Let me clarify: I was talking about public safety in general, I think it should be that way for police, fire, ems, corrections etc.... Military, no, that is a totaly different situation that you can't even compair to a civilian job. I think the fire academy,police corrections etc.. should be like any other job, pay as you go. Would save the tax payers a lot! You want to be a MD, you go to medical school.
Among other things, that's one of the reasons why I'm not a fan of self-sponsoring....I have a sneaking suspicion that many people who self-sponsor are buddies with the chief, and don't go through the entire background investigation process that they would if they were being hired full-time.
There was a former chief of a small town near me that would literally appoint any resident as a part-time reserve officer in the town. All they had to do was fill out an application, pay for uniforms, and go through the reserve academy. All you had to do is ask, nobody was refused. Selectmen were issued firearms as "police commissioners". The chief would sponsor almost any of the reserves to the full-time academy even though there were no intentions of ever hiring them full-time. Some used it as an opportunity, some became problems at other agencies later. The replacement chief had a tough time getting rid of dozens of ghost reserves and prying the firearms away from the selectmen.
I have 5 years as a Marine MP, I've been through the Mass RI Academy twice, and I have been a Reserve/Aux on a Dept for about a year. I have a wife, kids, mortgage, car payment, full time job and all that good stuff. I would self sponsor in a heartbeat if I could. But its just not in the cards. I did contact the MPTC and inquire about getting some sort of full time cert waiver and was told that they do not at this time accept Federal Academies. And even with all that I can't even get any interviews for part time jobs I've applied to. I would take advantage of any form of bridge academy to get a full time cert.
My advice, go back on active duty and get the fuck out of Mass! I am serioulsy thinking about taking an early retirement and going back on AD. Look into the AGR program with the Army Res/National Guard
Sounds like Monson, but there is nothing wrong with any of that. The problem was clearly the chief, shame on him for not doing backrounds and giving firearms to the selectboard and letting any resident go through without meeting some sort of recognized standard, he was the problem, not the practice. If you are referring to Monson I had a few freinds go through them.
I know it's hard if you have a family and bills but you have to view the sacrifice as a professional development tool. You spend money to go to college and get better. You would pay crazy money to go to college and have school loans. Why not get a loan for all your bills for 6 months and do it. I'm sorry but the I have bills and other responsibilities does not cut it for me. I did it with a 3 year old kid, wife, bills, etc. It can be done, if you really want it.
How long did it take you to find a job after you graduated the full time academy? Honest question, I'm not trying to stir the pot.
I had a FT campus PD job that i took a leave of absence from to go to the academy. Doors instantly opened up right after I graduated, had six offers within a few months and started my new job about 9 months later. Had three offers after completing all the processes , three in one week. After I got hired, I got many other opportunities from places I applied earlier. But remember, just having an academy is not everything. Almost all non-CS PDs want to see a college degree and some experience to go with it. Campus PDs are great foot in the door, plus you can get your education and lots of specialized training. You might have to start as a reserve somewhere as well to get in.
I can certainly agree with that, but I think most of us can also agree that something can be done to streamline the hodgepodge system of academies we have in this state. Additionally, I'd wager 2/3rds of my full time academy was job relevent stuff. The other third was legislatively mandated crap or stuff that got thrown into the mix because some guy on the job somewhere at sometime got sued for doing something stupid.
As long as the hodgepodge benefits the Beautiful People, nothing is going to change. If you're chief of a campus PD, you can send your people to the SSPO academy, get them certified to be full-time police officers, but they still won't satisfy the academy requirement for a city or town, making it less likely they'll be scooped up by a municipality. Ditto for the R/I academy...they satisfy basic training requirements, but aren't as desireable for departments that require the MPTC full-time academy. I had minimal fluff in my academy.....with only 13 weeks, we didn't have the time.
In the latest "minutes" from the June MPTC committee meeting, campus police chiefs have gone on record that they oppose any bridge from the current campus training to full-time municipal certification due to officer retention issues. The MPTC was exploring that option. It seems like it is DOA for now.
maybe these chiefs one day will realize that the way to retain officers is by paying them well, funding them with good equipment, backing their decisions, and letting them do police work that keeps them interested in their jobs. Loyalty begets loyalty, using tricks to keep officers trapped begets a disgruntled workforce.
