Allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct and excessive force have been the staple of sensational headlines and are made of the stuff that can be career ending even when proven untrue. While this article and writer absolutely condemn any kind of unethical or illegal sexually based conduct or excessive force by professional law enforcement personnel, some false claim situations do occur. Even ...

It's Not About You. Regardless of whether you are pursuing the chief of police position for an agency of 15, 150, or 1500, the over-arching theme is the same.  Yes, you should be quite proud that you are in the final three, and yes attaining the chief of police position will be the icing on the cake for your police career; ...

What is it about investigative work and detective work that makes it the center of attention in cop movies that Hollywood spits out on a yearly basis? The love affair with detectives and movies seems to go on year after year, from the likes of Dragnet and Dirty Harry, now television in inundated with crime scene investigators from Los Angeles, to ...

Oftentimes what is more irritating and stressful to law enforcers than criminals is dealing with the brass and internal agency politics. Thought of as losing touch with the streets and “forgetting where they come from,” the corner office inhabitants of the upper echelons of the law enforcement agency can seem remote and uncaring. This article is designed to point out, or ...

I still clearly recall the telephone call: I was recuperating at home from shoulder surgery that had taken place a few weeks earlier.  Because I was a captain at the time and responsible for a police district, my surgeon told me to stay out of work until I could safely handle my field and administrative responsibilities.  In the few weeks ...

When you began your law enforcement career, your organization sent you to a training academy and then, likely, provided you with a field training officer or senior officer with whom to work.  However, when you promote to sergeant, there is little training and nothing like the mentoring of a field training officer system.  Moreover, the transition from police officer to sergeant ...

Most police officers and deputy sheriffs are honorable men and women trying to do a difficult job. I regularly deal with law enforcement issues that involve law enforcers in bad circumstances. Whether they are in fact responsible for an act involving intent or omission, many officers, particularly those at the beginning of their careers, are baffled by the process that most ...

As you are seeking to ascend to the number two position in your agency, much of what you learned about oral boards in prior promotion processes will not apply.  Yes, competency will still be a factor, but trust and working relationships will be very powerful forces, as well.  So, while it is still important that you know your stuff, be prepared ...

OK, you're testing for captain; expect the gloves to come off.  You are not a novice; you have elevated yourself from officer to sergeant to lieutenant.  The basics of oral boards are familiar to you; you have been through those challenges and have succeeded.  So how can they increase the difficulty for a captain-level candidate? They can make the questions more ...

Congratulations, captain.  Your promotion will move you from mid-manager to manager.  You will wield more authority, supervise more people, and be closer to the top of the organizational chain than ever before.  Ideally, you are about to set yourself on a path of multiple successes.  How you start will be critical in determining how you succeed. Whether it is an advertisement ...

(Dedicated to all of my teachers… To all who instructed me in my career... and to all who have instructed Peace Keepers... and to those who currently instruct Peace Keepers.) The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with the educational process. He argued, "What's a student going to learn ...

There is a natural order to the world and there is a natural order to oral board preparation. With rare exceptions, we advance in police positions one step at a time. This series of articles (the first one was “The Sergeant’s Oral Board: Preparing to be #1”) represents the progression of responsibilities that each law enforcement position holds and the corresponding ...

The percentage of women in law enforcement is hovering under 15 percent, according to the National Center for Women & Policing, and it's not increasing. Here's straight talk from current and former female police officers as to why we'd all be better off if that percentage rose, what's been holding the numbers down and which women are needed to fill the ...

You're leaving the service and are faced with the daunting task of developing your resume. Your military career is filled with accomplishments, but even the most decorated veteran needs to figure out how to effectively communicate and sell those successes in civilian terms. Follow these tips to draft a high-impact resume that shows how your military experience is transferable to a ...

As an experienced police officer, think of your last trip to the firearms range.  There was almost certainly a target for you to hit with a clear x ring, bull's eye, or some other marker that represented a perfect performance.  You utilized a firearm in which you had been trained and therefore had familiarity with the actions that you needed to ...

“Garbage in, garbage out.” That old saying captures why the recruitment of quality people into law enforcement is so important. After all, all street-level law enforcers want their backup officer to be good at a complex and dangerous job. Now, that’s not to say that training doesn’t have its priority, but we all know marginal officers who’ve somehow slipped through the ...

I get quite a few emails and letters from individuals across this country who are having difficulty getting hired as a police officer or deputy sheriff. While I can’t help those folks that are steeped in a history of drug use or felony arrests, many of the others can jum start their career by self-sponsoring through a basic law enforcement academy. ...

h4. Description The captain’s rank is firmly in the executive ranks and oversees entire divisions within the agency. They oversee the lieutenants and report to the major/chief deputy and tend to work administrative day shifts on a Monday through Friday schedule. h4. Testing Requirements Traditional testing is no longer conducted for positions at captain or above. Generally, a positive review of ...

h4. Description The major or chief deputy is the second-in command in generally has the entire agency to oversee. They are the chief or sheriff’s right hand person and are often the “hatchet” person. They make things happen and take on unpleasant duties for the agency’s chief executive. They oversee the captains and report directly to the police chief or sheriff. ...

h4. Description The chief or sheriff is the top, most visible member of the agency. He or she is the face of the agency and deals with a multitude of constituencies both within and without the organization. They need to be adept at dealing with the media, politicians, members of the community, and their own troops. h4. Testing Requirements +Police Chief+: ...