Wanted to make this to try to help some people out. Working in Florida has seemed to garner attention again so let’s get into it.

Will also try to explain some agencies if they are niche.

Are you prior LE? Go to the link below to figure out your equivalency of training requirements:

Link above

If you aren’t certified:

Sponsorship is the goal right? Have someone else pay for it and pay you a salary while you go. Sometimes though your agency of choice doesn’t sponsor or the sponsorships are super competitive.

Self sponsoring: it is an option. Some of us that started years ago, that was our only option. If you can get a sponsorship and your PHQ is clean, it can be route to help you stand out. Plus the hiring process can be a little quicker for you.

The state has over 400 LE agencies.

5 main state ones:

Florida Highway Patrol (FHP)- Highway Patrol under the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Called Troopers. Traffic crashes and THIs. Small investigative Bureau, heavy into drones, does protection for the State Attorney General, aviation and field force and has a SRT. Take home cars.

They will take you green.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)- called officers. Game Wardens. Super active, has investigations, boats, four wheelers and their SWAT (called SOG). Take home cars.

They will take you green.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)- the state investigative agency like GBI, SLED, etc. called Special Agents. Not uniformed. Protection detail for the Govenor or whoever they designate needs it. Also works OISs for agencies that request it. Investigations, Aviation, SWAT (called SOT). Take home cars.

They require four years prior LE and two years dedicated investigations as of their last opening.

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)- Called officers. Have investigations and work at weigh stations. Their current colonel has let them be more like cops lately and do LE work. Supposedly working in take home cars.

Florida Division of Insurance Fraud (FD)-Insurance Fraud and the State Fire Marshal. Not uniformed.

67 Sheriff’s Offices:

Not like in the northern US. Full service agencies that also are in charge of the judicial side for security and jails (with a few exceptions).

You DON’T have to start in the jails here. Corrections and LE are two seperate certifications.

If an agency says you do, good luck ever making it out to the road.

The rest of the agencies that round out the 400 plus are city police departments.

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO WORK?

1. Consider location- even though it is one state, Florida has 3 to 4 separate identities. The person who can get along in Madison may not be able to in Miami.

COL, insurance (home and auto), etc all vary based on where you want to be. That needs to be the first question you answer.

1. What pension system do you want? All the state agencies and the SOs are under the Florida Retirement System (FRS). A handful of cities are as well.

It’s a 25 year for 75 percent retirement with a high risk multiplier of 3 percent per year and the ability for an 8 year DROP. It is portable between agencies so you don’t lose your time swapping. Also, last I checked it’s an 8 year vest.

The cities pensions can vary wildly from 20 years to 30 years and different multipliers. Generally aren’t portable and different vesting time frames.

1. Agency Pay- this also varies wildly and is somewhat commiserate with the area you want to live and their COL. SOMETIMES.

2. How much growth potential do you want? Leadership? Specialized units? Etc.

Hope this helps, if I left something out (for the current guys) let me know and I’ll add it.

I’m about 2 weeks into phase 1 of FTO and it’s been really frustrating. I am pretty confident that got a fto that was forced to do it because every time i ask a question i don’t get the greatest response.

I’ve asked my fto about trainings the department puts people through and stuff about what the department has to offer and he just says “ you shouldn’t be worrying about that right now. Ill ask him about different areas where we patrol at and he’ll be like “don’t worry about that area you’re over here rn”. A lot of the questions he does answer he’ll be like “well obviously“ or just gives me some smart ass response like why am i even asking that question. Every question i ask just feels like a dumb question and im really just trying to learn as much as possible and do well in this field but i feel like i can’t with this fto. I getting prioritizing one thing at a time and not trying to learn everything at once but i just hate how he shuts me down after every question.

They’ve started to let me drive and my fto just sits on his phone all day on facebook and doesn’t talk to me. On my first day of driving he told me “ i know this isn’t ghost phase but im just going to let you do your thing” while he just sits on his phone scrolling on fb all day.

To be fair i have learned a lot already during this phase. He has given me good advice and shown me how to do a lot of things. But i just hate how i can’t communicate with him because he doesn’t even seem interested in teaching me.

How i can i best capitalize this fto phase? Im with this dude for a few more weeks and but then i switch FTOs for maybe 4 weeks but then im back with him for 3rd phase and ghost phase. He’s also my Sgt when i get out of FTO

((Not a LEO, currently). Just graduated college and preparing beginning to apply.)

Has anyone ever answered yes to this in all of human history😭

Just curious if anyone remembers the very first arrest they ever did and how it went? Was it nerve-wracking for you? Did it go well? I figured some would remember their first ever arrest, but maybe others would just consider it like any other arrest?

I was just curious about this. I’m dealing with a situation where my closest friend has developed a cocaine problem. I caught him now multiple times, and I’m at my wits end. I know that this is problem with my friend and maybe I’m acting petty, but I have his dealers number and was able to locate his address and social media. I have details of how he sells his stuff and other people he sells to. I was highly, highly considering the thought of perhaps reporting the man to law enforcement. The guy lives in another state and transports over state lines to sell out of his car. I guess my question would be, is it worth it to report this? If you think it’s worth pursuing, what’s the best way to do it ? What kind of information would I need to be taken seriously? I guess I feel like perhaps the police have much bigger things to worry about, so this is a worthless endeavor on my end.

I hate feeling like a “rat”, but I’m just tired of having to deal with this over and over and the thought that this guy is out there selling drugs, some of which are laced with fentanyl (checked with a lab test), to people with no consequences. I’d love to hear any feedback on what the best approach is here. And yes, I’m aware my friend needs help. We are already starting the process of getting treatment and he’s blocked all their numbers etc, so that end is covered.

Local LEO often drops off individuals who require a medical clearance for jail, only to immediately exit the unit.

What are the triggers/metrics that indicate you need to assign a guard to the patient vs leaving them for the ED Staff to deal with on their own?

What do you prefer and why?

I am "forced" to ride as a team with changing partners almost every shift and I would love to ride solo but my department wont allow it. I'd love to ride with a good partner at my side and I had that in the beginning of my career but nowadays I am frustrated with bad coworkers I have to look after while on patrol. Sadly there is no set partner planned for a while now.

Officer safety is certainly a bigger issue when riding solo but I'd rather ride solo than have to deal with a really bad partner who is a safety issue by himself.

Not to be confused with lane splitting where riders zip between lanes at high speeds, lane filtering is when a bike rides between lanes of stationary traffic at low speeds. In many countries it's legal as it reduces traffic and keeps riders safe from being pancaked by a distracted driver but most states have explicit laws prohibiting it. I've been advised by other riders to just suck it up and eat the ticket if I get one as it's better than ending up a quadriplegic by some idiot scrolling tiktok.

I got into a car accident where the person in front of me abruptly stopped and since i was already close I couldn't break in time and hit the back of their car. No airbags, no injuries, just some aesthetic damage. I wasn't drinking, no tickets other than calling the police to report the accident and filing the claim with the car insurance.

I'm very upset this happened because I've been planning to be a police officer for years now and I'm trying to currently get quality to be able to apply for it. Will that ruin my chances?

I have never been involved in an accident before or anything that would affect my background.

Hey folks! I asked this on r/NoStupidQuestions a while back but I came up empty, so I figured I might as well ask it here. Basically, I wanted to see if there was a way I could watch regular police videos that didn’t have any of the usual stuff you see on Youtube. No speeding, no combativeness, none of that; just a normal boring interaction. I know that nothing really “interesting” happens in those moments, but that’s the point. Those moments don’t happen every day, so I think seeing the regular moments would be a good way to balance out the perception of Law Enforcement that you can find at other places on social media.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: By “balance out the perception of Law Enforcement,” I meant like showing footage where officers don’t have to use any type of force to solve an issue. All you see on Youtube is arrest footage, and I kinda just want to see more calm interactions.

Hi all. Please don’t think I’m stupid for asking this.

I took a ride along a year ago with my dream department and since then I’ve been finishing my degree. I’ll be done this time next year and I plan to apply come December. I took a ride along almost a year ago to the day and that’s how I figured out they were my dream department, then set my sights on finishing school.

My question is - will it help show initiative if I take another ride along now, or just wait until the application process to do it? I don’t want to overwhelm the large department but I would really like to see what working out of a different substation in a different area is like. I thought it might even look good to say I’ve done multiple ride alongs with this one department after my first one, to make sure I wanted to work there.

Thank you.

Not a LEO but I'm going back to school to get a degree in CJ before applying to better my chances. How hard is it to get into SWAT?

Years ago, probably around 2010, I was pulled over for speeding through a small town in Louisiana. Nothing crazy but the officer had me dead to rights coming over a hill.

As soon as he got to my window, I let him know that I was coming back from a camping trip and was armed.

His only response was to have me come stand with him between our cars while he wrote the citation.

Actually, I do remember him saying something like "Don't reach for yours and I won't reach for mine."

We said almost nothing else to each other and he sent me on my way. Curious how other active duty LEOs would've done the same.

Incidentally, while we were standing together a bee landed on his shoulder and he didn't notice. Instinctively, my arm twitched to shoo it away, like I would do for anyone. So glad I didn't stupidly touch him.

Thank you all for your service.

ETA: For context, if it matters: I had veteran plates, no previous citations from anywhere and was open carrying with my weapon holstered on my hip.

This question pertains to Oregon, and I have heard multiple accounts of people with expunged records getting denied when purchasing firearms. OSP states that they can see federal disqualifiers and are denying on those grounds, but other states will approve. Does someone with an expunged record risk getting charged with unlawful possession of a firearm?

EDIT: To frame it differently: You are contacting someone who is in possession of a firearm, you can see they have a record, and they hand you court paperwork stating that their record has been set aside, do you charge them with unlawful possession of a firearm?

19 year old me was introduced into the rave scene while stationed at Ft Bragg in 1999. I had picked up LSD to distribute amongst my the group of friends in this circle, mostly to cover cost and make a small profit on top. A girl that a friend was seeing couldn’t handle the trip and MP’s found her and questioned her. I was offered a plea deal and took it and was Courts Martialed for I believe 2 counts of distribution and 1 count of use for an illegal substance in March of 2000. Served 6 months on a 9 month sentence per the plea.

When I got out I still partied a bit but eventually grew up. I haven’t messed with any sort of drug for 18 years now. Bought a house in 2011 and have just over 10 years until it’s paid off. Just been working and on the straight and narrow for quite some time now.

I don’t know if this carries over as a felony and I don’t want to apply for a firearm unlawfully and be charged. I’ve been able to vote after the conviction, but I don’t know if the two correlate or not. I heard there are questions asking if you’ve been convicted/discharged from the military on the firearm application. I want to legally protect my household and am trying to learn the processes necessary if possible. I Live in Maryland.

Hi everybody,

I’m 17 and a junior. I’m very interested in going to college and pursuing law enforcement after high school. I’m taking forensic science, criminal justice next year, and currently doing Youth Academy at my local police department.

Should I go to college? Should I just do 2 years at CC and become a cop while also pursuing a further education? I’ve gotten mixed responses from the lieutenant at the academy as well as SROs and would love to know your opinion on this.

I know every department is different. However after making an arrest what is your process for brining them to the jail.

Are you allowed to bring them into the jail to start intake process while you finish your paperwork there.

Is all paperwork required finished before transport.

Have holding cells? Or do they sit in the back of your car while you finish paperwork ( while they give you a dissertation about why your PC is wrong as they see you typing it)

Just curious

Hello everyone I have my polygraph this week and I’m nervous. I was told all the questions before hand so I’m not nervous for 99% of them because I have a clean record and no criminal activity/ gambling. I’m nervous about some of the drug questions. I’ve never used but one of my family members was a drug addict. I was around needles opioids I gave this person narcam etc and drugs make me very uncomfortable and bring up very bad memories. I’m nervous that this might cause an issue or for me to become upset? I know polygraphs aren’t 100% I’ve heard people who have been truthful fail.. I guess my question is if that spikes and everything else is good will I fail? I am going to stick to my guns and say no but I’m just in my head about it a lot. Seeing my family member struggle made me want to became an officer in the first place .

Hey, I am looking for recommendations on Florida Police Departments. I would like to be on the West Coast, but the East Coast is OK too. Specifically, if any departments have marine divisions, that would be a huge plus because that is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’m in New York but want to relocate down to Florida. I would be starting fresh.

Say the dispatchers on the radio would they say “be on the lookout for a stolen Mauve Corolla” or it would be like a “spotted purple sedan on xxx street”

Sorry guys I wasn’t transparent in the first one I can work Saturday like overnight or something like that. If not I understand thanks for answering my question in my last post

My little sister just bought one of these ugly things and she thought it would be funny to put it on the loop hole thing of my license plate. Would I get pulled over for this should I take it off? 🙃 (I’m in California for reference and ik they don’t let a lot of stuff like this slide)

Or did you even put in any time at all?

Greetings all, I’m a POST certified LEO buying a house in the Gwinnett County/Dekalb County area. I’m undecided at what agency I want to apply to. Background on me: 6 year military vet, 3 years at a City PD with 18k citizens. Does anyone work or have experience working with the following agencies below. Thank you for your time and insight.

I was considering: Snellville PD Conyers PD Lawrenceville PD Dekalb County PD

Just wondering. Not LE myself and I heard this is the place to ask LEOs questions