So I applied for Richmond, Va police and my application was approved and I
I got a PT test soon. How do I mentally prepare for the things I’ll see on the job like dead bodies, individuals with mental health crises, etc? And what else should I do to serve the people well?
Also I want to be a jump out boy but I know that’s like 5+ years down the road.
Comments
When I first started, I dreaded and had to force myself to look and touch dead bodies. Over time, it’s just something I’ve gotten used to. Unfortunately, you’ll become desensitized to these type of things over time.
Its 2025 who needs mental health anyways
Focus on the hiring process before anything, and watch out for the psych evaluation. I got dropped over something that isn’t even true so be prepared for anything. Apply to other departments as well.
Edit: I did 4 years of infantry and currently a military police officer and was deemed unable to work with people and unreliable for reference.
Slow your roll and actually get hired first. Then worry about all this. You’re jumping ahead already, and your first task should be to understand and learn the job first. Then be proactive afterwards. As for mentally preparing? Either you can handle it or you can’t. Talk to a therapist if you need to and don’t bottle things in. Good luck
Your department will (should) have mental health resources for critical incidents and or other calls that may be tough for people to process, nasty suicides, etc.
You won’t truly know how you’ll process these things until they happen. Ensure you train properly, and are proficient with your tools, I.e your mind, weapons, and words.
Assuming you have not completed or attended the academy yet? If that’s the case, you’ll get a small taste of what it’s truly like being in law enforcement during the academy.
Lastly, get out and do ride alongs. This job isn’t all fun and games (all the time), it’s real shit. You’ll see first hand the good and the bad of this job when you are out on the streets going call to call in your beat.
Richmond in my opinion is a great department. They are usually pretty chill and easy to work with. I will give you a general rundown on what to expect if you end up getting hired. Richmond can be pretty spicy for sure but its not like it used to be thankfully. It was extremely bad in the 90s and early 2000s. It was #1 in the country with murders per capita in 94 and 97 I think but has come quite a long way since then. A lot of the rough stuff is going to be on the south side of the river as well as eastside/in the courts and toward RIR and a good bit of latenight shootings when the clubs empty out in the bottom at 2am. If you are working the fan area you are going to be dealing with a lot of property crime and drunk college and post grad student shenanigans/homeless stuff. Also lots of vice stuff in the motels on broad st and on the southside of the river. Being right off of 95 brings a wide variety of things to deal with when it comes to trafficking. The fact that VCU has such a good trauma center and is right there in the middle of everything I think lowers the murder rate quite a bit. They are good at plugging holes there. My friends who work/worked for RPD have had frustration dealing with the fact that they often arent able to get any cooperation from the public in homicide cases in the Mosby/Gilpin/Creighton court especially which leads to a lot of shooters not being convicted but that is not something unique to there obviously. That is pretty much everywhere. That is the only complaint they have had which is pretty good considering that doesnt even reflect on the dept itself. Most of them seem to like working there from what I can tell. Good luck 👍🏻
Take MMA / boxing classes. If you’re comfortable fighting you will be less likely to shoot someone ( think mental health crisis)
Also go on walks at night in dark places. If you are comfortable walking at night in sketchy places you will be less likely to shoot someone.
Lol slow your roll speed racer. Get good at patrol first. And there’s really nothing you can do to prepare for the fucked up shit. Normal DOA’s aren’t bad. It’s the fatal accidents and suicides that stick with you and there’s nothing you can do
To prepare for that. When you get there just know you gotta talk about that shit. For mental health crises you have to have patience. For hot calls they’ll teach you how to manage stress but what works for me is breathing exercises on my way to the call. Calm is a superpower.
But get good at patrol first before you start jumping ahead haha.
Focus on actually getting hired then focus on passing the academy. If anything, you should be getting yourself ready to be a recruit.