7 yr Limit in Specialty Units

This department needs to be restructured and time limits need to be placed in specialty units. With a department this small, if your not a golden child you will never make it to a specialty unit. To put in for a specialty unit you should have at least 4-5 yrs experience. Putting a rookie officer in a specialty unit just off probabtion does a disservice to the citizens and a disservice to that officer by not xposing him to being a street cop and the invaluable experience you obtain by handling calls and learning how to deal with adversity.

Chief, you should look into this, many smaller departments have a policy like this and it would help boost moral and possibly help hire new officers if they know they'll have a better chance of becoming a detective or working another specialty unit. Those that have been in a specialty unit for 7 years and longer, don't wine cuz you've spent almost half your career off the road.

I agree, out with the old & in with the new

Awww, whats the matter Gotti? Did you get your tit in a wringer because your stats as a road officer suck and now you just want a new place to hide? Get out of your patrol car and doing something. You have to be an actual officer before you can do police work! Looooooser!

Luving it, Gotti is right and your probably one of those disgracing cops that never did any road time and think they know it all, always preach how the road is the place to be, but never attempt to bid it because your scared of actually having to work and scared of having to stop and talk to someone you might actually have to arrest. Or maybe your one of those detectives that send out emails to have road patrol pick up your subjects because your scared to do it yourself. Or maybe your a CST/Street Crimes/Gang guy who doesn't want to share useful information with one of your own guys because your a glory hound. Whatever the case may be, we do need to have time limits in specialty units and a minimum road time (at least 4 yrs) before you can put in for one. You need to be an experienced cop before you can be a good detective

u guys are all right... i think torrs & parets should be in VIN and T in street crimes, and Johnson & bridgette in CST...

they would do great because they have been road officers for all these years. right?

but wait they never put in for these units so that leads us to beleive that the ones posting this Bull$hit are the losers that could not pass the sgt's test or couldn't interview well enough for a position, or had low stats their entire career, or cant take a simple report without having it rejected 1000 times, or are useless on the road so no one wants them in their specialized unit.
because u are such a loser you need a rule in place so that you get a free ride into a specialized unit....well i have news for you. just because you spend most of your career on the road dont make you a supercop...every position here needs to be learned, just because you handled 10000 accidents dont make you a detective or because you checked 1300 alarms dont make you a proactive CST detective.

bottom line is work hard and stand out make good proactive NON TRAFFIC ARRESTS or suck some A$$ to move up.
that means you either suck as a PO or are to stupid to make the right contacts/alliances. If you cant do one or the other then you belong right were you are.

I don't know about a 7 year time limit, but I do feel there needs to be minimums for when a rookie can put in for a unit, say 5 yrs. Around 5 yrs of road experience is when most cops feel comfortable with whatever is thrown their way. I think that amount of time helps the officer establish himself in the agency (either a proactive cop or a slug), and it would help moral to not see an officer just off probabtion make it to the detective bureau before any senior officer that wasn't a slug and has been loyal to the agency.

I don't know about a 7 year time limit, but I do feel there needs to be minimums for when a rookie can put in for a unit, say 5 yrs. Around 5 yrs of road experience is when most cops feel comfortable with whatever is thrown their way. I think that amount of time helps the officer establish himself in the agency (either a proactive cop or a slug), and it would help moral to not see an officer just off probabtion make it to the detective bureau before any senior officer that wasn't a slug and has been loyal to the agency.


I agree that the senior guys should have the upper hand while putting in for a specialized unit and thier time on the road should be considered prior to selection. For example, if two officers are putting in for a specialized unit, one has been on the road for three years and the other thirteen years. Both officers did very well on the interview, both have been ace kickers on the road through out their career, and they are seemingly identical from everything from stats to personality. Virtually the only difference between the two is their time on the road. I think the obvious decision in this scenario is the senior dog.
However, in my humble opinion, I think when you're ready...You're ready. Lets say you have a junior officer (2-4 years on the road) who has demonstrated knowldege, productivity, and a work ethic second to none to his/her supervisors.This officer recieves many awards, makes phenomenal arrests and time and again impresses even the toughest critics. This officer gains his knowlegde by working so hard on the road that he sped up the learning process with his drive and motivation rather than ten to fifteen years of trial and error on road patrol. So lets say this officer puts in for a specialized unit along with a senior officer. The senior officer had his moments in his day and was once considered a work horse and a super cop but now he has settled down and is currently described as a mediocre cop producing mediocre police work. The senior officer has a family now and all he thinks about these days is retirement. Should the senior officer get the position in this case???
I think time on the road is very important but I don't think it's as important as the numbers and the facts. Other agencies look at statistics and the qualities offered by the canidate rather time on the road to ensure proficiency in the specialized unit. In MDPD they have GIU officers that have been on for 2 years, 2 year RID detectives, 3 year TNT detectives, FTO's that arent even off probation (I don't agree with that), and countless other positions with junior officers/detectives that were based on qualities offered rather than seniority. That being said, I know NMB is not a large agency and seniority will tend to be the deciding factor in many positions, BUT, I dont think the junior guys should be disgarded based on their time on the road. What if the only people putting in for these units are junior officers??? Will people continue to bash them because they took an opportunity and ran with it???

If you're ready...YOU'RE READY!
If you are a senior officer show theses rookies a thing or two, earn your way in to a specialized unit by working not by hanging arroud for fifteen years, collecting a pay check, and then expecting the specialzed unit fairy to leave a position under your pillow!

Comments and criticisms are welcomed.

Trust me when I say that having officers with two years on in specialized units like TNT, RID and GIU is not a good thing. Ever been on a major scene with any of those guys? They don't know crap from shinola and I have seen them make stupid decisions that could of really screwed up important cases if it wasn't for some senior guys overriding their hastily made decisions. Just being gung ho does not make one a good cop. Qualities like police experience and common sense are what counts. You can gain valuable experience in a short period of time if you are out handling all types of calls and making good decisions. You have to be able to establish relationships outside of your agency ie. state attorneys, other agencies, probation officers etc. Being proactive is a great quality but make sure that you learn and do things right along the way and that will be what separates you from others.

Ah, at last. The voice of reason

This officer gains his knowlegde by working so hard on the road that he sped up the learning process with his drive and motivation rather than ten to fifteen years of trial and error on road patrol.

Your scenario is a straw man.

If a "senior" officer is working hard, then it is impossible for a junior officer to make up for 10 or 15 years of experience by also working hard.

[quote="MDPD Bound":1fdc1zy4]
Your scenario is a straw man.

If a "senior" officer is working hard, then it is impossible for a junior officer to make up for 10 or 15 years of experience by also working hard.[/quote:1fdc1zy4]

Voice of resaon you are correct, a junior officer working hard does not speed up any process except that he's doing what he's getting paid to do. Just about every cop here was a go getter when they started, when an officer reaches the 7-10 yr mark, thats often when you start seeing what that officer is capable of and what his true interests are. Most of us started with interests of going to DB, CST, K9, VIN, TRAFFIC, DETACHED, but the reality of a small department is you MIGHT be able to get one maybe two of these specialties throughout a 20 yr career. When your in a small department and you have a rookie officer that puts in for every opening that becomes available, the perception is that he/she is trying to do anything to get off the road. Unfortunately we don't have the luxury, like the county, to bounce from unit to unit, so it's some wise advice to think about what your interested in and go for it when you have the chance, if a senior officer (not a slug) puts in for the same opening as the rook, my feeling is to give it to the senior man, WHY? Because he/she has done their time and that goes much farther than a rookie officer that is "proactive", remember, we all were the first years of our career. Keep your heads up rooks, you will have your chance to advance but keep in mind that advancement in small agencies is minimal, if you have the career plan of experiencing several different specialties throughout your career, try a larger agency, cuz if you stay the reality is that you'll be dissapointed.

Seasoned Vet, you broke it down quite well. Keep doing what your doing newbies, one day your experience will be respected. When your the senior officers of this agency, you most likely will be preaching the same words to the rookie officers that feel all senior officers are slugs. When you newbies were children, still in middle and high school, we were stopping and arresting any piece of sh$t we could, it's sort of the circle of life, when pertaining to this career.

Well said, Seasoned Vet.

Promotions and appointments to specialized units ought to be based on the merits of the individual, and seniority should only be used a tiebreaker for two equally qualified applicants. Seniority should not cause a less qualified vet to get the spot over a better qualified junior cop.

Well said, Seasoned Vet.

Promotions and appointments to specialized units ought to be based on the merits of the individual, and seniority should only be used a tiebreaker for two equally qualified applicants. Seniority should not cause a less qualified vet to get the spot over a better qualified junior cop.

Voice of reason, that was exactly the point I was trying to convey.
Let seniority be the deciding factor when both canidates are neck and neck. But dont give the senior seadonkey a position that a junior officer is much more qualified for. Everyone knows who the workers are... And just because someone has managed to stick arround for tweny years under the radar does not make them a poster child of knowlege and wisdom in their profession.