Law
enforcement offers enticing careers
By Brian Brannon
On-line Forty-Niner
 During
these turbulent economic times a career
in law enforcement offers greater job security
than most other options.
Opportunities in police work are not limited
to patrol assignments, but also include
what are known as non-sworn positions, such
as crime scene investigators, forensic technicians
and dispatchers.
“Not everybody has to technically be a police
officer,” said Capt. Todd Mattern of the
Los Alamitos Police Department.
Besides job security and a variety of assignments,
law enforcement personnel can expect a fresh
set of challenges every day. That variety
is something that Capt. Stan Skipworth of
the University Police at Cal State Long
Beach values most about the job.
“I love it, I really do,” Skipworth said.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for
the people I get to work with every day.
It gives me a chance to respond to different
things in a different way.”
Unlike previous years, a modern police force
is made up of men and women from a variety
of backgrounds and experiences. Such diversity
allows a department to better serve the
various types of people in its community.
Currently, agencies are seeking officers
who are best prepared to respond to the
unique societal nuances they are likely
to find on their beats, Skipworth said.
“We’re looking for people who are able to
tolerate the spirit and vim and vigor of
the young people coming in,” he said.
A police agency whose jurisdiction includes
a greater percentage of families and retired
people would probably consider a different
type of officer, Skipworth said.
Skipworth and Mattern both agree that the
most important trait of a good recruit is
not his or her physical size.
“We generally look for candidates with good
people skills,” Mattern said. “People who
can relate to people well. People who have
a strong sense of values and strong character.”
Mattern works part-time at Golden West Police
Academy in Huntington Beach as a recruit-training
officer, a position he describes as a cross
between a drill sergeant and a tactical
police officer. Most of the staff at the
academy is made up of part-time police officers
from around the county, Mattern said.
The students at the academy are both recruits
who have already been hired by local agencies
and independent recruits who are paying
their own way, he said. Mattern was in the
latter category when he graduated from the
academy in 1985. He found a job in law enforcement
soon after, he said.
CSULB has its own criminal justice department,
and there are police academies at Cal State
Fullerton and Rio Hondo College in Whittier.
The Long Beach Police Department has a police
academy reserved for its own in-house recruits.
One of the benefits of the Long Beach Police
Recruit Academy is that there are no tuition
costs once a recruit is accepted said Recruitment
Officer Fernando Jimenez.
“We train our own,” Jimenez said. “We’re
the only academy in California that does
that. If you’re in our academy, you already
have a job and we’re paying you.”
During the 24-week course, candidates receive
training in all aspects of law enforcement
during a four-day workweek.
However, opportunities are limited. Long
Beach Police Department only hires 60 people
once a year.
Last year’s recruits are currently being
processed, and the department looks to consider
a new batch in May or possibly June, Jimenez
said.
Applicants for the Long Beach Police Recruit
Academy must meet the following requirements:
be at least 20-years-old; possess a valid
California driver’s license; have a high
school diploma or general education equivalency,
be a U.S. citizen or have applied for citizenship,
have no felony convictions, have 20/20 vision
or 20/100 vision correctable to 20/20; and
have no physical or mental limitations that
might prevent the completion of any duty
assignment.
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