I’m 31 and got a conditional job offer as a correctional officer 1. I recently passed pellet B and scored 53.6. Now I’m conflicted between applying to police departments and going with corrections. I don’t want to miss out on a great opportunity to get into law enforcement. I’ve always dreamed of being a police officer. Even if I choose corrections, I’ll eventually go for police officer. I feel like I’ll be too old for police if I wait. Should I go with corrections and keep applying to police departments? Any advice?
Should I go into corrections or PD?
r/AskLE
Comments
I would definitely stick with corrections for a year or two, then start to apply to departments.
If you have the job with corrections go do it while you’re applying. But i wouldn’t do correction s if you have a pd job lined up.
I learned a lot about myself working in the jail. I also matured a lot and chilled out quite a bit.
If PD is something you’ve always wanted and are confident in your background, then I think you should go PD. But there’s nothing wrong with starting with corrections before going PD. I know a lot of officers/deputies who have gone that route, and it for sure helps experience wise.
Starting in corrections would be a good start to your LE career.
However, many people who go this route end up deciding to stay in corrections permanently.
I highly recommend you take the corrections position for a while, you’ll get experience in talking to inmates, working in a LE environment, report writing and basic Officer safety. Still apply for police officer jobs while you doing corrections.
I started in corrections in my mid 30s. I still plan to go patrol as well. Corrections will teach you a lot about talking to people and will let you know if you actually like law enforcement or not. It’s worth a shot, and will be a great reference.
Getting a bad record in corrections can tank your chances for of. That said, the best recruit I ever had did corrections first
I worked corrections for almost 5 years before switching to policing. I will echo some of the same sentiments here, 24 years later. If I had to do it over again, I would not. I would have not taken the easy job and focused harder on what would have made me a better police candidate. That being said, i did gain a lot of life experience working in a jail. I learned how to talk to people to get what I wanted or needed without being a dick or sacrificing my integrity. I learned how to deal with difficult people and still get my desired results. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a battle to win a war and I was very good at picking and choosing. I learned how to negotiate and manipulate. They are always scheming and after a while, you see it coming and are able to differentiate their bullshit. I started policing at 25 and hit the ground running dealing with people and communicating with both the public and criminals alike. If you have to take it, take it, but if you have your choice, skip the corrections job.