Military Police vs Civilian

[Airees]

Im am now enlisted as a military policeman.  I signed on for a 5 yr. agreement for the Army and wish to go do civilian police work after my term is up.  My questioin is, can I immediatly apply for a civilian police position or do I have to actually go to the acadamy first.  

I also want to know how to become a homicide detective.  Any info. on either of these would be very helpful.......thanks.

Aaron      

[cpl_mike]

Being an "M.P." gives you great field experience( as far as dealing with /resolving problems) and shows most civilain  agencies that you can handle a difficult assignment, but sad to say- YOU WILL HAVE TO GO TO AN ACADEMY! All yelling aside(LOL),it's really not a big thing as your basic and advanced training will compare or even be more difficult.  You will find similarities in a municipal/state/county police academy as what you've been trained in MP school, but remember that the focus of civilian law enforcement is somewhat different from military in certain aspects.Have you thought about applying for the federal police agencies such as DOD Police, CID , NIS- those units hire active military and you can continue on  in these agencies if you return to civilian life.Lots of agencies appreciate military backgrounds, but don't accept MP training as equal to to their own training( based on what ever P.O.S.T standards they set ). Based on PFQ you should be in shape to handle "civilian academy demands",just make sure your writing skills are good and you should do fine. If your provost marshal will allow it, you should check into a reserve position with your local agency near the base(are stationed in U.S.?). you could do this on your "off duty time",gain experience , and academy training as well-could ultimately enhance your MP work .If any training on investigations comes about(i.e. latent print recovery/crime scene tech /traffic collision inv,etc)while you are in ,take it by all means-it will be valuable later on in civilian enforcement....

[Charlie]

Airees--I can only add to Cpl. Mike's thoughts.....

A lot of agencies like applicants who have previous military time. And, it often will give you a few points on the written testing process. BUT,.....you will most likely have to attend another police academy.

Sure, when you get out of the military, you can apply for a civilian LE agency right away BUT.....I would also highly recommend that you acquire some college credit hours, preferably a degree. It can be a very competitive process getting on board a department out here in the civilian world. Give yourself the best edge possible.

I never served in the military but I have often heard from former MP's that they're not given the credit they deserve by civilian agencies. I am not sure why but there are apparently some significant differences between civilian and military LE.

If you have your heart set on becoming a homicide detective, you'll likely have to do your time in patrol first when you get on board somewhere. Usually, this is a minimal of a couple of years. Depending upon the agency, they may also have some sort of  selection process in place to determine WHO will get moved into Homicide next. Homicide is probably one of the most sought after positions within any given LE agency IF they have this type of specialized division within a department. Usually homicide detectives have that reputation of being part of an elite group in the department. ;D

Again, education, education, education.....will help give you an edge down the road I think. Plus, your service time as well as you street time with a department will likely be a factor too.

Charlie

[[e-mail]]

Having served 5 years as an MP myself and now doing the  move into the civilan relm I can tell you that the experiance you gain with the military will be valuable to you when you begin to apply with PDs.  I too would recommed getting some education while in the military.  Although difficult, I managed to complete my AA while serving in the military.  Most dept. will give you more pay for the degree and its becoming an essential tool for promoting, especialy to a detective rank.  The best advise I can give is to begin applying 9 months from your deros.  Most dept. offer a special out of town testing date for canidates that are coming from another state.  This allows you to complete all the necessary appointments within one trip.  I found this to be extremly help since I was stationed oversees.  It will make your transition a smooth one because the PD hiring process can take along time.  Good Luck

[Airees]

Thanks a lot guys, I really needed this advice.  
It makes it really hard to get college credits now because I am overseas. (Korea)

I have 1 yr of college experience so I could get 2 promotions in the military right off the bat.  I signed on for $78,000 College money after Im out so I may be taking a lot of courses afterwards.  

My next question is.......Would it be smarter to take off these next 3 yrs after I get out to go to college or should I get a job immediatly as a P.O. and take college classes on my time off?   (Keep in mind I want to make detective someday.)

 Airees

[cpl_mike]

Unfortunately I didn't serve in the military(one experience I wished I hadn't missed when I was younger) but  I think that you should apply to agencies in which you are interested just prior to leaving the military(agencies here in Calif. sometimes have special programs for military personnel trying to enter law enforcement,like the Calif Highway Patrol and LAPD)since you have the internet avail. check for such programs.As far as education,after nearly 13 yrs on the job, I'd advise a big "yes" to going to school-can you do both-"yes",but it requires discipline. check for online college courses now(particularly where you want to reside after the service. It gets harder( but not impossible) as you get older, and issues such as family life,bills,etc, could deter a return to school if you join an agency.Most probationary officers I've dealt with have to postpone school until the academy and field training program/probation are over-thats anywhere from 18 -24 months.This is to focus on learning their primary duties and how to function as a officer on patrol.Their are numerous accelerated college programs that are accredited(the Univ. of Phoenix, as an example), but these programs are EXPENSIVE when compared to community college and state college courses.When you have "free" time,use the internet via copnet.com or officer.com and do the research-take care...