Police Promotion Information and Resources.
Everything You
Need to Know to Plan For and Achieve Promotion Up the Ranks in Law
Enforcement!
The Two Career Tracks — Supervision vs. Specialization
By Lt. Paul Patti (ret) - Director
Police
Career and Promotion Services, LLC.
What you need to know
about all aspects of preparing for and achieving your promotion in
law enforcement can be found in these pages.
About us: I spent 27 years in law enforcement, and since 1985 I have directed an organization that has worked with individuals and agencies in finding and promoting the right people into the higher ranks of police and sheriff's departments. We include a Ph.D. in Personnel Management, as well as a staff attorney focusing on criminal law applications and legal-oriented promotion exams in law enforcement. We specialize not only in writing promotion textbook exams for police agencies, but also written exam preparation for individuals, along with in-basket, oral board and assessment center preparation for both agencies and individual training. Our individual client base of thousands of career law officers has a 99%+ pass rate on their written exams!
More information about me, my organization and affiliates can be found at these links; PoliceCareer.com, About Us, PoliceCareer.net, PolicePromotion.com, Finests.com, In-Basket.net and PoliceAssessmentCenter.com.
Master List of Articles. Questions? Contact me - Paul@PolicePromotion.com
Your Two Possible Career Tracks —
Supervision or Specialization — Which Will You Choose?
By Lt. Paul Patti (ret.), Director,
Police Career and Promotion Services, LLC — 40+ years of law
enforcement promotion expertise.
My first bit of advice - don't choose either path - Supervision OR Specialization - at least not right away - not for the first 5 years.
It is very tempting, I know. Specialized positions are not just offered to anybody. And they don't come around often, especially in smaller departments.
Why 5 years? Because that is how long it will take you to learn your department inside and out, understand the work done by special units, and really decide for yourself where it is you want to be in the agency in 10 - 15 - 20 and 25 years from that day.
Let's say you are a 3-year officer in a small 45-officer department. There are 2 K9 positions, one is a corporal rank, one is an officer rank. The K9 officer position opens up. You are young, well liked, in fantastic physical shape, have a great work record, and have shown you master training concepts easily and excel in getting the difficult jobs done.
Your sergeant and lieutenant recommended you for the position, you are called in to the Chief's Office, and the chief is offering it to you.
If you accept, you leave for the state capitol city in 2 weeks to begin your training with the state police canine unit. You will meet your 8-month old Belgian Malinois on Day 1 of the State Canine Academy.
Who could turn THAT down?
Well, MAYBE YOU should.
In the Chief's Office, with the offer being made, it is very difficult to take a step back and consider your options. We know, it is especially hard to tell the Chief that you need time to think about it. But, truly, you should. If the Chief will allow you a day or two or three to consider your options, thank him or her and give a definite time when you'll have an answer, or note the deadline you are given and state that you'll have an answer before then. Be sure to follow through and give your answer in the time allotted.
Why the delay? Because you need an official answer to at least one very important question.
Specialized positions come with very specialized training. And - that's very expensive. The costs of training you and the canine before you hit the street is likely upward of $20K - $25K - and that doesn't include the cost of your salary while you are gone for 8 to 12 weeks! Or your hotel, your meals, etc etc.
Small to medium sized agencies don't have that kind of money just laying around. They will need special authorization from the city or town or county government. They will need to pay overtime to fill your slot. The costs all add up - fast.
Here's the big question you need to ask yourself - and then ask your sergeant, your lieutenant - and eventually the chief;
"How long of a commitment do you need me to make to the canine program?" I'm pretty sure the answer from the chief will be, "For the service life of the dog, about 6 - 10 years."
That's 6 - 10 years that you're not going to make sergeant. People that are junior to you in seniority will start moving up to sergeant well before you do. And then lieutenant - and so on.
You could make corporal - maybe - but you'll stay in the canine assignment until K9 Bruno or Dexter or King is ready to retire. Are you ready for that?
If you hear from your chief that is not the case - you in fact will be considered for promotion to sergeant and a transfer out of K9 - then great! If however there is going to be a long commitment - talk to your family and your friends and get their opinions. Whatever decision you land on - you will need to own it - and make damn sure you can live with it afterwards. If you consider yourself a "team player" that means you own the decisions you make. You don't blame everyone and everything else for you not having thought something through.
This scenario applies not just to K9 - you can expect similar circumstances and choices to crop up for specialized promotions and transfers to;
1. Criminal Investigation (especially homicide investigation)
2. Crime Scene Investigation
3. Internal Affairs Supervisor or Commander
4. SWAT
5. Narcotics Enforcement
6. Traffic Enforcement (learning to ride that Harley is no cake walk)
7. Traffic Homicide Investigation (hope you love math)
8. And on and on - mounted patrol, Accreditation Manager, helicopter or drone pilot, to name just a few. If "they" spend a lot of money on your training, "they" will be in no hurry to transfer or promote you.
What do a lot of other officers choose? What did I choose? Simple - I chose to go for promotion first, THEN for special assignments as a supervisor of the special units. I supervised 2 K9 handlers, without myself having a K9. I supervised an entire traffic division, and a criminal investigation division. I was also in internal affairs for 2 years, it was my first lieutenant assignment.
Choosing either career path is FINE - IF and only IF - you understand the pros and cons and fully investigate the options, speak to your family, friends, and supervisors - and fully accept the decision you make.
Truth is - being a K9 handler is in fact a wonderful and challenging assignment. If I had my career to do over again, I might just choose that instead. But that's only because I've had enough time to think it over... you should too. Check out this great article from PoliceOfficer.org - How to Advance Your Law Enforcement Career: From Patrol Officer to Detective and Beyond
In the end, both paths can lead to a rewarding career. The key is making the choice with full information, family input, and a clear understanding of what each path requires. Don't let the excitement of the moment make a decade-long decision for you!
Master list of articles and resources: from PolicePromotion.net
Your Police Promotion Timeline — When Should
Preparation Begin?
Field Training — Your First Defining Chapter
Building Your Promotional Reputation Over Time
Recordkeeping —
Your Evaluations, and Training Documentation
The Two Tracks —
Supervision vs. Specialization
The Role of College Education
in Law Enforcement
The FTO As an Early Promotion Credential
The Written Promotional
Exam — What It Covers and How to Prepare
The Oral Board — the
Promotion First-Timer's Biggest Challenge
The In-Basket Exercise
— NOT as
Easy as You Think!
Assessment Center Exercises
—
Don't Fear — Prepare!
Making it To The Top — Or — How High is
High Enough?
When it's Time to Leave it All Behind — And What to
do Next.Do You REALLY Want the Promotion? — Links to help you prepare for:
Police Corporal
Police Detective
Police Sergeant
Police Lieutenant
Police Captain
Police
Administration and Upper Management
Understanding Police Leadership Concepts
Understanding Police Ethical Considerations
Understanding Police
Patrol and Field Operations
Understanding Community
and Problem-Oriented Policing
Understanding Intelligence-Led Policing
Police Case Law
Application with Case Law Pro