LASDReserve.com RSS http://lasdreserve.com/index.php Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:35:40 +0000 30 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=27320







]]> Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:35:40 +0000 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=27320 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=25297 I thought I would chronicle my journey to become a reserve deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

October 5, 2010: Orientation meeting at the local station. Learned a lot about the program and met some interesting people (on both ends of the 'interesting' spectrum). Filled out a bunch of paperwork, took a mini-test, and met with a reserve deputy in the hallway who went over the results with me. The Department understandably wants people who are committed and my guess is that a lot of people get discouraged at this first step when they hear about the 21-page application that needs to be filled out. This is easier said than done because this is not one of those applications you just fill in with answers from your head. Just gathering the information can be a daunting task for anyone but those who are well organized. In my case I'm almost 50 so when you're asked to list every place you've lived since age 15 it takes a while. I'm one of those organized people and even then it took me 8-10 hours to gather all the data and send it off to the pre-employment unit. With all the attachments and additional information asked for my 'file' was about 2-3" thick including tax returns and credit reports etc. etc.

October 18, 2010: Spoke with a nice guy in the Pre-employment unit who got my packet and wanted to schedule me for the upcoming written test which was coming up in a few days on the 23rd. I was still missing a couple things like my auto-biography (more on that later) and my high school transcripts but the pre-employment coordinator said that he had enough to put my name on the list for the upcoming exam so I was good-to-go for Saturday the 23rd of October.

October 23, 2010: Written test day. The test is done in Monterey Park and is carried out in a very professional manner. This is not a law-enforcement based test but rather a 'can you read, can you understand what you read, can you work with numbers etc. As with all applicants I agreed not to reveal any of the test questions but I can tell you that the County has practice exams on line and if you take time to run through them and have a good understanding of test-taking mechanics you'll do well. Although this is an unpaid position you had better not show up as if you're doing LASD any favors by offering you're time. Beyond the legal requirements that they have about your past they're looking for professionals who can represent the department just as well as a full-time deputy. Most everyone was dressed in a suit and tie and probably over 30 from what I could tell. There was one exception; a guy who could best be compared with 'Jeff Spicoli' from 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High'. This guy showed up late, in shorts with long blond hair and a back-pack. Not sure how he did on the written test but my guess is that he did not impress the LASD personnel who managed to wake up early on a Saturday and show-up in uniform to interview him.

I passed the test. Surprisingly others did not. The questions were easy and there was more than enough time to complete the exam. After a short wait I was interviewed by a female deputy. Somehow I had it in my head that there would be a panel of people interviewing each applicant but I was mistaken. The questions were straightforward and could best be designed to weed out people who can't carry on a conversation or think on their feet when given hypothetical situations and asked what they would do. After 10-15 minutes I was advised that I passed. They offered to give me a second application to complete but I told them I had already submitted mine. "Thank you, someone will call you" and with that I was on my way home.

Shortly afterward the coordinator that I originally spoke with assigned me to my background investigator or 'BI' The BI would pretty much be my contact point from this point on. The process starts with a face-to-face meeting with the BI where you provide any additional items that my have not been turned in with the original submission. In my case it was my handwritten auto biography from birth to present. Again, I'm almost 50 and tend to take things seriously so my head was spinning when it came to this aspect of the application process; how long should it be? At what point do you bore them to death? At what point do you say so little that you look like you've been living under a rock all your life? In the end I figured out that this aspect of the process is very important especially because it has no specific directions. They're looking for a lot here; can you write? can you write using proper grammar?, can you keep your thoughts in order or do you jump around? etc. Did I forget to mention that you have to write this by hand? By doing this the department learns more about you; can you write without the aid of Bill Gates and the folks at Microsoft? is it you who's writing it opposed to your wife or girlfriend? And when if you're one of the lucky few how will your crime reports look when you have to write them by hand? My autobiography came out to about 20 pages but don't ask me if that is too long or too short because I don't know. A word to the wise; your autobiography better square-up with everything else you've submitted or you're going to have some explaining to do.

November 2010: First meeting with my BI. I was surprised to learn that the BIs are sworn personnel and not civilians. The meeting took place at the same place where I went for the written exam and started off with me filling out more paperwork consisting of a few hundred yes/no questions designed to aid the BI to areas where you may be disqualified or where further discussion is needed. A lot of people stress about this but all I can say is this: While you are applying for a position where you will be granted peace officer status which is something that is, in my opinion, a true honor you are not applying to be a priest. Put another way it's my opinion the Department is looking for 'real people' who can communicate with citizens, handle stress and, as I mentioned earlier, think on their feet. They're also looking for honest trustworthy people. The challenge is for the Department to balance these two needs; a saint can't relate and a dishonest person can't be trusted. Since the Department does not publish the specific details of how each applicant is deemed to be acceptable (or not) you should probably assume that they deal with things on a 'big picture' viewpoint and just be honest with them - painfully honest. Let them decide if something you don't think is worth mentioning is really not worth disclosing - disclose it.

I'll share a bit here and say that I had 'contact with law enforcement' when I was a juvenile - some 30+ years ago and at this point in my life my feeling is if I get appointed I never want to feel like I did so by hiding anything. I disclosed everything - even things that related to records that were not only sealed but actually destroyed. I would be a good asset to the LASD but it's their call not mine so I’ll just put all my cards on the table and trust that my 30+ years with no legal problems balance out the issues I had when I was a kid.

The interview went on for a few hours with the BI asking me to comment on areas of the forms where I answered 'yes'. The interview is recorded but I would not call it an interrogation. I have to assume that my application and statements to this point did not disqualify me because I was scheduled for my polygraph a few weeks later.

Early December 2010: Polygraph day. They call it a lie-detector 'test' and to me when you think test you normally think about studying and preparing in advance. In reality the polygraph is more of an examination not a test. The areas that they ask you about are those areas of concern to the BI from your meeting with him/her. Considering that most applicants’ areas of 'concern' center around prior drug use or law enforcement contact you can assume your polygraph will cover those areas as well. On polygraph day it was more forms to fill out followed by a meeting with the examiner who reviews the machine, and the questions. The exam took about 3 hours in all and upon conclusion I was told that my exam 'looked fine' and that I could notify my BI of same as they would get the paperwork over to him shortly.

Mid-December 2010: As one might assume as the year comes to a close and with no academy classes scheduled anytime soon there is not a big push to crank-out the background investigations. Additionally, I found out from the Pre-employment Unit at LASD the BIs are assigned different types of BI work; specifically my BI is working on wrapping up BI investigations for county security guards. I was told that priorities are constantly changing so I'm not stressing about things.

I also figured out a few things about the academy process from both general and specific perspectives; The Rio Hondo Academy which is affiliated with Whittier College seems to have run into 'issues' that have caused them to suspend classes as of a couple months ago. If you look at the LA Times website I'm sure you'll be able to pull up the stories that they ran a couple months ago. Typically there were two classes each year - roughly January and August - but with the current issues concerning Rio Hondo I'm not sure what position this put LASD reserve applicants in once they reach the end of the BI process and are officially welcomed on-board. To me getting 'the call' and then being told that there are no academy classes scheduled for months would be a let-down to say the least. As I always tell my kids, 'Don't cry until you've been injured' and in my case I've still got a way to go before my background (medical, psych. etc) is complete.

Late December 2010: I've done a lot in the past couple weeks. As you read above I did some research on the academy situation and realized two things; first, that if my background gets approved by late spring 2011 the earliest academy class would probably be in August 2011 and second that the class would be in Whittier (probably). The latter assumes that Rio Hondo will even have an August 2011 class. I work in the SFV area and the daily drive to Whittier would truly be a burden for me so I researched some alternatives. I decided to enroll at my own expense in the Ventura (Camarillo) Reserve Academy class that is starting in January. Obviously completing the program has nothing to do with how my LASD BI, Med, and Psych. will pan out but I see it as a win-win. If LASD does decide to take me on then I'm ahead of the game or, if not, then I will have got a lot of exercise, 12 college credits and be able to play a good game of Trivial Pursuit - P.O.S.T Edition.

I've started to run each day, doing push-ups and sit-ups too. I'm getting better at all with the help of one of my kids who is home on holiday leave from the Army (I'm not overweight but I've been driving a desk for about 30 years). I ordered my uniforms and texts for the class and also did a 'live scan' (In addition to the one I did for the LASD). I'm excited and looking forward to the first day of class (gee, never thought I would ever be saying that in my life).

I also forgot to mention that I did a couple ride-alongs in November / December so my next post will be to share my ride-along experiences for those who care to read.

January 2011: I mentioned earlier that I did a couple ride-alongs over the past couple months. I would suggest you do the same if you're in the application process and want to get a better idea of what goes on. The first one I went on was with a traffic car and the deputy was nice to me (no attitude) and answered all of my questions. He did not really initiate any conversation and was focused on what he was doing (A good thing). In my profession I have to multi-task but this guy gave me a run for my money. He was able to listen to the radio, punch license plates into the MDT, drive the car, answer my questions and spot VC violations that most of us would have to look for. I was with him the full 8-hour shift and we shared a meal (with another deputy).

The second ride-along with a 'crime' car and was much slower than the first ride-along. There was virtually nothing going on that evening. The deputy was a mixed bag in that he was "OK" with me being there but not as communicative at the deputy I was with on the first ride-along. At the same time this guy really went out of his way to educate me about what he was doing and I really learned a lot that evening. He emphasized that I always needed to know where I was and even 'tested' me a couple times by stopping the car mid-block and asking 'where are we'. He did mention to me that if I was going to go on a ride along at another station that I should make a point of letting the person I set the ride-along up with that I don't want to break-up a two-man car. I assumed that I would be with this deputy for the entire shift but after about 5 hours he dropped me off at the station and said he had paperwork do to. On one hand it was VERY slow but I wished I would have been able to be with him for the entire shift as he was really willing to share important information with me.

Mid-January 2011: One down, twenty to go. Just wrapped up week one of the academy. I believe the class started out with about 54 people but already 3-5 have dropped. The first day we were put through the standard P.O.S.T. WSTB routine which consisted of jumping a 6' chain-link fence and sprinting a short distance, scaling a 6' solid block wall and sprinting a short distance, dragging a 165# dummy about 25', running through an obstacle course which also ends in a sprint and finally a 500 yard run. Each test was administered twice with the exception of the run. The rest of day 1 was spent doing tasks related to liability waivers, and other forms that needed to be completed. The academy is run para-military and I'm not sure all of those attending were aware of this fact. How this could be is beyond me but then again there were people who did not know their CDL number either. I'm not going to go over every day's activities, however, by the end of week 1 I can tell readers that by next week the honeymoon period with staff will be a distant memory as the screws will be turned. The command staff is serious about what they do and my guess is that the ranks (of cadets) will continue to thin. Attendance is essential; miss more than 11 hours each for modules III and II and you're done. This is a P.O.S.T requirement and if you're thinking to yourself that they'll understand if you've got a business meeting or other out of town trip I'll leave you with this thought; They said that if you have a death in your immediate family they'll try and work with you.

I'm solid with the academics because I do a lot of outside reading. The PT will be my challenge (not overweight but just spent a lot of time driving a desk). I'm also not a regular shooter but I think I'll pass because the instructor is real hands on and takes time to make sure everyone knows what they need to while at the same time not letting you forget that not paying attention could be fatal.

Late January 2011 End of week three is just around the corner and the screws have been turning. The class is now down to 48 cadets from somewhere around 60 and this is before we've even had our first real test. The experience is actually pretty good because we're finally getting into things other than learning the academy rules (although our class is still not spot on in that area). We've started with control holds and also have been starting on cover / contact roles. We've had a couple surprise tests on academy command staff and the other day right after we were issues our hand guns the instructor came in to the class, turned off the lights and announced 'Take it apart!' Well I've got to head out for class more updates later.
Nice to see others coming out of hiding as I was starting to think I was writing a diary for my eyes only.

Late February 2011 End of week seven. Class down to 47 cadets and I see more dropping shortly because of poor academics and class (peer) pressure. We've now done two of our LD tests and a huge amount of PT. We've had our driving training and our first weekend at the outdoor range. The LD 31 test (custody) is tomorrow and they seem to be coming one a week at our current pace. By far there are more people in the class who want to use the P.O.S.T. certificate to get a full-time paid position. I think I'm one of only 2-3 that are actually seeking a reserve position. The problem with this is some of the cadets are young and not too mature. I'm in my late 40s and not someone who has been exercising all my life and there are at least 5-10 people about 1/2 my age running slower than I am. As the class matures I start to get an idea of who will make it as a peace officer and who won't. It's hard to articulate but you take two people who are the same size, put them in the same uniform, and one looks squared away like a cop and the other looks like the night watchman at Wal Mart. You're expected to bring all of your gear with you every day and to bring home the point there are many days when they will all of a sudden say 'you have 5 minutes to change from your PT uniform to your class B uniform' One night we changed 3 times. The tactical staff has assigned a fair amount of memos (typically 100-200 words which must be hand printed on unlined paper a very specific way). Most all are assigned to the entire class if one cadet does something stupid. I was happy to have scored 100% on my recent code test but unfortunately I forgot to put the date under my name so I have to write the date [we took the test] 20X memorandum style. Guess I'll pay better attention next time but that's what it's all about right?

For anyone entering an academy soon I have some advice: 1. Purchase the POST LD workbooks and start studying them even if you have to pay out of your own pocket Click hereto get them. The LAWTECH Quick Code (flip type) vehicle and penal codes have also been helpful as well as the full version of the Law Tech penal code (which also has relevant sections of vehicle and other codes. Law tech also puts out some pretty good LD flash cards too.

Well, I'm off to finish studying for the next test.

Mid-March 2011:

Time for another installment for those of you who may be interested. Since my last installment we've had a couple more tests on various LDs' as well as a penal and vehicle code test. The mid-term is this coming Tuesday and will have about 100 questions on it. PT training has been getting easier - not because the staff has been letting up but instead my almost 50 year-old body is finally getting in gear! I was pleased with myself that I was able to run about 2.2 miles the other week and did not drop back. We've been doing a lot of push-ups for both exercise and 'punishment', however, as the class gets into a grove where we work together and follow the rules the staff eases up on the punitive aspect of our training. We've thinned our ranks by four cadets since my last installment (about 10% of the class). Of the four that left one was med related, one seemed to have issues with the academics (I felt sad for him because he seemed to try hard) and two that candidly should never have been there in the first place.

I'm the kind of person who hates to feel stupid and every now and then I feel just that way when I mess up on something. However, I remind myself that if I already knew all of this stuff I would have no need to be here and it would be boring. As much as I hated the PT aspect of the academy I actually look forward to working out because I feel much better and I've even lost some weight.

One theme I've discovered is that the academy (by design or simply personality differences) introduces a lot of confusion into the overall training process. I finally figured out that this is intentional to get you to start expecting the unexpected. For example staff will not tell you when there will be a 10-code or PC test so you're forced to always be prepared just like in the real world. Same for uniforms; you're expected to bring all of your gear every day. I'll tell you right now that after seeing a couple cadets not have their PT uniform when an order was given to change from Class B to PT in 6 minutes was enough to have me constantly checking to make sure I have all of my stuff. They want you never to carry anything in your shooting hand and after about a month or so that has become habit for me even outside of the academy.

Today we had a guest speaker from another department speak about how internal affairs works and things to avoid. Perhaps the best thing I've heard in a while from one of the guest speakers was said today: "If you want to stay out of trouble and do well start to think about how someone one level above you would deal with a situation” e.g. if you're a line officer ask yourself 'how would the sergeant want this done', if you're a sergeant ask 'what would the LT do in this situation'. I really liked that. I've also noticed that the Director of our academy addresses the class once or twice a week and as part of the discussion he always asks if we're getting good training, have any questions, or would like to make any suggestions. Normally in these types of places I would have just thought that their attitude would be 'the program is the program' so it was nice to see that beyond all the memorandums and push-ups they're concerned about keeping the training to a high quality level.

If you're looking to go the reserve route and have a job and a family I will say that the schedule is rough so having support of your family (spouse etc.) and employer is essential to make it through. There is absolutely work to do outside of class hours and in our case class meets 3 days a week from 6-10 and all day on Saturday so you do the math. You'll end up spending many more hours than whatever the POST requirements for the classes are.

I've not heard from my BI for a bit, however, I'm still hoping that in the next couple months he will complete my background investigation so I could possibly graduate in uniform. I'm not holding out too much hope because the budget problems have just about everyone working other jobs a couple days a week. My BI is a nice guy and I've told him that I'm in the academy so I know that IF he can do anything he will so I lucked out in that area.

Well, the mid-term is around the corner so I've got a lot of studying to do.

UPDATE: I passed the class mid-term (POST final) for Level 3. Just as important to me every member of our class passed as well. Because of my work schedule and distance from the academy I don't participate in a formal study group. I was very happy that a younger cadet that I've become close with and helped prepare for his tests passed the final with a 94% and was also one of a few to score 100% on his vehicle code test. The success was earned entirely by him but I'm felt good about helping somoene much younger than myself in the small way that I did. For those of you who have not been in an academy (or the military) teamwork is a concept that is pounded into you over and over again.

Mid April 2011

It's been awhile since my last post but I'm still here. In terms of my hiring process I had a bit of a setback. I took my poly in early December and was told that everything was fine, however, around mid-February the QA folks pulled mine out because the examiner apparently did not perform the questions in the proper way/manner. The only problem was that no one told me this until the end of March. I was rescheduled (and took) a second poly and was again told everything looked fine, however, I'm still waiting to get the 'official' results back. Long story short I've been in process since Late October and have not progressed as far / fast as I would have hoped.

On the Academy front we're coming down the home-stretch. We've completed our peer reviews and I just got home from a full day qualifying at the range (it was a day and night range including shotgun qualification. Long day, but fun. I'm set to graduate in June of this year but I doubt it will be in uniform because of the delays related to the poly and the budget cuts in general.

June 9, 2011

I can't beleive it 21 weeks went by pretty quick and this past weekend I graduated and recieved my P.O.S.T level II certificate (although it apparently lives only inside a computer). Since my last posting we obviously had our final examination (written), we did our 'critical senario' testing which was an all day event from 07:00 until 00:00, we finished all of our range qualifications including shotgun day and night, went to watch an autopsy 'live' (at least we were) and whatever else we needed to do in order to meet the P.O.S.T Requirements. Not sure if I mentioned it earlier but we also had to get sprayed with OC spray as part of the training process.

I'm stronger and can now easily run a couple miles without feeling like I'm going to drop dead. As I mentioned above, graduation was this past Saturday. I was fortunate to be elected class president so I wrote and gave the class graduation speech at the event and I was also happy to win the award for highest academic scores in the entire class so my parents finally got to see me win an academic award even though they had to wait about 32 years past high school :-). Our academy also has a peer review process and I was jazzed to learn that I was ranked 10th in the class even though I was the oldest person there and the peer evaluations are often a polularity contest.

For those of you who may be wondering where I'm at in the application process the simple answer is not one inch further along than I was in May, April, March, February or January. If you would have told me that I was going to be able to sign-up for the academy two weeks after my first polygraph (I'll explain in a moment), wait for the 11th of January for the academy to start and then graduate 6 months later and still be suck in the polygraph phase of the hiring process I wouuld have laughed. However, this is exactly what has happened to me.

My first polygraph was on December 6, 2010 and that evening the examiner said "looks fine, tell your BI to continue processing, here's my card" With that I gleefully left the building and started on my treck to become a reserve deputy. Around mid-March I got concerned that none of my references had recieved letters so I called my BI. As you might guess I was real dissapointed when he told me that there was a problem with my first polygraph; not in terms of my responses but apparently because the examiner asked some questions either the wrong way or in the wrong order. Apparently it affected others not just me. It apparently took from December 6th to February 14th to discover this. I was not notified sooner because, through no fault of his own my BI is hammered with cases and apparently has to work a different job within the deparement because of the budget. End result about 4 months lost. My BI scheduled me for a second poly which I took on 4-1 and, again, the examiner said 'looks fine, tell your BI' Obviously I heard this before and ironically it was April fool's day too :-) She said that because the department was not really hiring full-time personel I was her first poly of the week and it was Friday. She thought that within a couple weeks my BI should have the results back from 'Quality Control'. Well, that was about 2 1/2 months ago.

I had a study group during the academy and the other two guys who were in my group both graduated in uniform with other agencies. Obviously I am exceptionally proud of my colleagues but it was a bit of a let down that despite having started the process about 6 months before they did my process stalled-out. I realize that if you're seeking a paid position you have to deal with it but you would think that with all the budget woes the County has they would welcome someone who just spent 478 hours to become trained.

Normally I've been ending these entries with 'More updates to follow' but I think this will be the last one. Perhaps LASO will get their process fixed - or just speed it up a bit, perhaps not. During the academy a number of other agencies came in to recruit and all the while I said I was 'in process' with LASO. I think it's time for me to see if another agency might want to pick up someone like me based upon how I did in the academy.

January 3, 2012

It's been seven months since my last entry and because I noticed that my posting had so many views since my last update I figured I would update it. Much has transpired since my last installment, however, because of time constraints I'm not able to go into as much detail as I typically have. What I will say is that it took until about November of 2011 to complete my background investigation, and about a month after that before it was reviewed which brought things to about mid-December - about 14 months after my initial application. My medical is coming up shortly followed by my psych.

The one question that some of you may have is one that I can't answer which is why has it taken this long. When I started the process LASD was not even hiring full-time but as of August they now are. I don't know if my particular time-line was long, short or normal. I'll keep posting as things progress.

February 27, 2012

Passed my medical. The process involved going to a local hospital that contracts with LA County and doing a vision, hearing, lung capacity and treadmill stress test. In addition you have to provide a bunch of medical inforamtion and be examined by the MD. From what I was told the process is different for everyone based upon your health history. They don't let you know if you pass or fail at the time but rather you get a letter in the mail saying you are medically qualified. The last step for me at this point seems to be the pysch.

March 22, 2012

So here I am almost 18 months after I started this process and I've just completed (and hopefully passed) the psychological phase of the hiring process. Assuming that you're reading this because you're either in or considering becoming a reserve I'll share a bit about this phase. You'll be administered two tests, the MMPI-2 and a personality profile. When I say 'test' these are not ones you can prepare for and in the case of the MMPI-2 there are numerous safeguards in place to tell if you're lying. The tests will be electronically 'scored' and the results along with your background file will be sent to one of a number of contract psychologists the county uses. The psychologist is supposed to use the test data along with your file and a personal interview with you to determine if you meet the POST screening guidelines for a peace officer position.

As I said I'm at the end of my 'journey' hoping to go to be appointed as a reserve and after 18 months I would like to offer a combination of advice and reflection on this process and how you can best prepare and get through it.

1. This process is slow and very impersonal. If you like instant gratification or think that you'll be on a fast-track because you're offering to the job for free then think again. There is one line at the LASD 'deputy factory' and the sign above it says 'All Applicants Enter Here' - no special line for reserves. If anything now that the department is looking for full time if they were to make a separate line for reserves it may be the slower moving of the two.

2. Phone calls are typically better than letters. For liability as well as general human nature bad news is communicated in writing while good news is phoned to you. While this not a 100% rule I did pick up on this. Speaking of phone calls you should be persistent when it comes to communicating with your BI but do not cross the line to pain-in-the-ass or stalker. They have many cases they are working on and - at least in my case - just view you like another file that has to get from the inbox to the outbox.

3. From what I can tell the BI can disqualify you but does not have authority to approve you. After your package is completed it will be reviewed by two sergeants and final approval by a lieutenant. If you get selected you'll probably get a phone call, rejected a letter. With this said the BI can still influence your report based upon his observations of you, your manner of dress, communication, professionalism etc.

4. BE HONEST - PAINFULLY HONEST. To back this up I'll share that I had a skeleton in my closet that few knew about was easy to omit and COULD have been a disqualifier yet I elected to throw it on the table. Why? I decided that at the core of this job is trust and if I get selected I wanted to be able to tell myself that I did so by being honest and trusting the process. I never wanted to be in a position where 5 years down the road I get called in and asked why I left out something from my background paperwork. The department will tolerate mistakes, bad judgment, immaturity and other transgressions in your past. THEY WILL NOT TOLLERATE LYING. I'm not going to blow smoke in your face and tell you that my story turned out like a movie where I bared my sole and everything went just fine. In fact the very issue that I was concerned about was one that I was asked hard questions about and the outcome could have gone either way. However, as I said earlier, I was going to get this position (or be rejected for it) by being honest and playing by the rules.

5. DO NOT GIVE UP. Maintain a positive attitude during the process and start to act as you would if you were wearing the badge. Observe your surroundings when you're out, see how fast you can look at license plates and memorize them while driving, go on ride alongs etc. If you are rejected by one agency then apply at others (assuming you don't have a fatal disqualifier). THIS PROCESS IS HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE or put another way decisions are made by regular people and different people make different decisions when faced with the same data. There were a number of times during my process where I had to be persistent opposed to just walking away, however, with that said law enforcement in general is looking for people that on one hand are independent thinkers who can act 'on their feet' yet on the other hand they're also looking for team players who can work in a para-military organization so keep that in mind as you go through the process.

Well, other than one final post to let everyone know what finally happens with me I think I'm done here.]]> Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:37:47 +0000 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=25297 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=27318 Does anyone have good information about when the next level III/II academy will start, and whether it will be north or south? Fri, 30 Mar 2012 03:54:30 +0000 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=27318 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=2313
Thanks!

Scott]]> Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:00:00 +0000 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=2313 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=12163 I heard that LASD tested the new Dodge Magnums and Chargers for possible patrol use. Any word on whether we will start seeing HEMIs patrolling the streets of LA County anytime soon? How do they square up against the Ford CVPI? Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:46:29 +0000 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=12163 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=27315
Thanks,
David]]> Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:31:27 +0000 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=27315 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=6514
1. do we purchase our own nameplates? i didn't get one
2. do we get lockers? or does it vary each station? if we don't, are we required to bring everything in our car, like our riot helmet.
3. can l1 reserves purchase hi cap mags? not sure what LASD policy is
if yes, are there restrictions? or is it anything you want. extreme example : purchasing a beta c 100 round drum mag for an ar. and no I don't have an ar.
can we order online or goto another state and bring them in?
reason: I'd like to purchase a 32 rnd beretta mag to keep in my warbag. I was with another agency, and my first TO said always keep spare loaded mags in your bag just in case SHTF.
4. what special assignments have you veteran reserves done? investigations? etc...
5. are we allowed to carry ASPs or wood/cocobolo batons?
6. are there restrictions on what holsters we can use?


thanks.
one of the sales people at a police equipment store in OC, said you can purchase anything... but i just want some expert advice first since i don't want to get in trouble.]]> Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:27:43 +0000 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=6514 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=27319 Does anyone know where I can buy shotgun ammo and also what kind does it have to be? Sat, 11 Feb 2012 08:19:14 +0000 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=27319 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=27317 Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:41:27 +0000 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=27317 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=25771 Has anyone heard what date is orientation for the possible upcoming academy? Anything about the location where it will be held? Just wondering when all this is going down so, we have an idea what we need to buy for the academy, and what will be issued from LASD. Fri, 02 Sep 2011 02:11:57 +0000 http://lasdreserve.com/index.php?showtopic=25771