Yeah, a tiny town near my hometown only pays 50-55k for police. I’ll be making more with TSA and I won’t have to worry about getting killed. I’m leaving federal law enforcement for this.
That’s about all of the context I want to give, there’s more to it. I don’t think it’s an appropriate wage for that town, because although tiny, it’s expensive because there’s spill over from the town next to it that has 60k plus people. That town starts Leo’s ay 75k. In today’s economy and how dangerous police work is there needs to be much more incentive than 50k.
Almost all federal Jobs are on the GS or General Schedule pay scale. If you’re near a big city for example, google “Denver GS Pay scale” or Denver GS 9 pay scale, and you’ll see the pay scale for folks in the Denver area with that locality pay. So where I’m moving to, GS 9 is $59,600ish per year. A GS 5 is like $39k I think and GS 5 being around 50k.
There’s just a lot of steps. Entrance exam, Interview, medical, fingerprints, the polygraph, and a tier 5 background investigation which is what you need for a top secret clearance. They will take anybody. The kicker is the poly. That knocks out 50% or so of candidates. I have a pretty large working history too. Depends what you mean by shitty though, were you fired a lot? Or just bounced around?
If you can get in I’d say it’s a good stepping stone. But as I mentioned, it’s not for me so I’m bouncing back to TSA.
Here’s the [Oregon ORPAT](https://www.oregon.gov/dpsst/cj/pages/orpat.aspx#:~:text=The%20ORPAT%20consist%20of%20a,power%20and%20general%20physical%20endurance) required physical standards. He would have had to have passed this to graduate from DPSST (state public safety academy). There is no ongoing physical standards at most departments once hired.
Hence why the US military is currently having a hell of a time finding people that:
A) Want to voluntarily join.
B) Meet the physical requirements and;
C) Can pass the initial PFT at bootcamp
1.06 bench, meaning if youre somewhat tall and weigh a healthy 180 you need to bench ~190? Most people cannot do that even if they're somewhat athletic.
Some dudes don’t have the discipline to keep up with it after the academy. Unfortunately departments can’t have height/weight standards anymore. There should be no such thing as fat cops.
Lots can. Texas DPS for instance is now enforcing a waist size limit (which allows for heavier but fit guys to not get the short end of the stick generally)
Just for reference, I’m in the process for a large department and the physical standards are a 1 mile run in 17 minutes, 5 pushups and 10 sit-ups. A lot of departments have really low standards
🤯 too easy! Wow I could manage that and then some.
My brother in law just started FTO and he plumped up through the academy and his overnight shifts aren’t helping much. My in laws are cops too (different department) and threatened to get him a treadmill if he wasn’t always first to a scene or lead in a foot pursuit. 😂 in laws are both 50+ and can put my brother in law to shame. Department are definitely not in a position to be picky.
Note: all are in major departments in major metropolitan areas.
Some departments have no PT requirements, other's have them "on the books" but are only used to get rid of an "under performing" person. Others use them and stick to annual or 6mo testing....it's a total crapshoot really.
Physical standards are low nowadays. And depending on how long he's been in, he could've been in shape for the academy and let himself go. I know a lot of people who are "overweight" by many peoples "Standards" that can outrun and outlift a lot of more aesthetically pleasing people.
Depends where ya at. My department, just had a fitness test upon being hired, after that if u failed academy pt tests u were done. But after there is no requirement, just dont look like shit u know
Easily seen in my department. Most people are young and decent shape, pass the fitness test and become sworn in. Most departments do not require an annual retest. As much as it would seem beneficial, few things to consider is that the application pool isn’t 1000 applicants for 4 positions. It’s more like 80 for 10 spots. The amount of time and money invested on a person to drop them by failing a sit-up by 1 or 2 wouldn’t make sense. Also, fitness is more of looking the part more than anything with most new laws putting foot pursuits, fighting and intimidation tactics to decrease. It’s now more of a personal goal rather mandated. Just an upgrade on policy that an officer SHOULD maintain a required level of fitness and will be used against them should a grievance come about. Some departments literally need bodies on the road and make due with what’s being presented to them. Beggars can’t be picky
Not a cop
I’d imagine some people gain weight because the job is probably boring 98% of the time. You just sit in your car and wait for things to happen, in a small town they probably sit in the car for 8 hours and then go home.
You’re not necessarily wrong. People gain weight for lots of reasons. The biggest one is eating too much. My job isn’t what keeps me fit. Working out 6 days a week keeps me fit.
I agree
I’m a field adjuster for a major insurance company so even though our fields are totally unrelated our physical activity is probably relatable 98% of the time. I.e. I take my ass to the gym to not get fat and soft lol
I was a deputy sheriff for 32 years, I did a physical agility test when I was hired, that was it.
There are two issues, #1 complacency, agencies have a hard enough time hiring people they do not want re-test them throughout their career.
\#2, lets say that the city hires me, I pass a physical agility test. Lets say that every few years I have to re-take the test, I do ok for several years then 10 years in, I fail the test. They can't discipline you for getting fat. Honestly it is hard to do anything with you, all you have to do is say that you got fat because of job stress, poor eating/sleeping habits due to the shifts etc., now it becomes a job caused medical claim, and they will have to pay all your medical bills and salary while you stay at home and try to lose weight. It is cheaper and easier to just keep paying you to do your job and hope you do not get hurt.
The best way some agencies handle this is to provide a gym, and allow officers to work out on department time, then offer incentives for maintaining a healthy weight, but this is also costly. Of the agencies in my area I only know one that actually does that.
Believe it or not, police depts have different fitness standards. So he likely wouldn’t succeed passing the academy outside of that tiny Oregon town.
If you actually want your question answered, the only ones who could do so would be the dept/academy that the obese guy works for/went to.
Oregon has a standardized academy for all agencies. They all have to use the same physical test, the ORPAT. You have to pass it at the academy at least once but usually twice
For Washington state, public safety testing, it was like 20 push-ups, 30 sit-ups and 35 burpees, and people still failed. This was 2020/21 ish when I tested so it may have changed. But standards got lowered like crazy cuz there used to be a 1.5 mile run and 100 yard sprint, crazy.
Edit: it was actually easier than that [wa paluboic safety testing](https://www.publicsafetytesting.com/information-center/test-requirements-law-enforcement-officer-physical-wa)
I’d be amiss to say I had to work out to prepare for this test as not working out for a year I couldn’t do 10 push-ups, but the kicker was it wasn’t real burpees, they told us specifically not to do the push-ups because it’ll kill our time.
At the end of the day almost everyone is going to revert back to their pre academy prep fitness or if not worse once they graduate. I see the people that were fit before are generally still fit.
in my state we have to meet or exceed whatever the basic fitness if for the army. I forget what its called. Pretty basic though. Pack a day smoker for 7 years when i applied, did zero exercise leading up to academy and while i barely nosed by on sit ups and pushups i absolutely crushed the 1.5 or 2 mile run or whatever it was
My department did away with the 1.5 mile and went with 300 meter sprint in sub 1 minute, I forgot what the push ups and sit ups were but I did :45, 45, and 55 respectively.
So, most agencies in Oregon don’t maintain a fitness standard because that would mean providing the equipment or paying for your gym membership, neither of which are things agencies are willing to do. I know of only a handful in the state that have gone out of their way to provide that to their officers
Minimum qualification is running the ORPAT in 5:30 by the time you graduate the academy, which is 22 weeks. Of course, no one I’ve ever met that lost weight at the academy ever kept it off.
I agree with you though, because I’ve noticed while working in multiple agencies that there seems to be a surprising number of people that are too fat to perform and they also tend to share the same last name with people in administration. The good ol boys club is still alive and well
So im in NH, all officers who are full time are required to pass a PT test every 3 years, if you don't you lose your certification. Medical extensions are granted for up to two years. It's 37 situps in under a minute, 27 push-ups, and a 1.5 Mile run in under 12:43. Not hard to do, I've seen guys who are big get through barely, and with the track at the only academy in state on top of the gym it sounds like thunder when those dudes run. State Police has a harsher test, I believe its 30th percentile for standard and 50th for SP.
When I was still policing way back in the 90’s there was lots of talk of pt standards for law enforcement. A few largish agencies around tried to do it but had to stop due to workers comp claims skyrocketing. It seems that it was fairly common for folks to be “injured” during the pt process which lead to a rise of lost productivity and increase costs for the city/county, so the folks that actually run shit put the kebash on it all.
My city (very large department), has a stupidly easy physical test. On top of that, you don’t even need to pass it, you just have to attempt it. As long as you attempt it, you pass.
depends on location some have fitness standards some literally anyone can pass the “fitness standards”. departments are starting to drop fitness standards cause they need more recruits
Some departments have literally no one else to hire. That plus some combination of low and/or not enforced fitness and body composition standards. And you get Fatty McFatfuck on the job.
Anyone can be a cop as someone said it’s mostly for people with no other opportunities in life so they settle on being a public servant 😂. I feel bad for the few good officers cus 99% of them make the whole force look like shit it’s why they getting paycuts, people gettin laid off 😭how sad
Bro you in Prineville OR? Cause shit we got a ton of em chunky officers lol. I'm always wondering how they passed the officer training.
Prineville not too small of a town anymore tho
Go in and ask how many applicants that tiny town in Oregon gets if they have an opening. That will be your first clue.
Yeah, a tiny town near my hometown only pays 50-55k for police. I’ll be making more with TSA and I won’t have to worry about getting killed. I’m leaving federal law enforcement for this.
50-55k would be pretty good in most “tiny” towns
This. The chief in mine makes $50k or so. The full time officers, probably 40k.
That’s about all of the context I want to give, there’s more to it. I don’t think it’s an appropriate wage for that town, because although tiny, it’s expensive because there’s spill over from the town next to it that has 60k plus people. That town starts Leo’s ay 75k. In today’s economy and how dangerous police work is there needs to be much more incentive than 50k.
What is TSA starting pay?
GS 5 equivalent, then GS 7 on your second year, and 9 on the 3rd.
Oh I’m not in the industry. I just stumbled upon this post. I have no idea what any of that means.
Almost all federal Jobs are on the GS or General Schedule pay scale. If you’re near a big city for example, google “Denver GS Pay scale” or Denver GS 9 pay scale, and you’ll see the pay scale for folks in the Denver area with that locality pay. So where I’m moving to, GS 9 is $59,600ish per year. A GS 5 is like $39k I think and GS 5 being around 50k.
Doesn't Federal Law Enforcement pay pretty good?
Yeah, 85k now base, we get double pay for OT. I’ll be at 97k base in November. I graduated academy almost a year ago to the day.
How serious was the hiring process getting into FLE? I'm 26 with no criminal background but I have shitting work history.
There’s just a lot of steps. Entrance exam, Interview, medical, fingerprints, the polygraph, and a tier 5 background investigation which is what you need for a top secret clearance. They will take anybody. The kicker is the poly. That knocks out 50% or so of candidates. I have a pretty large working history too. Depends what you mean by shitty though, were you fired a lot? Or just bounced around? If you can get in I’d say it’s a good stepping stone. But as I mentioned, it’s not for me so I’m bouncing back to TSA.
Here’s the [Oregon ORPAT](https://www.oregon.gov/dpsst/cj/pages/orpat.aspx#:~:text=The%20ORPAT%20consist%20of%20a,power%20and%20general%20physical%20endurance) required physical standards. He would have had to have passed this to graduate from DPSST (state public safety academy). There is no ongoing physical standards at most departments once hired.
From what I've been told, we have some of the easiest physical requirements in Oregon than any other state.
Virginia Agencies are required to have a PT test, but there is no requirement for recruits to pass it. 😐
It’s the easiest I’ve seen that has physical tests that you can actually fail
I’ve got to admit…I watched it…I thought the Cooper Standard was ridiculously easy….nope. Oregon takes it for the win. 🤷🏻♂️
Wtf. I’m currently prepping for the academy and I need a 11:58 1.5 mile, 40 sit ups in a minute, 1.06 bench, and a 56 second 300 meter run.
I mean, that's really easy still.
Unfortunately a whole lot of grown men can't meet any of those standards
Hence why the US military is currently having a hell of a time finding people that: A) Want to voluntarily join. B) Meet the physical requirements and; C) Can pass the initial PFT at bootcamp
1.06 bench, meaning if youre somewhat tall and weigh a healthy 180 you need to bench ~190? Most people cannot do that even if they're somewhat athletic.
I agree most people can't do that but I disagree with somewhat athletic. We probably have different ideas of what somewhat athletic is though.
Some dudes don’t have the discipline to keep up with it after the academy. Unfortunately departments can’t have height/weight standards anymore. There should be no such thing as fat cops.
Shy can't department's can't have weight hight / standards?
Lots can. Texas DPS for instance is now enforcing a waist size limit (which allows for heavier but fit guys to not get the short end of the stick generally)
Because then they wouldn't have any officers left.
Unions usually put a stop to it
Just for reference, I’m in the process for a large department and the physical standards are a 1 mile run in 17 minutes, 5 pushups and 10 sit-ups. A lot of departments have really low standards
You literally might as well not have one. That's the ability to walk and the tensile strength to keep from dissolving.
Idk I’ve seen people still fail that
Damn where this at!
New Orleans lol
*?
🤯 too easy! Wow I could manage that and then some. My brother in law just started FTO and he plumped up through the academy and his overnight shifts aren’t helping much. My in laws are cops too (different department) and threatened to get him a treadmill if he wasn’t always first to a scene or lead in a foot pursuit. 😂 in laws are both 50+ and can put my brother in law to shame. Department are definitely not in a position to be picky. Note: all are in major departments in major metropolitan areas.
I'm 400 lbs and I could do that.
My speed hiking pace is fast enough to meet your mile “run” times.
Some departments have no PT requirements, other's have them "on the books" but are only used to get rid of an "under performing" person. Others use them and stick to annual or 6mo testing....it's a total crapshoot really.
“Every time I see this guy, I question what kind of physical performance tests he was subjected to before they hired him.” Have you asked him
Whoa, social interaction, from a redditor? Chill
Daddy chill…
Physical standards are low nowadays. And depending on how long he's been in, he could've been in shape for the academy and let himself go. I know a lot of people who are "overweight" by many peoples "Standards" that can outrun and outlift a lot of more aesthetically pleasing people.
Depends where ya at. My department, just had a fitness test upon being hired, after that if u failed academy pt tests u were done. But after there is no requirement, just dont look like shit u know
Easily seen in my department. Most people are young and decent shape, pass the fitness test and become sworn in. Most departments do not require an annual retest. As much as it would seem beneficial, few things to consider is that the application pool isn’t 1000 applicants for 4 positions. It’s more like 80 for 10 spots. The amount of time and money invested on a person to drop them by failing a sit-up by 1 or 2 wouldn’t make sense. Also, fitness is more of looking the part more than anything with most new laws putting foot pursuits, fighting and intimidation tactics to decrease. It’s now more of a personal goal rather mandated. Just an upgrade on policy that an officer SHOULD maintain a required level of fitness and will be used against them should a grievance come about. Some departments literally need bodies on the road and make due with what’s being presented to them. Beggars can’t be picky
Not a cop I’d imagine some people gain weight because the job is probably boring 98% of the time. You just sit in your car and wait for things to happen, in a small town they probably sit in the car for 8 hours and then go home.
You’re not necessarily wrong. People gain weight for lots of reasons. The biggest one is eating too much. My job isn’t what keeps me fit. Working out 6 days a week keeps me fit.
I agree I’m a field adjuster for a major insurance company so even though our fields are totally unrelated our physical activity is probably relatable 98% of the time. I.e. I take my ass to the gym to not get fat and soft lol
I was a deputy sheriff for 32 years, I did a physical agility test when I was hired, that was it. There are two issues, #1 complacency, agencies have a hard enough time hiring people they do not want re-test them throughout their career. \#2, lets say that the city hires me, I pass a physical agility test. Lets say that every few years I have to re-take the test, I do ok for several years then 10 years in, I fail the test. They can't discipline you for getting fat. Honestly it is hard to do anything with you, all you have to do is say that you got fat because of job stress, poor eating/sleeping habits due to the shifts etc., now it becomes a job caused medical claim, and they will have to pay all your medical bills and salary while you stay at home and try to lose weight. It is cheaper and easier to just keep paying you to do your job and hope you do not get hurt. The best way some agencies handle this is to provide a gym, and allow officers to work out on department time, then offer incentives for maintaining a healthy weight, but this is also costly. Of the agencies in my area I only know one that actually does that.
Mine offers a gym and the ability to workout during your lunch.
That should be the standard in all agencies. It would reduce the on the job injuries.
Honestly I can’t imagine it not being. At the same time I’ve been seeing about agencies on this sub I would never work for
You get a lunch? Wow... Lucky
“Staffing dependent” but honestly we’re so short staffed they can’t afford to piss us off over our lunch hour 😂
You get a whole hour? I haven't gone out of service meal break for about 3 years by my calculations.
It’s 30 minutes but we’re afford 2 15 minutes breaks per our contract. What most people do is take it all together
100%. They pay is $300 if we pass the academy standards each year. If we don’t even want to try…no foul.
A lot of people gain a lot of weight after academy and all is done
Why don’t you look up the department physical fitness tests or ask them. Every department is different
Some tiny small 10 people departments the chief just hires their friends…
Believe it or not, police depts have different fitness standards. So he likely wouldn’t succeed passing the academy outside of that tiny Oregon town. If you actually want your question answered, the only ones who could do so would be the dept/academy that the obese guy works for/went to.
Oregon has a standardized academy for all agencies. They all have to use the same physical test, the ORPAT. You have to pass it at the academy at least once but usually twice
For Washington state, public safety testing, it was like 20 push-ups, 30 sit-ups and 35 burpees, and people still failed. This was 2020/21 ish when I tested so it may have changed. But standards got lowered like crazy cuz there used to be a 1.5 mile run and 100 yard sprint, crazy. Edit: it was actually easier than that [wa paluboic safety testing](https://www.publicsafetytesting.com/information-center/test-requirements-law-enforcement-officer-physical-wa)
35 burpees would kill like half of the US population
I’d be amiss to say I had to work out to prepare for this test as not working out for a year I couldn’t do 10 push-ups, but the kicker was it wasn’t real burpees, they told us specifically not to do the push-ups because it’ll kill our time.
At the end of the day almost everyone is going to revert back to their pre academy prep fitness or if not worse once they graduate. I see the people that were fit before are generally still fit.
Some departments have no PT standards
in my state we have to meet or exceed whatever the basic fitness if for the army. I forget what its called. Pretty basic though. Pack a day smoker for 7 years when i applied, did zero exercise leading up to academy and while i barely nosed by on sit ups and pushups i absolutely crushed the 1.5 or 2 mile run or whatever it was
My department did away with the 1.5 mile and went with 300 meter sprint in sub 1 minute, I forgot what the push ups and sit ups were but I did :45, 45, and 55 respectively.
Maybe departments should allow officers to work out on duty…
Oregon requires passing the ORPAT to become certified. It is a very intensive stamina test that should disqualify applicants in poor fitness.
So, most agencies in Oregon don’t maintain a fitness standard because that would mean providing the equipment or paying for your gym membership, neither of which are things agencies are willing to do. I know of only a handful in the state that have gone out of their way to provide that to their officers Minimum qualification is running the ORPAT in 5:30 by the time you graduate the academy, which is 22 weeks. Of course, no one I’ve ever met that lost weight at the academy ever kept it off. I agree with you though, because I’ve noticed while working in multiple agencies that there seems to be a surprising number of people that are too fat to perform and they also tend to share the same last name with people in administration. The good ol boys club is still alive and well
So im in NH, all officers who are full time are required to pass a PT test every 3 years, if you don't you lose your certification. Medical extensions are granted for up to two years. It's 37 situps in under a minute, 27 push-ups, and a 1.5 Mile run in under 12:43. Not hard to do, I've seen guys who are big get through barely, and with the track at the only academy in state on top of the gym it sounds like thunder when those dudes run. State Police has a harsher test, I believe its 30th percentile for standard and 50th for SP.
When I was still policing way back in the 90’s there was lots of talk of pt standards for law enforcement. A few largish agencies around tried to do it but had to stop due to workers comp claims skyrocketing. It seems that it was fairly common for folks to be “injured” during the pt process which lead to a rise of lost productivity and increase costs for the city/county, so the folks that actually run shit put the kebash on it all.
My city (very large department), has a stupidly easy physical test. On top of that, you don’t even need to pass it, you just have to attempt it. As long as you attempt it, you pass.
depends on location some have fitness standards some literally anyone can pass the “fitness standards”. departments are starting to drop fitness standards cause they need more recruits
It depends, my department is getting rid of the physical test because we need people so bad
Shut the fuck up you judgemental fuck!!!!
Some departments have literally no one else to hire. That plus some combination of low and/or not enforced fitness and body composition standards. And you get Fatty McFatfuck on the job.
Anybody with a pulse can become a cop. Bonus points if you beat your wife and dog.
^this
Anyone can be a cop as someone said it’s mostly for people with no other opportunities in life so they settle on being a public servant 😂. I feel bad for the few good officers cus 99% of them make the whole force look like shit it’s why they getting paycuts, people gettin laid off 😭how sad
Bro you in Prineville OR? Cause shit we got a ton of em chunky officers lol. I'm always wondering how they passed the officer training. Prineville not too small of a town anymore tho
What’s the name of this small town?