Police Officer exam ?

[[e-mail]]

Hi folks.  What is the duration (if any) between taking the PO exam and actually going into the academy?  i.e. Let's say I take the exam in January, do I have to apply to become an officer within a certain number of months?  Does the exam certification have any kind of expiration?

Thanks,

inca jones

[Drakor]

Normally everything is based one a years time. You take the written, your results are good for a year and so on. As far length before you'll know anything is three to six months. I know for a fact that some police departments take less time then this, just depends on the need and budget concerns. I also know that some police departments can take up to a year and maybe more just depends on how many applicants they have at the time.
  You can read other messages here and you 'll find many multitudes of time frames. Good luck

[Charlie]

inca_jones--Good question but you have to always remember something like this varies from one department to the next. As Drakor pointed out, commonly, you're looking at around 1-years time before your previous exam scores may expire. Thus, you would have to take the written test all over again. In addition, most likely anything else you've done such as physical, physical agility testing, background, polygraph, oral, etc. may likely expire as well. Again, you'll likely have to do it allover again.

But keep in ind also some agencies may have different regs in place that say otherwise. Why? For a number of reasons things can possibly differ as indicated below and influences how an agency may go about doing things their way:
* How many applicants versas how many positions are available? Example: What if a department has 5 openings and 500 applicants? Would this not equate to greater competition among applicants?
* How many officers or civilians are processing applicants? Obviously, if there are 500 applicants, the process takes awhile with a handfull of officers working in personnel.
* Budget constraints may limit the personnel unit's efficiency in processing applicants.
* How often does the agency in question test?
* What sort of qualifications does a given agency demand of prospective applicants? How much flexibility do they allow?
* how strict is the given agency's selection process?

As you can see, there are a number of potential factors going into all of this. Everyone seems to do things a little differently out there even though there are, at the same time, a lot of similarities too!  

In my opinion, it is likley common you're looking at the likelihood that a lot of agencies go with a year time frame in terms of how long is your test score good for. AND, complete processing takes anywhere from several weeks to a year or more depending upon WHO you apply with. Most likely, if an agency has a web site, they often maintain a web site that likely contains recruiting information which may answer some of your questions too! ;D

Clear as mud? Hope that helps! ;D If I am not mistaken, aren't you the guy who asked about the LAPD too?  

Good luck!

Charlie

[JimCMR]

Inca;  I can only speak for Illinois, but here an exam is given, and then ususlly it takes about 2 months to post an eligibility list.  That list is good for 2 years.  A candidate may start the academy the next day, or 2 years later, if at all.  Once the list expires, everything starts over.

Things are different from state to state, and city to city, so you must get the information from the particular department you are interested in.

JimCMR

[[e-mail]]

Drakor, Charlie, and Jim - thanks for all the replies.  You guys cleared up a lot of confusion (that I had  ;D).

Charlie - no, I'm not the guy who asked about LAPD.  I'm in New York City - so I'd most likely be applying with the NYPD.

Thanks again!

inca jones

[Drakor]

;D Inca alot of guys from Ny are comming to Baltimore City and applying. Good news is they  process you in a span of four days time. This means you do the written the physical agility, pysch,and talk to a BI. I know for a fact(now this depends on your background) that people are processsing in about a months time. This means from application to being hired. ;D Things move very quickly down here and you'll be in good company because about 52 percent of the new hires are from new york. Good luck

[[e-mail]]

Drakor,

Any idea why that is?  Just curious.  I actually grew up in Maryland (Silver Spring), so Baltimore isn't a problem.  Just wondering why so many NY'ers would be applying there.

Thanks,

inca jones

[[e-mail]]

Drakor,

Any idea why that is?  Just curious.  I actually grew up in Maryland (Silver Spring), so Baltimore isn't a problem.  Just wondering why so many NY'ers would be applying there.  

Thanks,

inca jones

[Jay]

The national average is arround 6 and a half months.  So it varies some departments it is a week and some it is more than a year.  Most try for the 6 month mark

[Charlie]

inca_jones--There can be several reasons why people from NY may be applying there for a job with the PD. I checked their web site recently and their police commissioner is a former NYC PD member. That could be a possible reason for a following especially if an applicant is or was a NYC PD officer. Large departments like NVC PD and several others have unfortunately had some recent general serious problems. (And I mean NO disresepct to anyone who is a member of the NYPD. Some officers take the "grass is greener" on the other side of the fence approach and may be actively getting out of one department to another. ;D

Also, Baltimore PD may be offering some sort of incentives or benefits for officers to come to work for them. I don't know "what" it is but if Drakor is correct about the influx of out of state applicants from the NY area, it must be something pretty darn good to get folks to apply with Baltimore PD. Apparently, it appears to be working pretty good. Unforunately, their web site doesn't seem to have any information on it that I have seen to give us all a hint at what it might be unless I have missed something.

www.baltimorepd.org/

Charlie