What's the routine like in academy?

[jcabin]

As the title reads, I'm wondering what the basic routine is like when you enter into the academy? I'm currently finishing up my freshman year of obtaining my 4 year CJ degree, so i know i've got a while before I go into academy, but i was just wondering what the day to day happenings are?
What is the testing like and what kind of physicial condition should you be in? I'm and excellent student, 3.9 gpa, so the testing wont be hard for me, i just need to get myself in shape, to do that im joining up at a local boxing gym next week. thanks in advance to everyone!

[XDPete]

Check your pm's

[nhill0408]

It's going to vary depending on the department you join. Some are very paramilitary (Most Fed Agencies as well as some departments such as the LAPD) Others are more like a college atmosphere, albeit, college on steroids. Once you get closer to graduation, and have departments in mind, ask current officers who have been through the specific academies to give you more of a heads up.

[jedi573]

What is the testing like and what kind of physicial condition should you be in? I'm and excellent student, 3.9 gpa, so the testing wont be hard for me, i just need to get myself in shape, to do that im joining up at a local boxing gym next week. thanks in advance to everyone!

Hi there,

Physical condition, the better you can be when you start, the better off you'll be. Do a lot of endurance training. Sometimes the trick isn't running a quarter-mile but running a quarter-mile when you've been on for twelve hours.

As far as the written testing, it's usually not too hard, but it's different. Report writing skills are arguably nearly the opposite of conventional college paper writing. As one of my instructors was fond of saying: "It's hockey not ballet!"

As far as getting into shape, it's important to do so mentally as well. You've got a few years as you wrote, so start getting into the habit of remembering information about people; try to memorize what someone's wearing and recall it ten minutes later. Watch their hands! Get your situational awareness working early. It'll be less to get used to when you start in the academy proper.

Best of luck!

Andy

[The Tengu]

Put boot camp together with college and you've got the academy.

[cloudstrife]

all agencies are diff. Federal and State are going to be rough while municipalities pose their challenges as well.
it all depends are where you go..Some State police academys are actually longer and tougher than some Federal and have a longer day. Some municipalites are tougher than others. Routines vary as some academys let you go home everyday while others have you dorm there mon.-fri. The only way you'll know is by knowing where you are going. excuse any typing errors its pretty late!

[retired]

If you want to see how my former dept. does it, tune in to the Fox Cable channel this May. The second season of "The Academy" will air. I watched the first one and was impressed as it seemed to get back to the quasi-military type academy I went thru in the mid 70s. In the late 90s and early 2000s, it seemed to bend over backwards to keep recruits from failing. I am referring to LAD (Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept.).

As was said, be physically fit before you enter the academy. If you watched the first season or if you can view the repeats, you will note there are some overweight people who obviously thought the academy would get them in shape. Wrong!! They failed out because they were not ready.

Also, if you are going local, you might want to reconsider a CJ degree. I've been advised by one in an older thread that is fine for a Federal position. For a local one, I would recommend Public or Business Administration, English, or pretty much anything else. I had a B.A. in History (went to law school).

The thing is with a CJ degree is if you don't make (not trying to be a downer) or don't like it, the CJ degree will do you no good for anything else. Whereas, a degree in something else can prove beneficial whether in le or some other field.

Good luck.

[jcabin]

thankyou for the advice everyone.. as far as the CJ degree goes, i've been told my others the same thing.. idk really, i've wanted to work in this field since i was a child.. so unless i get crippled, god forbid.. i dont think theres any other job for me.. in any case i could always go back for my masters in some related field and get an administrative job in the criminal justice field, so i would still be involved.. i actually made a friend at my last job, retired police/swat officer out of the philadelphia area.. he was running a warrant and was shot through the belly and exited out his back, almost directly on the spine, and ruined some small discs.. fortunatly the doctors were able to save his spine and he's fully functional.. however he had to retire from law enforcement.. they said any massive damage to his back again and he would be in a wheel chair for life.. thats how he ended up working a not so dangerous job with me.. anyways, i guess being able not to work in the field does happen... keeping your options open is always smart.. thanks for the advice guys..

[retired]

anyways, i guess being able not to work in the field does happen.

jcabin, I am an example of that after 4 back surgeries. I retired 5yrs. ago this past March 31st. because I couldn't return to the field. I had been working the jail after promoting and just before returning to the field, I had my last surgery. Due to all of the scar tissue from 4 surgeries, the pain was to great to stop the pain meds so I had to reluctantly retire.

Most make it to the end of their career, so please don't take my misfortune as an usual occurrence as it is not.