Advice sought on which PD I should goto?

V

Viceroy808

New member
I should maybe be posting in "General Discussion" but I feel so much more comfortable here, I guess. My question (and it's rather inane of me) is which should I join:

Los Angeles Police Department, or
Honolulu Police Department

Now I know this is a truly stupid question (so why am I asking it? Because I'm lost and I trust the sensible people here to snap me out of it?) Well, I'm trying to put my roots down once and for all and I need to know what I really am getting into. Hawaii is home but I could live in LA. I already have a B.A. (Political Science) and am trilingual (English, Japanese, Korean. Could regain Mandarin and Russian if prodded.) Thing is, what should I expect out of each? The risks and the committment involved? I've read the threads on the kind of suffering LEOs go through. I know it's really up to me in the end (isn't any decision?) but what's going through my mind is whether it's more important for me to go home and defend a place I love, or goto a place where the troubles are greater and the honor just as much.

Well, dumb question I know. I was just going to ask LASur5er in email, but I decided to put it up here. Thank you in advance for your comments, whatever they may be.

PS - Yes I know that "advice" is spelt wrong in the title (If a moderator could fix it that'd be wonderful HINT HINT.) This is what happens when I change a title midway through the post and don't bother to check for spelling. I did go through college, thank you. Didn't quite forget everything yet :)

[Edited by Viceroy808 on 11-19-2000 at 10:34 PM]
 
To tell you the truth I wouldn't work for either one. LAPD is having major problems and morale is somewhat lower than a snakes belly-button. Low morale can be a killer. Pun intended. On the other paw, the training is top-notch.

I don't know enough about HPD to offer an opinion.

My personal preference is for Sheriff's Departments. I like the rural work, and I really like working for a boss who doesn't have to answer to anyone but the voting public -- instead of having to kowtow to the Mayor, the City Council, so on and so forth.

Besides, you get 50,000+ people in a county and I start feeling claustrophobic.

My personal advice would be to go to a regional police academy, then go to work for a small town somewhere. Get your paws wet, see if you like the work. If the Job gets into your blood and you just have to get on a mega-department, you can still apply to LAPD, HPD or anyone else. The experience you gain working for a small department will help you immensely when going through one of the big department academies.

LawDog
 
Just the person I was hoping for a response from ... the LawDog :D

I was leery of the LAPD because of the deep, deep hole it's gotten itself into with its Rampart mess, but you've crystalized it. Sheriff's Departments are something I hadn't considered before. The HPD has jurisdiction over the entire island of Oahu, not just the city proper ... small island, not that many people really. I'll check out the State Police.

If I get under 50,000 people in a county I might start feeling agrophobic ... then again you have a large transient armadillo population, no? :D ... LawDog, thank you for the response.
 
I'm applying with a Sheriff's Department here in Utah right now. The only thing that I can say is check all over the place. Some departments are more difficult than others to get into for various reasons; budget, only hire once a year, liberal pondscum mayor (a few other posters here know the dirtbag I'm talking about) etc. Try http://www.lawenforcementjob.com for a very complete listing of who is hiring. With your language skills you should be very valuable in any area with concentrations of those ethenicities.

I have a friend that works in one of the outlying areas of L.A. and the last time I talked to him he was loving it. Personally I would hate L.A. I'm from Central California originally, and couldn't stand the sounth but thats just my personal opinion. :)
 
Oh I've been thinking about this for the last 3 years ... LAPD is hiring (of course) ... HPD is hiring (they're so short of manpower they're allowing non-state residents to apply!) ... thank you for the link ... i bumped into a sublink on a search but never hit up the main site ... all the best to your career, Correia :)
 
Messer Lucibella, you are most gracious ... to remove the weight of my mistake from me :) Much thanks.

That having been said, the reason I was leery of making a solid *ok here goes* committment is that with my languages I'd probably be assigned to some gang-related role ... Asian gangs are vicious, and I seriously wanted to step back for a few moments before I put myself in the line of fire like that. If it was New York City, I wouldn't. Seen the Ghost Shadows (Chinese outfit) at work. Met a few, partied, not a deep association by any means, but most telling was that I didn't see an Asian-American LEO once while I was in NYC. I'd rather not be isolated in a career like law enforcement and have to deal with that lot. No way. Be divided, be killed.

Unlike the triads back home (Four Seas, United Bamboo, 14K) the transplants have even less scruples (if that is possible) and no pretense whatsoever at respectability. The Year of the Dragon with Mickey Rourke is something like a Charlie Brown Christmas Special. And that was supposed to be San Francisco. I lived there. This isn't to say the Wah Ching and the Asian Boyz in L.A. are weak. Oh no. Not at all. However, in SoCal I'd have a support net. The reason I'm leaning towards there is because I'd have friends. In Hawaii I'd have friends. I know there are Asian-American LEOs in both departments. Now I do not mean to come across as some closet racist (I'm part Russian) or wanting someone to hold my hand in the dark. What I do have as a concern is, if I speak these languages, and come from an ethnicity, and am assigned to deal with them, then I'd rather have a number of comrades with similar backgrounds with me on it. Being dumped into an area as the token Man Friday able to communicate with the natives is a nightmare I do not wish to face.

With my languages/ethnicity I'd probably draw more hostility, not less. As a general rule Asians don't trust the police; it's shameful to resort to them, and going to them is likely to draw even more retaliation. With the sole exception of the Japanese, being a cop is not a positive life choice.

"Valuable in any area with concentrations of those ethnicities" ... no, very dead is more like it, should I screw up. Fortunately I have no family ties to speak of, hence my willingness to walk this road. Thank you seriously for your advice everyone ... I'm going to move to L.A. in a few months, test the air, then decide.
 
Hey, to tell you the truth, it sounds like you'll be happiest in a RURAL area - Away from gangs, etc... Sure, you might be the only asian guy on the force, but hey, how many times would the Sheriff of Podunk, Misery, be likely to try to talk you into doing the undercover thang?

On the down side, there's a reason I call this state Misery...
 
which PD?

Viceroy 808,
Lost my reply in cyber h*@L!
Anyway, my .02cents:

LAPD?
More action
More departments to gain experience in.
Equal disrespect from people from all walks of life.
Speak another language? Extra differential pay.
You're Asian, immediate hire (If you pass their background check and Academy.)
Serious, maybe first assignment...Asian Task Force.
They are hiring a lot (Lot of ol'timers leaving)

HPD?
Beautiful weather.
Depends on which island...could be more laid back.
Plenty wahines like the uniform.
Plenty guys in aikido, other martial arts.Good for workout.
Little different atmosphere.
Harder to get in because no one like quit.

LA Sheriff's
Hiring now.
Start you in jail though. (Jail keeper)

If you want I'll e-mail you contact names and numbers.
 
You lost your reply? You got my big email though right? :D

Asian Task Force is what I'd probably end up being sent to? ... Yup. Wonderful. Fortunately for me they don't have any relatives of mine they can kill straight away. Unless I happen to marry my gf, but she's an ex-slanger so that draws in all the Filipino and Samoan thugs ... I am seriously going to need to talk to her. "Hun is it ok if I make a career choice that could get you shot?" Beautiful. I should maybe get the ring out at that point ... *deep moment of silence*

Correia, don't be sorry. Seriously. It's just that from what I've seen, Asian cops have to deal with immense "sellout" factor. I'm sure other ethnicities have that as well, but I don't think they quite have to deal with the kind of reprisals commonly meted out. I'm pretty sure they'd shoot my family/friends/loved ones given loose provocation.

LASur5er, I should be in LA by late spring, early next summer. I'll get numbers and everything else by then sorted out. Right now I am trying to save up enough $$$ (dead broke as I type) to get out of Chicago and survive the cold (I hate winter) ... still trying to cross the mainland to west coast. Will keep you informed.
 
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