Becoming A Police Cadet - How Do I Make It Happen?

From a very young age, I’ve dreamt of becoming a police officer. A great deal of friends and associates seem to find this shocking, considering my disapproval of the penalties inflicted upon criminals. Often I see certain laws and punishments too strong, or at least questionable. One example of this is narcotics illegalization. I don’t feel marijuana should be illegal at all. Other times I feel laws and punishments are too weak, or again at least questionable. An example of this is all punishment for violent crimes be it assault, rape, child abuse, or anything of that nature.

This has not deterred my interest in becoming a law enforcement official however, as those things which I disagree with are entirely on the judicial level as opposed to the area which I wish to be a part of – protection and prevention. Though I may disapprove of the overzealous or weak-handed decisions made by those rightfully elected to represent the interests of the population, and may even distrust the government itself to a degree (hence my membership at ATS), I still wish little more than to achieve the roll of a commissioned officer within my local community. I view it as my calling, due to the fact that I have nearly always wished and hoped to someday achieve that goal perhaps more than anything. An issue has arisen over the past few weeks though, as I’ve recently decided to reinvest effort into doing what I can to make it happen. There in lies the purpose to this post.

I have decided the appropriate step I should take at this time is to become a police cadet so that I will have experience when of age to apply to the academy. As I’m nineteen at current, I couldn’t join the academy yet anyhow, so it just seems like the right thing to do. I haven’t been able to find any information at all as to how to go about that in my community, but have found a PDF provided by the local police department which confirms there is indeed a cadet program. I’ve asked a few cops in my family if they could offer advice, but since they aren’t officers in the area they cannot citing things are different here as opposed to where they are, and they wouldn’t know who to contact or what to do where I live.

I’ve noticed a few individuals on this site claiming to be police officers, and I have noticed a few people who appear to be from my area, Saint Louis, MO. If anyone has any information as to how to become to a cadet in either Saint Louis City, or Saint Louis County (preferably county), I would be most appreciative. Anything you can provide in reference to the topic of becoming a police cadet in general would be beneficial as well.

Also, a few people have expressed the belief to me that a cadet is the term used for those within the police academy. While this may be true, a cadet is also the term used (at least here) for those functioning as a non-commissioned officer at/with a local precinct in an attempt to gain experience for the academy.

Here’s a snippet from a PDF file provided by St. Louis County:

EDUCATION/WORK EXPERIENCE: You must have either:
1. An associate’s degree or 64 semester credit hours from an accredited university or college. Both require a cumulative average letter grade of AC@ or a cumulative GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent, or
2. A high school diploma or GED with one year full-time prior police experience or two years of military service. Police experience can be in a non-commissioned position with the St. Louis County Police Department designated by the Chief as part of the Departments Cadet Program.

Saint Louis County Police Department PDF

So there is a cadet program, and it is indeed designed with the purpose of providing potential academy applicants with a means to gain experience beforehand. That’s what I make of that quote, and what I’ve been told. Now, the real question is this: anyone know how to get in or have any comments, questions or concerns relevant?

Thanks.

Mmm...Police Cadet, I dont know.

But I am official SPACE Cadet, does that help?

I’m afraid not, SkippyTJC. I fail to see how that knowledge assists me in achieving the goal at hand. That’s good that you’re a space cadet though, if your comment was intended to be serious. Sounds like quite an achievement, very impressive.

While I don’t wish to seem unkind, I do hope to receive some serious on-topic comments before this thread has outlived its potential for usefulness. I don’t like going into things blind, but it looks like this may turn out to be one of those instances where there is no way to see through the “iron curtain” before I journey past it. My optimism in regards to this subject remains without taint though. I clearly see the possibility for instruction to come my way before I have to go to “Plan B” and actually ask an officer, possibly distracting him or her from more important tasks, as police work does seem to be important, I’m sure you’ll agree.

It’s a freshly posted topic, I’m sure someone will have some insightful input, right? Sure, there has to be. So I’ll stand waiting with unwavering patience.

EDIT: Removed an emoticon as it looked kinda dumb to me after I posted it. heh

[edit on 10/19/2005 by SkyFox2]

Lighten up. Try looking into a sense of humor while you search for information about becoming a police cadet.

I spent all of 3 minutes and I found about a hundred resources for becoming a police officer, maybe if you spent your time actually attempting to find the information you seek rather than post on a generic internet forum you wouldnt need to post here and worry about the quality and seriousness of responses to your question.

Since you dont seem to be able to navigate around GOOGLE (Google is a popular internet search engine you know), I have done some of the work for you:

Law Enforcement
www.wnmu.edu...
www.policeofficer-school.com...
www.theatlantic.com...
www.ci.boston.ma.us...
www.officer.com...


There are MILIONS more. 144,000,000 to be exact for "Law Enforcement" alone. Imagine if I spent more than 3 minutes and tried other search criteria? Man, some investigator you will be....








[edit on 19-10-2005 by skippytjc]

Skippy, I appreciate your effort, but it was a bit misguided. I am not asking how to become a cop; I am asking how to get into the local cadet program. As in, I can't find any information on how to become a police cadet here. I was hoping someone from the area could enlighten me as to where to apply, how to apply, or who I need to speak with. If someone had information which they thought would be useful but not exactly what I was requesting, that would be awesome too. I have searched for information with the tool you suggested (Google) a multitude of times before I even considered posting this thread and have turned up very little which meets my specific needs. In fact, I haven’t turned up anything particularly useful at all.

I’m not so stressed out over this that I feel it necessary to track down local online communities to post my question in or law enforcement communities to post my question there as it wouldn’t be too difficult to drive to a police station and just ask them. Besides that, one of my best friends, who’s step-father is a retired detective (detectives are the ones who investigate deeply, cops spend most of their time enforcing laws), is helping me through use of her local police contacts, but at this time is also unsure as to who to speak with about the cadet program. The reason I posted on BTS, a "generic Internet forum," is as I said earlier, I’ve seen police officers and locals in the forums. I figured they could have some information or guidance, and if not, it wouldn’t hurt anything to try.

So if you would be so kind, I invite you to either assist me by responding specifically to the questions I posed and no variation thereof, or by at least being civil as opposed to attacking me without justification. I have done nothing to you, and only tried to make sure this thread stayed on-topic as I would like some serious input. If you feel the need to continue your absolutely unwarranted aggression, then might I suggest you U2U me any further comments you might have.

Thank you.