This is a question for folks familiar with recruiting/backgrounds.
Former LE here, 5 years of patrol in a large and very busy agency. I left in 2022 due to the covid mandates and I’ve been working in healthcare running a mental health facility but I miss LE dearly.
As I browse lateral openings I see that “currently employed by a law enforcement agency” is listed in every lateral posting.
Being that I still have my POST but am not currently employed as LE, would I still qualify for lateral or would I need to do the academy over again?
I’ve tried reaching out to some recruiters via voicemails but so far no answer.
Thank you for your help!
Comments
“Lateral” often means that you come in with some amount of seniority in my experience, and is not always just related to the academy.
Overall, I’d say “call the agency and ask them.”
Also, I had to LOL at the “I left my department because I disagree with public health measures during a pandemic, so I went to work in healthcare.”
I think when they post job openings for lateral hiring, they’re moreso looking for certified guys that they don’t have to sponsor for the academy. I’d say you’d qualify with a still valid certification. Wouldn’t hurt to just call them and ask though.
Are you sure that your cert is still valid? Both states that I have worked require employment or applicable yearly training to keep the cert active.
Yeah tough to really say as I was in a very similar position recently, 5 years of patrol but spent the last 4 years working on the education side of things. I was hired by my current department at top patrol pay and the vacation/sick time benefits that go with that, but they have me doing a six week academy with their new hires.
It’s not too bad, and I’ve taken a bit of a leadership role with the new hires and built great relationships with the training unit Commander and others.
It varies agency to agency. Im in a similar boat as you, though i left in 2022 to pursue real estate. I’ll DM you