H ere is a current scenario: You are a young officer with less than five years seniority on your current job. The municipality that employs you enters talks with another law enforcement agency to consolidate or merge, or your governmental fiduciary may just want to dissolve the department all together and accept county or state coverage only. In other words, close shop all together. The leaders that recruited you now seem to abandon you. Now, what are your options?
This article appeared in the November/December issue of OFFICER Magazine. Click Here to subscribe to OFFICER Magazine.
This scenario is playing out in various places across the United States today. There are many municipalities that are getting out of the public safety business. This may be due to budgetary restraints, liability exposure or forecasting a bleak financial future. Now, what is a young officer with less than five years, maybe a young family and a mortgage to do? I describe it as having to put together a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle and there is no photo of what the puzzle should look like, now it is your first move.
Listen up
I know as a young officer you do not concern yourself with the local political scene and you try to avoid the departmental rumor mill if you can. However, in today’s times if you are working for a small or maybe even a medium-sized agency, you may want to keep your eyes and ears open as to what the future holds for this department. Also recall if you are in an “at will” state/commonwealth you have very little recourse on a downsizing. In a union state, remember the adage “the last hired, is the first fired.” But not to worry, there could be offers. The conquering agency may wish to bring some staff aboard, if not all the staff. However, the probabilities of them taking everyone may not be in your favor. So, what should you do?
Preparation for possibilities
You should check with your human resources department as to what reemployment rights and unemployment rights you may have. Educate yourself as to unemployment rights and review offers that may be before you. You could be offered a separation package, or maybe they will give you an offer of first rehire. But alas, if you have a family and financial obligations, you may not be able to live on a hope and a prayer.
Now is the time to start planning, just as if you were job seeking all over again. Do you have your resume current? Do you have all those necessary forms such as birth certificate, Social Security card, driver’s license, DD Form 214 (if you are a military veteran) and other assorted paperwork ready? Do you have good copies ready to submit and have in a PDF format, where you can attach them if you are applying via the internet? Try to get recommendations and employment statements from supervisors for submission. Update your references list. Note here, references should be diverse—civilians and supervisors. You may want to start looking into other job fields just to keep yourself around and financially afloat, just in case you could be rehired. Consider if there are other employment opportunities in your area.
Start over?
There are agencies across the nation who are seeking suitable applicants, often “experienced officers.” If you consider this move, make yourself the best applicant for their needs. One of the greatest issues with hiring veteran officers from another agency is that sometimes they come with “baggage.” When hiring experienced officers, an agency must perform due diligence in their background investigations. The determination as to why an officer left a vested career must be determined. There are stories where an officer may be leaving due to disciplinary issues or the like. Should a department hire one with a cloudy past, a new job does not clean their slate of transgressions. Once there is an incident, the past will surface again if civil actions come forth. This will put the hiring agency on the hook for making a risky selection.
Residency requirements still are a consideration. If not, the commute time and its expenses are. You might have to move or even go out of state. If you have never moved before, the stresses are one thing, but the expenses add up as well. It sounds easy to say, “we will pull up stakes and move,” but there are a lot of moving parts, and they all have impacts. You might consider your state police. Many state police agencies now have ‘bridge programs’ for experienced, certified officers with a shorter academy.
Check your account and ego
Should you have a break in transition, there could well be a break in your income. Review your financial well-being. Cut expenses now and prepare to weather the looming storm. Also, review your budget for the future. You may not be making as much as a rookie there as you were before. Of course, there are some agencies with hiring and sign-on bonuses. You could become lucky and get a raise, that would be great.
One thing you need to recall. Starting over, you will no longer have what seniority you had; you are on the bottom again. You will be a FNG (Fabulous New Guy/Girl) again. No accrued time off, vacations, sick time or personal leave. If you were working off-duty, this too will be put off, as most departments require you to be off probationary status to work extra gigs. All these little things add up into the stress of starting over.
You more than likely must endure a Field Training Officer (FTO) program of some sorts (again). Larger agencies may require a departmental academy, and out-of-state moves are an entirely different gambit of certifications and new state requirements. Before applying out of state, do some serious research first.
In closing, anytime there is a career change, it will place undue stress on you and your family unit. There will be the newness and uncertainty of starting in a new place, learning the ropes all over again. Be prepared for this. We do live in interesting times, and the pressures of maintaining a law enforcement career now are far more difficult than ever.
About the Author
William L. “Bill” Harvey is a U.S. Army Military Police Corps veteran. He has a BA in criminology from St. Leo University and is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute of the University of Louisville (103rd AOC). Harvey served in leadership positions including chief during a career that spanned over 40 years.
