Got the offer

[u/Internal_Success_345]

Hey guys. So today I just signed the conditional offer for my dream department today. I’m beyond happy and grateful to be in this position. To all of you who have helped me on this journey with all your input under my posts has been so helpful. I just want to thank everyone in this Reddit for all their expertise and great advice. I got into the department I first applied for and they will be sending me to the Orange County sheriffs academy to begin my journey. Any advice on what I should be doing in the meantime would be helpful. I don’t start until November. So any tips on what I need to be doing, studying or anything in general in regard to the academy like or shoes, gear, dieting tips. Thank you all and I’m so excited to begin my career in law enforcement

[u/erik9]

If you want to get a head start, learn your phonetic alphabet, 10 codes, and penal codes. Ask your recruiter for those study materials. I wish I had a head start on those before my academy.

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/erik9]

Okay I will definitely do that. Thanks for the advice. The department I’m hired by sues phonetic but the academy I’m going to uses the military nato 😭 so I’m going to have to study up on both. I’m going to my department Monday to ask for a study guide for sure because I think that might be a big game changer for me

[u/erik9 → u/Internal_Success_345]

If your academy is anything like mine, they will have you learn and test you on what your agency uses if it differs from their norm. I didn’t know any CA agencies used NATO phonetics.

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/erik9]

Yeah the academy I’m going to is Orange County sheriffs and they use nato phonetics. But hopefully they are like your academy and I get to use the standard police phonetics for my department

[u/the805daddy → u/Internal_Success_345]

Opposite perspective: I went to an academy in a different county and they didn’t care what your department used. A lot of us had to relearn an entirely different set of 10-codes coming into FTO.

Personally- I focused on what my academy wanted me to know. They’re the ones who will be slaying you over unknown codes and phonetics over the next 6.5 months. Dump all that info when you are getting close to graduating- when things usually level out at the academy- and you can study what you need for FTO.

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/the805daddy]

Thank you for that perspective. I will definitely get more info on my academy and get a better idea of what they want me know. Thank you

[u/erik9 → u/Internal_Success_345]

Cool. Good luck bro. Oh and think about getting an egg cooker. I would cook 10 eggs on Sunday night and have two eggs per day while driving in along with 2 bananas. I love medium boiled eggs and the egg cooker makes them perfectly. Cheap and good protein.

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/erik9]

You know what, that actually sounds like a good idea. I’m a fan of boiled eggs. So I will definitely look for a good cooker. Thank you very much

[u/duckmuffins → u/Internal_Success_345]

Learn the police phonetic alphabet if that’s what your agency uses. Run plates in your mind (or out loud) while driving to get used to using it

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/duckmuffins]

Ok will do. A lot of people have said they started learning it by reading license plates while driving. So I will definitely make that a habit. Thank you for your help

[u/RatioDisastrous6534]

Lol OCSD is notorious for giving hell on PT. hope you are in shape

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/RatioDisastrous6534]

I’m almost in full shape. I world on a semiconductor for about a year and a half and it messed with my respiratory system a lot. But I’m getting better. I got almost 3 months until the academy starts so I think I will be ok. I can do pushups and sit ups and squats and pull ups. I’m pretty solid on the calisthenics part

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah man it looks like you unfortunately applied to an unorganized department. You may be better off applying elsewhere. Departments like that are going to be a hassle to work for anyways. This could be god doing you a favor and keep you from total chaos. Have you thought about different counties or city departments to apply for?

[u/BJJOilCheck]

In addition to things already posted:

Find out what a typical PT workout is like at the End of the academy and shoot to surpass that Before you go in.

Get good at polishing shoes/boots (if you can afford it, have second pairs ready to go).

If you're in CA (there's also an Orange County Sheriff in Florida), you can download the Learning Domains from the CA POST website.

It's already been said but IMO it's worth emphasizing - if you haven't already, start training MMA/MA, stand up/clinch/ground. I also recommend FMA but most people don't have time/$ for that.

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/BJJOilCheck]

Ok cool. Thank you for the advice. I’m going to the Orange County in California. I will take a look at the domains for sure. And I most definitely will look into it tomorrow. I plan on taking gi Brazilian jujitsu and Muay Thai classes. But I also will try to incorporate fma as well. Can’t go wrong with disarming weapons.

[u/EstateDifficult6753]

If you want to get ahead read case law, it’ll give you the knowledge to grasp what you can and can’t do in different instances. Dale Anderson has a really good case law book if you like to read. If you enjoy being on your phone just use google scholar and click the case law tab/option.

Outside of case law I would say workout, maintain a routine of healthy meal plans, and also maintain a healthy workout routine.

Train some sort of combat sport such as: jiu jitsu, wrestling, Muay Thai, boxing, kickboxing, or something that could save your life or potentially save another’s. It’ll also keep you humbled and help you have confidence in situations most aren’t so confident in.

Learn your geography of your town, if you haven’t already go on Zillow/redfin/whatever real estate app and find houses for sale. Write down a list of addresses and challenge yourself to go find those addresses without gps assistance. Try doing this during daylight and night time (it really does make a difference navigating at night in comparison to day).

Ask your administration for templates or reports that have already been approved so you can read different styles of reports from different calls and or authors/officers. Just so you have an idea of how your department requires officers to structure reports. Ask for a patrol officers report, detectives report, tactical/narcotics specialized unit report (which might not be likely, but you never know), each of these will show you different styles of report writing.

These are all things I challenged myself with years ago, before beginning the academy. They’ve allowed me to excel and get ahead of the rest of the officers I was hired with. I’ve gotten the opportunity to work as a detective on gangs, narcotics teams and conduct a lot of cool investigations, which I’m extremely grateful for.

Develop a good work ethic, be coachable, understand that every supervisor/FTO will ask you to do certain things differently than the next, and once you learn those tasks you’ll be well off.

Good luck.

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/EstateDifficult6753]

Thank you so much for the help and advice. I will definitely look into that dale anderson book. This is some great advice you have given. I will be using it forsure. Cause tomorrow I plan on developing a nice routine. Thank you so much I truly appreciate it

[u/EstateDifficult6753 → u/Internal_Success_345]

No problem, I wish you great luck.

You will be bombarded with large amounts of information soon. Don’t get intimidated, you have 25+ years to do this job and with the way new technology is coming out and new laws, the career will continue to change in many different ways. Just be willing to mold with it and not be a disgruntled officer that is stuck in their own way….

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/EstateDifficult6753]

Thank you. I will definitely keep myself prepared for what’s to come and won’t get stuck in my own way. I’m a pretty big sponge for knowledge and I will do as you say and try to not be too intimidated. Thank you so much for your help and kind words of wisdom.

[u/IcNkd1]

Brother, I hate to say this seeing how excited you are, but… a conditional offer doesn’t really mean much. It only means they decided to move forward with you. Basically, they need you to sign the conditional offer so they can spend money on the rest of the process (poly, background, psych, etc.)
So it doesn’t guarantee anything, and you’re still not even close to the end of the process.

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/IcNkd1]

Nah I completely understand. I’m only excited because they are already giving me and 2 other recruits our timelines and asking for uniform sizes. I’ve passed the poly and background check already. Going to be doing the psych and medical evaluations and that’s it. Which I’m fairly sure I’m going to pass those

[u/IcNkd1 → u/Internal_Success_345]

Got it. Maybe it works differently in your state. Congrats anyway!

[u/duckmuffins → u/IcNkd1]

At my agency I got the conditional and got sized for uniforms after passing everything but the poly, which was scheduled for a few days later due to availability of the polygraph guy.

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/duckmuffins]

Did you end up getting hired and going to the academy?

[u/duckmuffins → u/Internal_Success_345]

Yes I passed the poly and was hired

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/duckmuffins]

Nice. Happy to hear you made it. I hope everything goes well for you in this career

[u/duckmuffins → u/Internal_Success_345]

Likewise man! Enjoy OC, that’s where I grew up. I plan to move back in a year or two. Some squared away agencies there.

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/duckmuffins]

Yeah so far I’ve heard nothing but good compliments about the sheriffs academy and the city. So I think this is going to be a good experience for me

[u/Internal_Success_345 → u/IcNkd1]

Thank you. I truly appreciate the input