I’m about to join the police academy in January. I was curious if anyone ever feels “creeped out” sometimes when patrolling at night/in the dark. Sometimes when I am driving at night I sometimes get “creeped out” or get that “someone’s watching me” feeling.

Does anyone else get this or am I crazy 🫪

Edit: I am not afraid of the dark and have worked night shift for years, just not in this career. I should have probably worded the post better.

Sorry this might be a stupid question but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an officer vape or smoke. Are they allowed to do it while on patrol and they just choose not to? Or is it usually prohibited?

Bonus question: are yall allowed to listen to music while on patrol? I mean if you’re sitting with a radar on the side of the highway can you bump Metallica?

Again these questions really just come from lack of ever witnessing this so I could just be living under a rock.

I have an interview lined up for corrections within a smaller county in northern California, however i’m unsure if im wrong for not wanting to take it.

To start ive been in this small town/county for about 7 months due to some abrupt circumstances and came from southern California and over the past months or so had it really feel mentally boring. It’s dull and the environment is just different. Throughout my stay, I was applying with the hopes of getting on and figured maybe i can make it here.

However, recently I had come to the conclusion that I didn’t want to spend my early years in a small town & was going to move back to southern California. Until now, this came up and i’m dropping everything to stay and hopefully complete it. I don’t know if this is because I turn 21 within few weeks and it’s just a matter of how i’m viewing it, but I just don’t know is this correct. I do value this county and understand I can make a difference I just don’t know if this is the right call.

Hello, I'm in military and about to get out. I'm looking to get into law enforcement and JSO is the closest one to me. Does anyone work there ? Pros and cons ??

Hi id really love some insight into what I can do for my friend. she is in a terrible dv situation, he hits her, emotionally abusive you name it :/ I made a police report yesterday, gave all the info they needed and they didnt do anything. Im gonna assume she + her bf may have lied to them about what has happened (before i called she texted me about him hitting her). i have mountains of evidence of the abuse. she doesn’t want to leave him. but things are getting really bad. what can i do, i just want to help my friend.

Currently in the Wildland Fire Service out here in Arizona on a hotshot crew for some time now. Served in the military and overseas for 6 years.
I’ve been having a lot of thoughts about being a police officer this past year.
Grew up in rough neighborhood, did my fair share of crime and “petty hustle/theft” as a young teen along with being in an abusive household. Definitely didn’t have good examples lol.
The thought of helping out a mother or a child in dire need has been on my heart. As well as the paramilitary training and operations.

However I’m a bit discouraged about the poly and how inaccurate they can be.
Is it worth trying to pursue this career if these polygraphs will deter me from doing so?
Curious if any of you guys were in the same boat?

Appreciate any advice and tips on here. God Bless 🙏

I am looking for advice on how law enforcement typically handles a situation involving a potential bench warrant and severe child neglect.
A former close friend of mine was arrested for a DUI in December 2025 (blew a .23 BAC after totaling vehicle and destroying a stoplight ). She claims she received documentation about a bench warrant for her arrest, though I haven't seen it myself, so it's possible either charges are still pending or a warrant is active.

She is a severe alcoholic and has a 14-year-old living with her. The living conditions in the home are deeply concerning to me:

-Severe roach infestation
-Hoarder-level clutter
-Little to no food in the refrigerator or cupboards
-non physical forms of abuse that I cannot prove

The child is normalized to this environment and does not recognize the neglect. I want to know the best way to prompt police intervention. Ideally, I would like law enforcement to execute the warrant (if active) or conduct a welfare check so they can personally witness the environment and step in. I’d prefer to keep my identity private to avoid retaliation.
Can I call a non-emergency line to ask dispatch to verify if she has an active warrant? Would this prompt enforcement of the warrant if I provide her address? For context, I live in the Bay Area.

If no active warrant exist currently, how do I get the DA to file charges? In this scenario, there are only two months left until charges can no longer be filed per the 1yr timeline.

What is the most effective way to report this to LE to ensure the child gets help? I’d prefer to keep my identity anonymous to avoid retaliation, although I am willing to report to CPS if this is the best option. Please advise! Thank you all for your service.

You'll basically never see an American cop fire a warning shot, for obvious reasons. In Europe however I've noticed it's much more common. I know the Swedish and Dutch police forces use it somewhat regularly, and I'm sure other countries do as well.

To clarify, I'm not asking why Americans don't do it, I'm asking why Europeans do.

Hello! I live in a very small county in upstate NY- you know, the kind where everyone knows everyone, the biggest local employer *is* the county, and we have a single Walmart all throughout the entire county. I myself currently work for the county doing computer desk work and make far too little. The size (and relatively quietness) of the county is relevant to the question.

When I learned about the existence of NYDEC Encon police, I knew immediately that it was something I was extremely interested in. I grew up in the household of a DEC-certified wildlife rehab, so I am pretty familiar with the local wildlife and some of the issues facing them. However, they are not currently hiring, ignored my attempt at reaching out for information + ride-alongs, and I understand they are quite selective. I am keeping my eyes out for a civil service exam and will continue to do so.

In the meantime, I recently took a civil service exam for my local county Sheriff Deputy position. Working for the county, I know the elected Sheriff and many of the current deputies personally and have very high opinions of them! I am not expecting to have bad results for this exam as I was in a police explorer program when I was a teen so none of this is particularly new to me. I am less confident in the physical & lie detector exams, but I am working out now and am also signing up for a prep class said Sheriff's Dept is having for the physical fitness exam. I do have relatively controlled asthma. The base pay is about $10,000 more annually than I currently make.

On the flip side, the county is also hiring new probation officers, and I was looking at applying to that as well. Trainee pay for the first year is only $1,000 more than I currently make, but after that year it becomes closer to $8,000 more. Local probation officers are armed peace officers (not police officers under NYS law), but work more stable hours (9-5 weekdays), don't have the physical exam, and don't attend academy.

While I would be happy with either of these positions being my career going forward, I am partially looking at this as someone still interested in eventually trying to get into the DEC police. I'm assuming that both of these would be good experience towards that (both leagues better than my current work), but Sheriff's Dept is likely going to look better? I also assume the Sheriff's dept has more room for growth, it is just the harder of the two to get into and harder on work-life balance.

I guess I kinda more or less talked myself into leaning Sheriff by writing this out, but I would love some opinions from professionals who do or have done one or both of these jobs, people who know what small-town policing is like, and maybe people familiar with what the DEC is looking for when they recruit. Thank you!

Long story short,

I’ve been in the military for 10 years and the night before I moved to Nebraska from my previous 1st duty location I was pulled over for speeding. The officer told me that I have to show up to court to pay the ticket, I explained to him I couldn’t because I was moving to Nebraska for the military. I forgot about it since I was moving the next day and with the move it didn’t cross my mind.

2 years later I was driving and my tags were expired i was informed I had a warrant and an unpaid ticket for that incident. I was booked, I paid the fees and ticket.

I did get pulled over about a year ago for my brake light. I guess I needed an SR22, so my license showed suspended, but no warrant. I thankfully have proof that shows when I reinstated my license I was not required at the time that i indeed that, but of course paid my fees and have made sure since then that I’m in good standing.

Hey everyone, I'm currently in college and planning on applying to the Houston Police Department once I graduate. I've been working on filling out the Personal History Statement in my free time while also focusing on losing weight, building muscle, and improving my push-ups and running to prepare for the physical fitness test.

I wanted to ask anyone who's been through the HPD hiring process how long it typically takes and what I should expect. I've heard it can take anywhere from 90–180 days, but I've also heard that it depends on your recruiter and how quickly everything gets processed.

My main question is about when I should apply. I'll have one final week-long class sometime in July 2027 that I need to take to finish my degree, but I won't officially receive my degree until August.

Would I be able to submit my application and start the hiring process while finishing that last class, or would I need to wait until my degree is officially awarded in August?

I'd appreciate any advice from current HPD officers or anyone who's recently gone through the application process!

I’m in the hiring process for a few different departments and I’ve passed my physical fitness exam and written exam.

The first oral board I took I scored an 86 on and they were very generalized questions with some situational based questions, but mostly why I wanted to join law-enforcement and questions of that nature.

The next round of oral board I took for a different department. I failed with a 66 and most of the questions were situational based.

I was wondering what would be the correct answer for some of the questions that were asked below:

1. You’re a patrol officer in a small neighborhood and a neighbor keeps complaining about loud parties, they have made multiple calls and nothing seems to get done, you arrive on scene and the neighbor is very disgruntled and there is a loud party going on next-door? How do you handle the situation?

2. You pull someone over for running a stop sign and they claim they did not run the stop sign and demand to speak to the supervisor. There is no supervisor on duty, but the chief is on call for important situations, how do you handle the situation?

3. You were on a sting in an area where there is high drug trafficking and sales, a member of the community approaches your police vehicle and begins to talk to you about how to help the community better with community based policies and they are distracting you from your task at hand, how do you deal with this person?

4. You arrive on a scene to a reported fight and there is an officer already there, he tells you that it is just a father and son that he is known for years and they do this sometimes and get into a scuffle and that we should just let it go, how would you handle resolving this fight if at all?

I’m interested in being a reserve deputy. I like my current job but law enforcement is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Feel like it could be an awesome way to do both! Is there any reserves in here that can tell me a bit about their experience.

I just had my RCMP medical appointment this week, im wondering if there’s anyone here who went through the process and how long it took them to get the results/ golden call?

Do police actually have a quota of tickets they have to write, or why are some officers so quick to write tickets for small things?

Like pulling someone over for an improperly worn seat belt when everything else was fine. I'm genuinely curious how visible a seat belt tucked behind someone's shoulder even is from outside the car, especially before you've walked up to the window. Does it actually stand out enough to be the reason for the stop, or does it become something to write a ticket for once you're already at the window?

Why not issue a warning for a first-time offense/no record what pushes writing a ticket over not for something like this?

Hi everyone. I'm wondering how long it takes to edit an AI produced transcription from your body cams? So let's say you have a 3 hour interview recorded with your body cam, how long will it take you to proofread and edit the AI transcription so you can include it in your case file or submit it to the DA?

I turn 20 late 2026, currently working corrections out of state (I lived in CA my whole life previously) with previous job history as well, so I am not looking for the comments saying to get life experience or join the military. Though, since I am young do you recommend applying to multiple agencies once I turn 20 such as LAPD, SDPD, SFPD, etc? Or should I target one or 2 departments and wait on it? I never really wanted to work corrections, and I especially don't want to work it for any longer than I have to as I have always wanted to go patrol so the faster the better here. Thanks

Hello all,

I’m looking at potentially being sent to TLETA in Nashville by my agency soon. Was wondering if anyone familiar with it would be willing to share their experience, along with any tips or just general info about day to day life while training there?

I’m looking for some honest insight from Illinois law enforcement officers, recruiters, or anyone familiar with the hiring and background investigation process.

I’m interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement in Illinois, but I have a concern about my professional background. For the past several years, the majority of my work experience has been in the legal cannabis industry, including dispensary operations and corporate-level business development and partnerships.

I want to make it clear that I do not currently use marijuana or any other drugs, and I’m confident I would pass a drug screening. My concern is whether my employment history alone could be an issue during the hiring process.

Additionally, I currently have an ownership stake in a cannabis-related company and have previously posted about the company and its business on social media. I’m wondering whether these factors could raise concerns during a background investigation, even though I do not personally consume cannabis.

I understand that cannabis remains federally illegal, despite being legal under Illinois law, and I want to be upfront about my background rather than run into unexpected issues later in the process.

My questions are:
Could working in licensed Illinois dispensaries and corporate cannabis businesses disqualify me from becoming a police officer?
Could having an ownership stake in a cannabis company be a problem, even if I never use the product?

Would my previous social media posts about the business negatively affect my chances?
Do Illinois departments generally evaluate these situations individually, or are there policies that automatically disqualify applicants with this type of background?

Would I be better off addressing this directly with recruiters before proceeding further with applications?

I’m serious about pursuing law enforcement and want to understand whether my professional history could prevent me from entering the field. I’d appreciate any insight from people who have been involved in Illinois law enforcement hiring, backgrounds, or recruitment.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I’m 19 years old college student looking for a part-time community service job what are the best ones I can get that will show that I have good communication skills to my local police department when I apply to become a police officer when I turn 21?

Ahoy there.

Spanish LEO here joining very soon a city patrol unit that rides motorcycles full time.

I have a True North Concepts RHP and a Safariland 6004 leg shroud (flex adapter thingie, single strap) and i was wondering which one would be better for riding.

I guess the concern here is safety in case of a crash vs comfort and keepin a consistent draw.

Thanks for your time 🙏🏻

Good day everybody, what type of questions would they ask for a University police department, and how should I prepare thanks in advance!

As the title says…any advice?

Im having nightmares mainly of fatal accidents. My dreams usually include feelings of being overwhelmed and scared. Debris, body parts, cars, car parts, blood, random stuff all across freeways.

Background, I’m a 3 year officer in a major metro city. I’ve been in an OIS, seen plenty of violence, dealt with some serious criminals, love finding dope and guns.

I work in one of the busiest and roughest parts of the city. None of that phases me, it’s these damn fatal car accidents.

Any advice? No I don’t want to leave policing.

Hello everyone I have a oral board coming up with Oakland police department has anyone here done a oral board with them I just want to prepare myself what type of questions will they ask I am also going the physical agility test the same day

Thank You