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Mikaela
Student
Yuma, Arizona
1
Question
Asked
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How do I prepare myself if I want to be a police officer in Arizona?
Hi, I am a Jr high student from Crane Middle School and I have some questions for a police.
What is the hardest part of being a police officer? How do I become one? What kind of training would I have to take? Does it pay good? Is there a specific thing you have to know?
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1 answer
Kim Igleheart
Career Counselor | Police Officer
1862
Answers
San Antonio, Texas
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Mikaela,
Thank you for your question! For me, the hardest part about being a police officer was arresting someone I didn't want to arrest. Perhaps I disagreed with the law - such as possession of minor amounts of marijuana. Or, perhaps I felt compassionate towards them for whatever reason - A parole violator trying to go to his mother's funeral, for example.
The training varies, but will cover criminal law and procedure, vehicle law, liquor law, narcotics, child abuse; investigations; self defense and tactics, emergency vehicle operations, courtroom testimony, Constitutional Law, and some things I've left out. It's intense, but you can do it as long as you don't have other things in life that are distracting you while you are in the academy.
The pay varies depending on the agency. Small towns and rural sheriffs departments still sometimes have low pay. Larger cities tend to pay better.
Best of luck!
Kim
Thank you for your question! For me, the hardest part about being a police officer was arresting someone I didn't want to arrest. Perhaps I disagreed with the law - such as possession of minor amounts of marijuana. Or, perhaps I felt compassionate towards them for whatever reason - A parole violator trying to go to his mother's funeral, for example.
The training varies, but will cover criminal law and procedure, vehicle law, liquor law, narcotics, child abuse; investigations; self defense and tactics, emergency vehicle operations, courtroom testimony, Constitutional Law, and some things I've left out. It's intense, but you can do it as long as you don't have other things in life that are distracting you while you are in the academy.
The pay varies depending on the agency. Small towns and rural sheriffs departments still sometimes have low pay. Larger cities tend to pay better.
Best of luck!
Kim
Thank you for your response, I found it interesting that you have to arrest someone for having a little bit of marijuana in the car because I know you have to arrest them if they were drinking it, but what if they had just bought it and weren’t drinking it would you still have to arrest them? I am interested in taking some of those training classes, once I graduate high school. Thank you again for your response it was very helpful.
Mikaela
The law is very complex, and differs from state to state. And in severity of the crime. For example, open containers of alcohol is often treated much like a DWI, because it's so easy for a driver to set down their drink and claim it wasn't theirs. Minor in possession is different than DWI. Department policies and procedures, in addition to law, will tell you how to handle various situations. Best of luck!
Kim Igleheart