on, no college was required. In fact, military was better because of the preference points. I'd say we were split about 50/50 in my class between college and military.

A lot of local departments are starting to require some college as well. It can't hurt to get some. An associates in criminal justice would give most applicants a leg up anywhere it's not required and satisfy the requirements of the vast majority of other departments.

[chrisjames_71]

you only need bachelors degree to be a PSP plus act 120 but not for a township police dept, all you need is Mpoetc and the ACT 120 depend on the size of the township ,most of the cops in my town dont even have college they just have some military background ACT 120 and MPOETC training thats it. i know some PSP that i went to highschool with, and my brother in law is very close to the town police.

I don't think anything you said here has a lick of truth to it...

[Mohaa Player]

You should try Reno, I hear it's really easy to get in.