Hello, A Newbie from Maine

[midcoaster]

Hello all,

      My name is Lisa and I am a 33 year old female pursuing a career in LE as an LEO. I have no prior LE experience but I am in the process of starting my Criminal Justice associates degree. I will start applying without it, in fact I take the written test at the McIntosh Police Testing Alliance in Dover NH in May. At the testing alliance they test for a number of agencies in New Hampshire and Southern, Maine. Is there anyone on this board that is from New Hampshire or Maine that could give me some pointers on the hiring process in their agency in one of these states? I'm not looking to apply to any one agency in particular but I am looking at a number of agencies.
Thanks in advance,
Lisa  

[JimCMR]

Lisa;

I'm not from the East, but here in Illinois we have similar testing consortiums, and they seem to be a prety good deal for candidates.

As long as you don't have any departments in mind, this is a good way to go.  I don't know what the age limits are there, but here 35 is the upper limit for new cops, so anyone starting late makes out pretty well with a consortium.

I'd like to welcome you to our board, we have a lot of information avaialble, and there are a couple of us that are pretty active in answering the questions posted.

If you have any questions that you don't want to make public, we also have a private message area, feel free to use it.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Good luck     JimCMR

[Charlie]

midcoaster--The testing process differs depending upon where you are at geographically. Everyone does things, in general, a little differently. ;D

At the same time, there are some general similarities among all agencies as well. As an example, here is a list of what you'll most likely encounter in a "typical" police applicant hiring process. The order can vary of course.

* Initial application with agency
* Written test
* Preliminary interview
* Bpad test
* Physical agility test
* Background process: completing personal history statement, submitting required documents such as birth certificate, marriage license, divorce decree, etc.
* Polygraph exam
* Psychological exam
* Oral interview panel

Again, not all agencies do things the same way. Qualifications also can differ greatly depending upon the agency one applys to. Standards also vary. Some agencies are very strict when it comes to their standards and can be very selective. It is not uncommon for people to apply, completely process and finally get hired onto a department. That is, of course, if there are no issues at hand that would otherwise impede your hiring process.

The good news for you is the fact you are female. Fact is, most departments are actively recruiting female officers. Female officers are in high demand.

If you have any other questions, like Jim said, let us know.

Charlie

[Charlie]

In reference to my above post, I meant to say that it is not uncommon to apply to a department more than once. That means, you may have to undergo the complete hiring process more than once as well BEFORE you are finally hired. So, don't be discouraged IF you don't get hired the first time!

Sorry about that..... 8)

Charlie

[junior]

lisa,

welcome to the board!! ;D it really is a great tool.  please be sure and update us on your progress .  best of luck!!

junior  8)

[midcoaster]

Hello Jim,
             Thanks for the reply and info. I think the consortium system will simplify the whole process. We have varying cut off ages around here it all depends on the department, although I'm told most of them lean towards the 35 age cut off. Go figure, just when I finally know what I was put on this earth to do; I end up being dangerously close to the cut off age for it.

If I can't get hired relatively soon, I will most likely join the Air National Guard and go into AF Security Forces. I will do anything that I have to get into LE, becoming a police officer is more important to me than I ever knew anything career wise could ever be to me.

My husband is an active duty Air Force recruiter. He has been in the AF for 15 years now, and I have been with him on this adventure for the whole 15 years. We are at our last assignment now because he has 5 years left until retirement and, he will be extending in recruiting so that we may stay here. Maine is home for us. We will however, be willing to relocate to NH if necessary.

We have 3 kids ages 8, 9, & 13 years old so we will have our hands full as I prepare to become a LEO. We are a team though and we will make it work. I have my families' support in this endeavor and that is what counts.

I have been predominantly a stay at home Mom for all of these years because in my husbands previous AF career field (aircraft electrical & environmental systems) his hours changed a lot and he of course could be deployed. These factors don't mix well with raising 3 small kids. I did however hold down a few retail jobs, and I earned a vocational medical assistants diploma. I never got the chance to use that diploma because we received orders to Ramstein, Germany right after I received the diploma. I only really decided to become a medical assistant at the time because although I had a strong interest in a LE career, I didn't have the self confidence to think that I could be a LEO. I now know that I am capable of being an effective and dedicated LEO. I guess I needed a few years under my belt, and the fact that my kids are now older and less dependent helps also.

I am in the process of enrolling in an online criminal justice degree program. I will be applying to Depts. before I get it obviously but at least I will be working on it. I am also training diligently to be as competitive as possible physically. I am running about 5 miles a day and of course doing the resistance training. I'm starting to look like Arnold Schwarzenager(sp?) lol  ;D I am studying two Police exam manuals. (Barron's and Learning Express) and reading everything that I can on line. I have also started volunteering at a local youth chemical abuse prevention center, it is a drop in/rec. center for the kids here and my kids love it there. I am also looking into volunteering with some local Depts. to get all of the experience that I can.

My life has sure been busy and will be a lot more chaotic before this process is finished, but I can at least say that it hasn't been boring by any means. I do have a a couple of concerns but I will save them for my reply to charlie, since he has replied to my post also. This will keep this post from becoming an even longer saga than it already has.  ;D

Thank you so much for the welcome and again for the info. This seems like a great forum.

Lisa  

I am also sending you a personal message that I am also sending to Charlie.

[midcoaster]

Hello Charlie,
                   Thanks for replying. I noticed that the hiring process seems to vary geographically, that is why I was hoping to find someone here that is familiar with the hiring process in my area. I know that I can speak with the Dept. recruiters here but I also wanted an "inside scoop" that is more than just the standard issue "official information" that I will most likely get there.

I'm pretty familiar with the order in which the hiring process is done here and it is pretty close to what you posted except that the written test comes first. I am happy to see that being female might actually be an asset in getting hired. I have been a bit concerned that it might be a hindrance because the Depts. here seem to be predominately male, a lot have no female patrol officers.    

I do have a couple of concerns about my eligibility to be hired. I have no criminal record whatsoever so that isn't a problem. I did go through a very rebellious period from age 14-15 years old but the only thing that I was taken into custody for was a curfew violation one time. I know that I will have to disclose that on an application but I know it shouldn't be a problem.

I also had one incident from that time frame where my parents called the police to our house because I came home under the influence of Valium and  Amitriptyline. What happened was that I had basically gotten mixed up with a not so great group of kids. I came from a somewhat dysfunctional family with parents that found it necessary to move our family every year or so from Maine to Mass. (My Mom is from Maine and My Dad from Mass.) This made fitting in with decent kids hard after a certain age.

I was at my friend's house and a few of our other friends were there.I was pretty upset at the time about some family issues,and one of my friends came downstairs from my friends mother's bedroom with a bottle of Valium and passed them out, I don't know how many Mg. they were but I believe that they were on the high end of the dosage spectrum. I was hesitant to take the two Valium that were given to me; I had never taken anything like that before and was nervous about the possible effect it would have on me. One of my friends told me that they were "no big deal" and that they were a "mild" drug. My friend also told me that the Valium would be good for me since I was so upset. At that point I just sort of acquired a "who gives a s*** attitude, due to my problems that seemed so hopelessly insurmountable at the time and I took the Valium, I reasoned that I really didn't have anything to lose.

I took the Valium on an empty stomach which was a big mistake and after that everything was pretty much a blur, but of what I can remember of that day was that for some unknown reason,  I went up to my friends mom's bedroom and took a bottle of Amitriptyline out of her bed side table and took an unknown amount of them. (I vaguely remember taking them but although I know that I took more than one, I don't know exactly how many.) After taking the Amitriptyline I went home and from what my parents said, I was completely out of it and they don't know how I even found my way home, I became very belligerent and my parents had to call the police and I gave the police officer a very hard time but he managed to subdue me and I went to bed and slept for almost 24 hours. I still don't know why no one thought to take me to the emergency room.
No charges were pressed but I'm sure that there must be some record of it and I wouldn't dream of being dishonest about this anyway. I also smoked marijuana a couple of times and tried hashish once but I didn't like how it made me feel so I never used these drugs again. I am not proud of this; in fact looking back on it makes me sick with guilt because it was so stupid and sensless. I am a totally different person now.

I met the man that is now my husband, who was not a part of that bad crowd a year later and I have been with him ever since. He has been active duty Air Force for 15 years now and I have lived a law-abiding life from the time I met him until now. Other than these things, I have a clean record, no traffic violations, not even a parking ticket. I have only ever been involved in one minor fender bender in Germany on the base but no charges were filed because it was mutual fault, Another woman and I simultaneously backed into each other after having looked and not seeing the other. There was however, a report filed.

I know that a lot of other people manage to get hired with similar backgrounds, but I still feel bad about it.
I do however, have a more recent issue (not criminal) that I am going to send you and Jim a PM about

Lisa

[midcoaster]

Hello Junior,
                Thanks for the welcome and I will be sure to keep everyone updated on my progress. This really does seem like a great board. I have been doing some reading here and I think that I will learn a lot here.

Thanks again, and have a great night,

Lisa

[[e-mail]]

Question-don't those testing consortiums post the highest test scores of applicants for review by the participating agencies? I know of a similar testing process here in So.Calif.(Sand Diego Co. agencies like Carlsbad , Oceanside,etc).
Either way, it seems like a good opportunity and I wish her luck.. ;D

[midcoaster]

Cpl Mike,

         Thanks for the well wishes. From what I have heard, and keep in mind I'm new at this, so I don't know a lot about the testing process here. I have heard that what you say about the highest test scores of applicants being put up for review by the participating agencies, is true. It seems like a good and efficient system.

Have a great weekend,

Lisa