SOFT NEWS Death of the law enforcement as a career? Indiana State Police Recruit School only has nine recruits.

Ravekid

Ravekid

Veteran Member
So our state academy trains various law enforcement officers: Local, state, natural resources, etc.. They all have their own specific training academy. The academy post pics on social media and a recent Twitter post really got a discussion going. The Twitter post is here: Indiana Law Enforcement Academy Twitter Post

The photo shows state police recruits as they are nearing graduation. The issue, there seem to be only nine people going to be graduating. I did some research to see if this is a recent trend. It isn't. To put this into perspective, in Dec. of 2021, there was a graduating class of 29. In June of this year, 18 recruits graduated. There might be some reasons why they had two schools this year. I think that really isn't the norm. It is possible the state needed to have smaller classes because I know the state passed funding to remodel the academy building.

The one thing is that our state police aren't paid very well until one puts in a full twenty years. The top out pay is just over $70K, plus you get a take home car. However, it takes twenty years to reach that salary. I know most of our larger metro areas have their officers making $65K to $75K within three to five years. Plus, they also offer the take home vehicle benefit.

I've read stories of some agencies having a horrible time trying to find people. Some of the more rural, rust belt cities and counties just can't anything near what the larger metros are paying. They can't even get someone that good of pay ten or twenty years into their career.

I'm hoping that this small class size is just due to other issues and not a recruitment issue. It doesn't bode well when there could be a lot of state police officers looking to retire soon.
 
L

Luddite

Veteran Member
Ravekid said:
The top out pay is just over $70K, plus you get a take home car.
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I know union construction workers making that 3 years after high school.

They have a company truck. No one says a word if the company truck is pulling a boat to the lake on the weekend.

Of course they usually stay in a motel 3 or 4 nights per week.

It takes a special person to work law enforcement. IMHO, there are two types: one altruistic the other not so much.
 
db cooper

db cooper

Resident Secret Squirrel
I equate cops somewhat to the military, where the uniform gives respect. In our leftist society, such respect dwindles with each passing day. The leftists hate both the military and cops. The folks in the military have been aware of this for some time, but the Afghanistan sorrowful mess and the thoughts of our forces getting involved in the deep state war in Ukraine is stopping enlistments. The last few years equal loathing of cops by the left, which includes outright hatred with staffing and funding cuts has got to be hurting recruitment. I can see the cops walking on egg shells if a black is known to have just murdered someone and they are trying to arrest him, fearing backlash by the leftists.

There is just no way in hell I would want to be a cop in today's environment. Maybe the red state cops have it good yet, but if leftism keeps creeping into the red states, such as by Kalifornication, they are gone too.
 
Firebird

Firebird

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Luddite said:
I know union construction workers making that 3 years after high school.

They have a company truck. No one says a word if the company truck is pulling a boat to the lake on the weekend.

Of course they usually stay in a motel 3 or 4 nights per week.

It takes a special person to work law enforcement. IMHO, there are two types: one altruistic the other not so much.
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My son makes $3000 to $5000 a week welding, cannot imagine risking my life as a cop for that low pay
 
W

Wyominglarry

Veteran Member
In my town of 65,000 there are no more than 8 cops on duty per shift. Many days there are only 6 cops. My city cannot find anyone who wants to be a cop. Most who do graduate the training and probation do not work more than 2 years before they quit.
 
Meemur

Meemur

Voice on the Prairie / FJB!
They certainly don't make a ton of money in my area, but they mostly deal with teens breaking into garages in the summer, senior DWIs in golf carts, and occasional speeding of monster trucks through town. We just don't have the big city crap going on, which is why I live here.

(Which is not to say that no one ever fights and takes a knife to each other, but that tends to be handled privately by one's relatives)
 
N

night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
Euclid, OH Population 49,846
Euclid PD Requests for service 85,000 last year, 2022 will be more.
102 people on staff, including Patrol, Detectives and higher officers.

Aprox # on injury leave 13 at almost ANY point in time.

4 "districts" for Patrol, 8 cars on duty 24/7/365 1/4.

11.48 Sq Miles


en.wikipedia.org

Euclid, Ohio - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

Be it ever so humble, HOME.
 
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Macgyver

Macgyver

Has No Life - Lives on TB
A few years ago NJ was down some 800 troopers. The state cause the problems themselves. The state police won't accept someone that already went through a county academy. But the towns will take police from the state. So lots leave the state police and go get a job in a little town for more money and less work.
They only accept young people as well.
I think you have to be less than 25 to apply.
They force them out at 25 years as well.
Had a friend that got forced out in his late 50's. And he really never put in 25 because he was active duty army and spent years in the middle east. Desert storm and the other one.
Weird way to go about it.
 
Meemur

Meemur

Voice on the Prairie / FJB!
Sweetwood said:
Those who are altruistic generally don’t tend to make a full career either.
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I think that they do in the smaller towns. A$$holes don't last long here, plus there's not a lot of money to be made via corruption. People mind their own business for the most part and handle a lot things via their relatives if there is a problem. It's just not a rich area, and some families have been here since the late 1800s -- they run things.
 
K

ktrapper

Veteran Member
I remember back when I was still a teen. My cousin was a deputy sheriff, we went to church with the Sheriff and his family and the game warden.

As a bunch of Redneck teens we would get some of my uncles shine snd go camp out on the river. Jeff (Sherriff) would always show up with a deputy and make sure we were being safe that there were a couple of us that did not drink and if any of us needed help go up the hill to old man Liphams house and call. He knew we were going to drink some and was just making sure we didn’t get hurt or fall in the river.

Any time you were out some where and had too much to drink you could call Jeff and he would either come get you himself or send a deputy to make sure you got home safe. Did not matter the time of night.
I know of several that slept it off on Jeff’s couch before he took them home. That went for any age person in our county.

We had a huge amount of respect for that man. He was big man too. His hands were huge. Had a big heart too.

He pretty much knew what every body was doing. He knew my Uncle Carl made and sold shine. He also knew he did it to help pay for his wife’s care. She was wheel chair bound.

He used his law enforcement muscle where it really counted but he believed in people.
He was a rare one indeed. He passed away a few years ago. My cousin told me the she had never seen that many people come to funeral home.

Back then kids wanted to be Sheriffs, Deputies, Troopers.
I don’t think they want to be much of anything anymore.
 
M

Matt

Veteran Member
Wife and I both wore badges at one point.... never again!

The system is absolutely corrupt... thieving junkies get drug court, shitbags have more rights than their victims, and the overwhelming majority of cops are statist thugs for a broken legal system..

Are there good ones left... sure. I really want them to walk away.... do not martyr yourself for a slovenly, stupid, drug addled society.

Get you and yours to safety and let the leftists reap their rewards... stop protecting them!
 
Squib

Squib

Veteran Member
Matt said:
Wife and I both wore badges at one point.... never again!

The system is absolutely corrupt... thieving junkies get drug court, shitbags have more rights than their victims, and the overwhelming majority of cops are statist thugs for a broken legal system..

Are there good ones left... sure. I really want them to walk away.... do not martyr yourself for a slovenly, stupid, drug addled society.

Get you and yours to safety and let the leftists reap their rewards... stop protecting them!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was sworn in 1987…wouldn’t do it again.?

When my son got out of the Marines, I’d already warned him it’s not the job it used to be and to steer clear of LE.

Used the GI Bill to go to city college and is now a welder…making more money than he would have in most depts.

Plus, he doesn’t have a big target on his back and isn’t at war with POC who‘ve been raised to hate him.
 
Dennis Olson

Dennis Olson

Chief Curmudgeon
_______________
Being a cop in this country today is a fast ticket to prison if they touch the wrong color perp. No way in the world is a police officer a viable career. In the end, they’ll be gang bangers and illegal Mex’s, because that’s the only “people” police departments will be able to hire. And that demographic is “prison proof.” They’re as untouchable as the nigra perps.
 
Milkweed Host

Milkweed Host

Veteran Member
The Iowa Law Enforcement Academy has had to increase the number of basic training
classes because many new officers quit after a few years on the job. The job is not what
they expected. They don't want to work nights or weekends.

I also noticed that many seasoned officers simply don't know how to do the job, many are clueless
and that's their own fault. One huge issue is they don't know how to talk to people.

I know of one Iowa community of 6K people that has four traffic cameras and they are sending out
a shitload of tickets. These cameras are set to issue speeding tickets at six over. So, in a school zone
when the speed limit drops from 30 to 20, the cameras send out tickets at 26 mph. This is pissing off
lots of people. Lots of money is sucked out of people.

Many departments have huge calls for service numbers, but they include every little issue from a parking
tickets to civil matters, which of course they don't handle, but will record it with a number, to whatever.

Police work has changed dramatically over the years as there is less need to human interaction.
Technology is rapidly changing and sometimes replacing police work.



Bottom line, stay armed as often as possible, because when seconds count, backup could be minutes or hours away,
but a report will be logged.
 
nomifyle

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
The good guys don't want the risk and the other is what they will mostly get. My oldest son is NOPD, a very dangerous jog. He has almost 15 years in and will most likely stick it out until he's got 20 in and can retire.

He's also a licensed electrician and went into law inforcement because they had benefits and construction does not.
 
33dInd

33dInd

Veteran Member
Though I began my law dawg career in 73 as MP Army
Then on to civilian law dawg finally retiring in 98
I strove to dissuade my three kids from law dawg. And now when folks I know wanna get advice from me on getting into it. I strongly talk against it

We began to transition from peace officers to law enforcement in about 92. I noticed this in academy teaching.
And the laws began to proliferate into nonsensical laws

Example. Here in Oklahoma Moon flowers and their wild cousins became illegal to own. Propagate. Or exist. On your property. Felony.
So suddenly grandma became a felon if she had moon flowers growing in her flower bed.
Why? Because dumb arse kids were chewing seed pods and dying

Wild cousins. Loco weed. Suddenly farmers and ranchers were felons if that cultivar was growing on their spreed.

When the academy was teaching recruits to suspect all contacts as dangerous including grey haired old women that could kill you.

When laws were mandating zero tolerance on law violations

When the war on drugs had us going after pot houses with swat teams.

I realized. Slowly but grudgingly that my world was dying and my profession that I was proud of. No longer existed

And. I vehemently blamed dimocrats and swishing rebublicans for this.
I got out. And with no regret
 
Raggedyman

Raggedyman

Res ipsa loquitur
take a look at the tone and thrust of the conversation in this thread. seems to me that it confirms the thought that "A GREAT RECKONING" is clearly coming to this once great nation. the only thing in question is WHOM will deliver it and by what method it will begin and finally arrive.
 
Josie

Josie

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Why would anyone take the chance anymore? SIL is with Illinois state police after he finished his stint in the Marine Corps. He managed to get off the road and into a special investigator position. It was a relief to us. HOWEVER, the special investigator departments are all so short staffed, that his job is just as stressful BECAUSE of the short staffing.
33dInd said:
And the laws began to proliferate into nonsensical laws
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33dInd said:
Because dumb arse kids were chewing seed pods and dying
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Yep, the focus has shifted from targeting violent criminals to busting grandma because she's growing a plant her teenage grandkids might eat. But I might remind you that this is the generation that will eat a Tide pod on a dare, so they aren't too smart to begin with. Survival of the fittest.

Why bother even trying to enforce any law, when the idiots in charge because of wokeism, take teeth out of the consequences because the perp is poor or "disadvantaged"? The Safe-T act goes into effect here in Illinois Jan. 1, 2023. Among other things it eliminates cash bail. So just like New York (and it's worked out so well there), the criminal will be out on the street before the paperwork is complete. How's that for less than a slap on the hand? Reading through the caveats of the law, the whole damn thing does nothing but focus on LE and their conduct. Just looks to me like yet another way to win the ghetto lottery.
 
Raggedyman

Raggedyman

Res ipsa loquitur
lemme tell ya that stuff is beginning to work its way into affecting the Fire Service as well - and doing so from the standpoint of having inadequate police presence on scene in risky environments. have had family members report this to me on more than one occasion.

example having to go into rescue a known "frequent flyer" with a dose of NARCAN in a known crack house at 4 am where you can't see anyone unless they happen to smile or open their eyes in your direction gets OLD - PARTICULARLY when the other occupants therein begin to "lose it" for various and sundry reasons. that becomes particularly acute when certain white shirts are insisting that "information sufficient to satisfy the requirements" deemed necessary by (what ever municipality) could just as easily,accurately and VASTLY MORE SAFELY be acquired AFTER the fact from a coroners report - not at all unlike what would occur with a "JONN DOE" found to be DOA the common happenstance (from what I've been made to understand)
 
M

Matt

Veteran Member
The 80/20 rule is more like the 90/10 rule when dealing with the ferals in society. 90% of all the crime is committed by the bottom 10%..... and everyone knows who they are in their respective areas.... stop protecting them from their victims and themselves....

if that non salvageable 10% were left to their own devices in said dope den or just accepted as a prima facie good shoot when they get smoked stealing some poor working person's stuff.... your staffing problem would be gone in a few weeks!

At let's face it... delivering Narcan to junkies like a pizza boy doesn't make you a hero... it makes you a Dick.... for prolonging the misery of everyone else that has to endure that shitbag because you saved him yet again
 
Raggedyman

Raggedyman

Res ipsa loquitur
Matt said:
At let's face it... delivering Narcan to junkies like a pizza boy doesn't make you a hero... it makes you a Dick.... for prolonging the misery of everyone else that has to endure that shitbag because you saved him yet again
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absolute truth - and that fact is not lost on increasingly more of them either. the result is that ONCE AGAIN as standards are lowered to INCREASE recruitment WE THE PEOPLE SUFFER . time for change is LONG overdue
 
West

West

Senior
If I was a cop....

Could never give a person a ticket/fine/etc.. if the only person that was being victimized was the law breaker!

So that would be a deal breaker! And today to be a cop, that's mandatory!

Enough said!
 
T

Thinwater

Firearms Manufacturer
When I became a cop in 1993, there were 80 already certified candidates applying for 2 positions.

Now they have 10 or more openings (70 man dept) at any one time and near zero applicants already certified applying. The dept pays candidates to go to cop school now and still can barely find anyone willing to take their money.
 
T

Thinwater

Firearms Manufacturer
West said:
If I was a cop....

Could never give a person a ticket/fine/etc.. if the only person that was being victimized was the law breaker!

So that would be a deal breaker! And today to be a cop, that's mandatory!

Enough said!
Click to expand...
In my last 6 years I wrote about 6 tickets, and they earned those. I did arrest hundreds of theives, burglars, several murderers, a couple of rapest, several child molesters and other scum bags. Now they won't do anything pro active like hunt burglars. It has become a joke of a profession. I am glad my son retired (detective, 20 years on the job) last week, he thinks less of them than I do for what they have become. Obama started the big shift, his people are still in power pushing the ruination of policing.
 
Knoxville's Joker

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
There is another aspect here with the COVID stuff. old small town america is dying. Jurisdictions are being forced to consolidate. Small rural town america is being bankrupted for being empty in part. Many small towns are tearing down houses to deny section 8 folks right to have a home. And buyers are not renting. The drain on income because so many are on the dole creates the pay disparity. The only way to stop the drain is to remove support services. This will begin a trend of lawlessness in part.
 
C

custom2006

Senior Member
Firebird said:
My son makes $3000 to $5000 a week welding, cannot imagine risking my life as a cop for that low pay
Click to expand...

Imagine risking your life every single day to be a truck driver or a garbage man or a roofer or a logger or a taxi driver or a tree service employee or a commercial fisherman ... all of which have more injury and death annually, in the line of duty, than police officers do and many of the above make less $$$ than cops make.

Actually, the most dangerous part of police work, is the police officers themselves as police killing themselves consistently occurs at a higher rate than they die in the line of duty, every year!
 
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