Becoming a Police Officer

Police Exam Preparation

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:21:45 GMT

Sergeant George Godoy (Ret.) is a 22 year police veteran. During his police career, Sergeant Godoy served for 5 years as a police recruitment specialist where he personally tested over 1,000 potential police recruits.

Sergeant Godoy has produced a unique video presentation where he takes you step by step through the police examination process in a little under two hours. You can go to Sergeant Godoy's website to check out his ONLINE VIDEO Police Exam learning system.

In the meantime, you can read articles by Sergeant George Godoy on my site at CareerPoliceOfficer.com

Articles:

Police Officer Entrance Exam - What You Should Know

Police Officer Jobs - How To Get Hired Faster

Why Police Employment May Be For You

Becoming A Cop - The Blue And You

The Police Test - Techniques For Top Scores

Police Officer Test - Tips To Jumpstart Your Career

Police Test Tips - Timing As A Factor

Police Polygraph Exam Tips

Police Oral Interview Preparation

How To Become A Police Officer

Police Polygraph Questions

Police Oral Boards And The Use Of Force Continuum

Police Exam - The Police Physical Ability Test

Seven Strategies To Help You Ace Reading Comprehension Questions

Police Officer Exam - Tips For Success

Police and Sheriffs

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 21:48:32 GMT

If you're a little bit confused about the difference between a police officer and a sheriff's deputy, go to my article Police and Sheriff's on my site at CareerPoliceOfficer.com.

Women - Unmarked Police Cars and Traffic Stops

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:08:22 GMT

I wrote this article on my site at CareerPoliceOfficer.com mainly for women who find themselves being signaled to pull over by an unmarked police car. However, for those of you planning on a police career, it's an article you should also read. I've also included a terrific article by Gary T. Marx ,professor emeritus of sociology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of "Undercover: Police Surveillance in America."

Police Entry Level Testing

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 06:11:07 GMT

PoliceExam911 - Sergeant George Godoy (Ret.) is a 22 year police veteran. During his police career, Sergeant Godoy served for 5 years as a police recruitment specialist where he personally tested over 1,000 potential police recruits. Sergeant Godoy has produced a unique video presentation where he takes you step by step through the police examination process in a little under two hours. You can go to Sergeant Godoy's website to check out his ONLINE VIDEO Police Exam learning system.

Visit Sergeant Godoy's pages on my site at CareerPoliceOfficer.com where you can read the following articles by Sergeant Godoy:

Police Officer Entrance Exam - What You Should Know

Police Officer Jobs - How To Get Hired Faster

Why Police Employment May Be For You

Becoming A Cop - The Blue And You

The Police Test - Techniques For Top Scores

Police Officer Test - Tips To Jumpstart Your Career

Police Test Tips - Timing As A Factor

Police Polygraph Exam Tips

Police Oral Interview Preparation

How To Become A Police Officer

Police Polygraph Questions

Police Oral Boards and the Use of Force Continuum

Police Exam - The Police Physical Ability Test

Ask Your Questions about Becoming a Police Officer

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:14:46 GMT

Join my BLOG and post your questions about Becoming a Police Officer. Here's the deal... I'm doing my best to make my website as helpful as possible to those of you contemplating police careers. However, I know there are always questions that require a more specific response. I'll be checking back often to post responses to any questions you have.

Becoming a Detective

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:12:06 GMT

There's a lot of misconceptions about how one becomes a police detective. I'm continually adding information to my site at careerpoliceofficer.com to provide young people insights on a police career.

Law Enforcement Jobs

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:25:19 GMT

So, you’re seriously considering a job in law enforcement. But, you have questions – What’s the job really like? How do I apply? Where can I find openings? What is the process like? How can I score the highest possible?

These are important questions. Indeed, anyone who has gone through the application process for a law enforcement job knows it is critical to score as high as possible. It’s your score that gets you in the door. Remember – the highest scores are passed on to the next phase of the application process for a law enforcement job and they are the ones who ultimately become the cop on the beat, the homicide detective, SWAT or tactical officer; or, even a future chief of police.

But, those dreams never happen if you don’t score as well as possible. Every cop gets asked these questions and two of them have taken the time to write down the answers. First, the Police Officer Exam, 3^rd Edition, was edited by Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA. Many of the questions were updated to reflect current testing. More importantly, entire passages were re-written or developed to give you practical, down-to-earth advice on the process. Detective Lieutenant Barry Baker, Baltimore Police Department (ret.), has written “Becoming a Police Officer: An Insider’s Guide to a Career in Law Enforcement.” Lieutenant Baker’s book not only helps you with the process, but helps to visualize your career and to make that career happen.

Lieutenants Foster and Baker give you a coast-to-coast perspective on a career in law enforcement and the one-two punch you need to score high, get the job and begin your career. You need both books to be successful. Order both books today!

Police Report Writing

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 07:30:59 GMT

I've noticed from traffic to my site at careerpoliceofficer.com that a lot of people are interested in police report writing. It's not that complicated; although, a lot of police officers seem to make it that way. I've added additional content, so stop by and check it out.

Pushing past 600

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 07:22:50 GMT

January 6, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) With the addition of four new authors, Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to police officers turned authors, reached 225 state and local police officers who have written books; and, pushed the total number of books written by those officers to 606.

Retired NYPD Captain Tom Walker’s Fort Apache, Bronx, NY was written during the early 1970's. According to one reviewer, “Fort Apache captures in vivid detail what it was like to work in the then busiest and deadliest precinct in New York. Walker describes the neighborhood and the cops who police it with uncanny accuracy. You will ride along with him to shootings, stabbings, muggings, and homicides. Walker captures the frustration and the dedication of the cops assigned to the 41st as they race from call to call in the seemingly endless parade of crime. A must read for those who enjoy true police stories.” Walker followed up years later with “Death of a Bronx Cop,” a true story about survival and love in the face of tragedy by a fourth-generation New York city police officer. In this book, Walker writes: "In the days, months and years to come, more New York City police will die. The official cause of death will be listed as suicide, heart attack, even homicide. In truth, the death certificate should read 'Organizational Murder--N.Y.C.P.D.'"

The author of 7 books, Bob Weir is a New York Police Department sergeant, with over ten years of undercover investigations and over 500 felony arrests to his credit. His first book, “City To Die For” chronicles the attempted takeover of Dallas, Texas by the Mafia in the 1940's. Bob also wrote, “Powers That Be,” a story of government collusion with organized crime, and “Ruthie's Kids,” his account of growing up poor in NYC; as well as three other powerful novels.

B. J. Whalen is a father and son writing team. The son, Bernard Whalen, is a lieutenant in the New York Police Department with more than eighteen years of service. During his career he has worked in New York City's Harlem, East Side, and Chinatown and in the plainclothes Anti-Crime Unit. He has sixteen department recognition awards, including two Commendations, and is a member of the NYPD Honor Legion.

His father, Jon Whalen, retired as a teacher from Manhasset High School on Long Island after thirty years in the classroom. While attending college, he worked as a New York State corrections officer at Sing Sing and Auburn prisons. He served four years in the U.S. Army 3rd Armored Cav. Regt. in Germany. Together, the father and son teamed pen their first novel, “Justifiable Homicide.”

Leo Whittlesey published his first novel entitled, End of Tour. The book is a fast-paced, suspense-filled tale of a New York mob kid, Frank Horan, turned cop who finds himself trapped in a massive corruption scheme and the main suspect in multiple murders. Frank is forced to use his mob connections and street smarts to extricate himself from the morass that his life has become at the hands of gangsters, cops and his own poor judgment. Leo lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife and two sons. He is an attorney and has also been a New York City police officer and small business owner.

While Police-Writers.com hosts 225 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 606 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.

Police Salaries and Benefits

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:15:12 GMT

If you're considering becoming a police officer, you're certainly going to be interested in a police department that offers you a good salary and benefits package. I've linked you directly to the salaries and benefits pages of some of the nations largest police department.

United States Congressman marks 500th Book

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 07:58:37 GMT

October 18, 2006 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to police officers turned authors, has added its 500^th book written by a state or local police officer.

Today, David Reichert is a member of the United States House of Representatives. But, in 1982 he was a homicide detective in the King County Sheriff’s Office. His book, “Chasing The Devil: My Twenty-year Quest To Capture The Green River Killer,” begins in 1982 when the bodies of three women were found in and near the Green River, in suburban Seattle. Twenty years later, DNA evidence linked Gary Ridgway to the first victims; and Ridgway would ultimately confessed to killing 53 women. David Reichert, by the time of Ridgway’s arrest was the King County Sheriff. Reichert would close a “case that many thought would never be solved. His absorbing account offers an in-depth look at the obstacles and the frustrations; and, the leads that went nowhere and the prime suspects who were eventually cleared.”

David Reichert was born August 29, 1950 in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. His family moved to Washington in 1951 living first in Renton. Later, they moved to Kent, where he attended Kent Meridian High School. In 1970, Reichert earned an Associates degree from Concordia Lutheran College in Portland, Oregon. From 1971 through 1976, Reichert was a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

David Reichert joined the King County Sheriff's Office 1972. While a member of the Sheriff’s Department he was the commander of several prestige units such as SWAT, hostage negotiation, bomb disposal, traffic and an acting commanding officer in the internal investigations unit. Reichert was a leading member of the Green River Task Force, which was formed to track down the "Green River Killer." Between 1984 and 1989, he and his partner Robert Keppel extensively interviewed Ted Bundy, in order to develop a psychological profile of the Green River killer.

In 1997 he became its first elected, non-partisan, King County Sheriff in 30 years. He served two terms as Sheriff and won the 2004 National Sheriffs' Association's Sheriff of the Year award. In 2004 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives.

Recognizing Reichert’s valuable experience and unique perspective as a veteran law enforcement officer, Rep. Peter King, Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, appointed Reichert as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science and Technology. Reichert is only the sixth freshman in the history of the House of Representatives to be given a committee chairmanship.

The Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science and Technology has jurisdiction over all aspects of emergency preparedness, including national exercises and training for terrorist attacks, coordination between federal, state and local governments and the private sector in terrorism preparedness, and research and development of new technologies for combating terrorism. Reichert is also Vice-Chairman of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The Chairmanships empower Reichert to utilize the vast knowledge he has acquired in over thirty years in law enforcement.

Police-Writers.com reaches 400 books

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 18:35:37 GMT

September 16, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to police officers turned authors, added four police officers; Michael D. Lyman, Daniel J. Shanahan, Mike Disanza and Keith Bettinger. With the addition of these police officers, the total number of books listed on the website that were written by state or local police officers has reached 400.

Michael D. Lyman, Ph.D., began his career as a special agent and criminal investigator for the Kansas Bureau of investigation. He then moved to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs as a senior agent and criminal investigator. While with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs he was assigned to the Street Enforcement and Intelligence Division. During his 11 year law enforcement career Michael has made over 600 felony arrests. For the last 18 years he has been professor of Criminal Justice at the Columbia College of Missouri.

Michael D. Lyman, Ph.D., has authored seven books about the enforcement function in criminal justice. His books include: “The Police: An Introduction,” “Criminal Investigation: The Art and Science,” Practical Drug Enforcement” and “Organized Crime.”

Daniel J. Shanahan’s book “Badges, Bullets and Bars” tells the story of his career on the Baltimore Police Department. The book is billed as a “first hand account of police loyalty and disloyalty.” Moreover, according to Shanahan he wrote the book, “for all the excellent Law Enforcement officers who shortened their careers by crossing the thin blue line and venturing into the wrong territory; sometimes into criminal territory. Therefore permanently tarnishing their badge, reputation, family, and all the good that badge stands for. This book is for the police officers that could not find their way back, wanted to make a difference, and unfortunately, could have.”

Mike Disanza's biography, “A Cop for Christ,” tells of growing up in the 1950s and seeing the New York Police Department as a way of leaving his poverty stricken neighborhood. The reader is taken on a journey that examines Mike’s 22 years on the job and the circumstances that led to his Christian Ministry. Currently, Mike is the president of International Cops for Christ, an organization which has been serving the needs of police officers world-wide for 25 years.

Keith Bettinger is a retired police officer who served with the Suffolk County Police Department in Yaphank, New York from 1972-1994. His book, “Fighting Crime With "Some" Day and Lenny: Or What Happens When Dragnet Meets Car 54 Where Are You?” follows the adventures of the fictional characters Detective Lenny Birnbaum and his boss, Sergeant Robert “Some” Day, as they fight the evil-doers in that hotbed of crime, Staten Island, New York.

Police-Writers.com lists 130 police officers turned writers and their 400 books in six categories.

Becoming a Police Officer

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 04:40:23 GMT

Becoming a Police Officer: An Insider's Guide to a Career in Law Enforcement

Book Description
Becoming a Police Officer: An Insider’s Guide to a Career in Law Enforcement is a serious examination of police work that is directed toward young people who are contemplating a career as a police officer. Author Barry Baker draws on over thirty-two years of experience from some of the most violent streets of any city in the United States to show you the unembellished truths of law enforcement.

Baker describes the self-satisfaction that can be found in police work while identifying its pitfalls and how to avoid them. Before ending his career as a detective lieutenant, Baker spent his first twenty years on the force as a patrol officer, making him uniquely qualified to speak from a breadth and depth of experience.

Becoming a Police Officer: An Insider’s Guide to a Career in Law Enforcement covers topics a newly trained police officer must appreciate—and master—to ensure success and safety, including the following:

Self-evaluation for a police career
Recognizing and ignoring bad advice
Rapid advancement toward self-sufficiency
The immeasurable importance of integrity
Matters of life and death

Becoming a Police Officer: An Insider’s Guide to a Career in Law Enforcement is a valuable insight for those seeking a career in the honorable and important profession of law enforcement.About the Author
Detective Lieutenant Barry Baker retired from the Baltimore Police Department in 2004. During his thirty-two year career, Baker served as a patrol officer, sergeant, and lieutenant, as well as a special operations lieutenant and detective lieutenant.

Cop, Witch and Author!

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 04:28:11 GMT

Known to the mundane world as Detective Constable Charles A. Ennis, a former child abuse investigator for the Vancouver (British Columbia) Police Department and author of several articles on child abuse investigation that appeared in Law & Order Magazine, he is better known to the Pagan community by his Wiccan name, Kerr Cuhulain. Ennis was the first Wiccan police officer to go public about his beliefs 28 years ago. Kerr is now the Preceptor General of Officers of Avalon. Kerr went on to write four books: “The Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca,” “Wiccan Warrior,” “Full Contact Magick” and “Witch Hunts: Out of the Broom Closet.”

Police-Writers.com now lists 121 police officers and their 369 books in six categories.

Police-Writers.com adds the 3 top police authors

Sun, 03 Sep 2006 18:06:02 GMT

September 2, 2006 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to police officers turned authors, has added its 100th police author, Frank Desario (Boston Police Department), Donovan Jacobs (San Diego Police Department) and Samuel Clark (San Diego Police Department.

Frank DeSario, in his book, “Badge #1 - Memoirs of a Boston Cop,” shares his almost forty year career in a vivid account of his experiences with the Boston Police Department. The Mafia, the gangland slayings, the Combat Zone, bussing and the resulting racial issues and riots, the thugs and the corruption are all discussed with a first hand look at the events. Frank also shares the glamorous side of his job which included escorting high profile celebrities, religious leaders and political leaders during their visits to the Boston area. The photos are vivid but give the reader a close look at what it was like to be a cop in Boston during the last four decades.

According to one reader, Michael j. Horne, Frank DeSario’s book is a”fantastic account from a first hand perspective of what it is like to patrol the streets during the past 4 decades. Frank DeSario is a local hero and all should have the pleasure of reading the memoirs of his illustrious career.”

Donovan Jacobs, a retired San Diego police officer takes the reader to the frontline on crime in San Diego in, “Street Cop: Innovative Tactics For Taking Back The Streets.” According to Jacobs’ book, “The patrol officer fighting crime on the battlefield of today's city streets must be relentless in the pursuit of criminals, maximizing his time on beat to focus on the source of pain and hurt in society - the career criminal, from the ex-con to the gang member to the junkie.” Jacobs, a police officer who has endured the worst of what the streets have to offer, goes beyond what is taught in the academy or in officer's training. Donovan Jacobs condenses years of experience and presents officers with innovative, proactive tactics for apprehending gangsters, auto thieves, junkies, convicts, fleeing suspects, and other criminals.

Samuel Clark was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Samuel Clark joined the Newark Police Department on November 20, 1972. During his 25 years with the police department, Clark has worked as a police officer in the patrol division, a detective assigned to the juvenile bureau and has variety of investigations ranging from harassment to homicide. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 1994 and to lieutenant in 1997.

Samuel Clark’s book, “Total Misconduct”, presents a detailed account of corruption and official misconduct within the Newark Police D. To some, the shocking events described in this book may appear to be exaggerated. Unfortunately, they are not. Clark worked with a handful of brave police officers to expose the existence of wide spread police corruption in the Newark Police Department. These officers presented documentary evidence of serious police corruption to local and state politicians, a county prosecutor, the State Attorney General, the U.S. Attorney General, and the FBI.

Clark’s book asks, “Why did elected officials and government law enforcement agencies ignore the evidence and the complaints of serious police corruption from over 26 credible and reliable police officers?” Samuel Clark presents facts, official police documents and report numbers, court transcript excerpts and case numbers, and newspaper accounts, enabling the reader to make his/her own conclusions.

Police-Writers.com now lists 103 police authors and their 316 books in six categories.

Police-Writers.com adds the 100th Police Author

Sun, 03 Sep 2006 18:02:58 GMT

September 2, 2006 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to police officers turned authors, has added its 100th police author, Richard Rosenthal. Richard is the Chief of Police the Wellfleet Police Department, Massachusetts, a town located halfway between the "tip" and "elbow" of Cape Cod.

Before becoming Chief of Police in Wellfleet, Chief Rosenthal spent twenty years in the New York Police Department, where he ran the Heavy Weapons and Undercover Weapons Training programs and, as a detective in the Bronx dealt with homicide, narcotics, and armed robbery. Before joining the NYPD, he worked for U.S. Air Force military intelligence as a Russian language specialist. In addition to being the chief of police, he is the author of four books. His latest book, published in 2000, is titled “Rookie Cop: Deep Undercover in the Jewish Defense League.”

According to Kirkus reviews, it is "a strange true tale of a Jewish NYPD cadet recruited into the department's elite intelligence unit to spy on the Jewish Defense League, offering vivid portraits of a politically incendiary era and revealing secrets of intrusive police tactics. This is a well-tuned portrait of the stress and acrimony that permeates such radical cliques, and of the lonely, paranoid personalities at their centers - and it offers insights into the radically charged violence of the early 1970s. Rosenthal has a fine eye for human detail and a cop's mordant sensibility. Altogether an exciting tale of unusual police practices, and a solid portrait of a quintessential fringe radical group inhabiting insecure, volatile times.”

His other works include two books on policing, “Sky Cops: Stories from America’s Airborne Police” and “K-9 Cops;” and, one novel – “The Murder of Old Comrades.” According to the Wall Street Journal, his novel is "a spicy police procedural about KGB assassins on the loose in Manhattan.”

Police-Writers.com now lists 100 police authors and their 313 books in six categories. Police officers have written a wide range of books. Some are widely used by universities and colleges to teach in criminal justice, law enforcement, police technology and leadership. Other police authors have concentrate on the police procedural genre in novels, adding realism that readers won’t find elsewhere. Still other give readers a police officers insight into true crime and life on the beat. But there are also books on poetry – if the author was a police officer you will find it on Police-Writers.com.

Police-Writers.com adds the 99th Police Author

Sun, 03 Sep 2006 18:00:41 GMT

September 2, 2006 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to police officers turned authors, has added its 99th police author, John Hogan. John grew up in small town in Burlington Country, New Jersey with a single goal – to become a trooper with the New Jersey State Police. As one reader of Hogan’s work remarked, “it took John years to become a trooper and seconds to lose his job.”

John Hogan joined the New Jersey State Police in 1993 as a member of the 113^th recruit class. Seven years later, as he patrolled the infamous New Jersey State turnpike he would find himself in the center of a controversial shooting. Hogan observed that he “was immediately labeled a racist and cast as the poster boy for racial profiling throughout the country.” John Hogan’s book, “Turnpike Trooper: Racial Profiling & the New Jersey State Police,” is his personal account of the five years following the shooting.

A recent reader of the book remarked, “Trooper Hogan gives an inside look into the New Jersey State Police and the circus-like atmosphere that erupted following the shooting which occurred in the midst of allegations of racial profiling. None of us can know exactly what went down that fateful night, but there is no question that Troopers Hogan and Kenna became pawns in a political dance and power struggle between the Governor and State Attorney General.”

You will have to read for yourself and decide if the troopers violated policy and should have been disciplined; and, did the State of New Jersey unnecessarily try Hogan and his partner for attempted murder.

Police-Writers.com now lists 99 police authors and their 309 books in six categories.

Police-Writers.com adds the 98th Police Author

Sun, 03 Sep 2006 17:57:54 GMT

September 2, 2006 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to police officers turned authors, has added its 98th police author, Robert Leuci. Leuci joined the New York Police Department in 1961. Readers are likely familiar with some of the story of Leuci’s career because part of it was told in the best-selling book and movie “Prince of the City.” As a narcotics detective, Leuci worked undercover for prosecutors investigating police corruption in the 1970s New York Police Department.

Robert Leuci retired from the New York Police Department in 1981. He began a second career as a writer, lecturer and teacher. Leuci is frequently called upon to lecture at universities, law schools and police academies on police corruption. In addition to his writing, he is an adjunct professor of English and Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.

In his most recent book, “All Thee Centurions: A New York City Cop Remembers His Years on the Street, 1961-1981,” Leuci fleshes out the details of his role in “Prince of City.” On reviewer rather harshly noted that Leuci “traces in detail the incremental steps that turned him from a naïve and idealistic beat cop into an arrogant dirty one, who easily rationalized ripping off drug dealers and playing along with rampant graft. To his credit, Leuci doesn't sugarcoat or paper over his lies, his betrayal of the public and his family, or pretend that he was unaware at the time that what he was doing was wrong. These flaws make him a classic tragic figure, especially when he begins to make a belated effort to redeem himself by cooperating with the Knapp Commission.” A second reviewer was somewhat kinder when he commented Robert Leuci’s newest novel was “as vivid and entertaining as the best crime novels, All the Centurions is the story of a man descending into a hell of his own making who ultimately finds his way out through truth and justice.”

In addition to “All Thee Centurions: A New York City Cop Remembers His Years on the Street, 1961-1981,” Robert Leuci has authored for fictional crime novels, Blaze, Snitch, Fence Jumpers and Renegades.

Police-Writers.com now lists 98 police authors and their 308 books in six categories.