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Becoming A Police Officer

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To become a police officer, detective or criminal investigator, individuals must be U.S. citizens, at least 21 years old and capable of effectively meeting "rigorous physical and personal qualification standards." Candidates may also face disqualification if they possessed a felony conviction or drug use. All positions for the protective services are required to obtain at least a high school diploma or equivalent. However, many federal agencies and police departments require candidates to obtain "some college coursework or a college degree" that is related to the field. State and law agencies encourage individuals to pursue a higher education after high school by either "taking [college] courses and training related to law enforcement." Federal agencies, such as the FBI and DEA, generally required a bachelor's degree and …show more content…

Candidates must be able to communicate with a variety of people daily when discussing facts about a crime and express in writing about details of an incident. Officers must also be comfortable with being surrounded in the public, "being a highly visible member of their community" who will respond to emergency situations. They need to express empathy by understanding the wide- variety of perspective of the community and a willingness to help the public by quickly determining the best solutions for a wide array of problems. Along with empathy, officers should also demonstrate perceptiveness by having the ability to recognize and read an individual's reaction and comprehend why people act a certain way. Officers must be in good physical shape in order to keep up with the daily rigorous physical demands of the job and should be able to physically apprehend criminal

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