UPDATED 03/29/2012
Greetings!!! You have come to this site more than likely because you want information on becoming a police officer (cop, the terms are interchangeable) and want information. Or you are looking for the study guides for the Florida Basic Law Enforcement Course. This is the place! I have study guides for the Law Enforcement Academy and for the State of Florida Officer Certification Exams. (look at menu on left for Florida Basic Recruit Study Guides) First no one source can answer every question, and I readily admit I do not have all the answers. But this site will answer most if not all of your questions. If you can't find the answer yoru looking for here, then feel free to ask me a direct question on Allexperts.com
Beware of websites trying to sell you something, and telling you that they will help you "ace" the exams. That is a lie and cannot be done! If and when I write a book about all this and try and sell it, then I will let you know, but until then, everything I offer is FREE and there are no strings attached!!! Updating the curriculum study guides and other materials have taken literally hundreds of hours and I do not charge anything for it. If you find the materials here helpful, then maybe help out a bit, but its all up to you. I am not trying to sell you anything, or for that matter get you do anything. I simply offer the information here for those smart enough to look for it. I run a large police academy, I teach police recruits, I am a Florida Certified Instructor in more than one area. My Florida Basic Recruit Study Guides are created by me or police recruits who have given permission to have them posted here. NOTE** The current 2010 study guides are valid for the 2011 curriculum. The only difference being that the page numbers listed on the study guide are diifferent in the book. Thats all. The objectives and answers are the same.!! . I have left the 2010.07 versions up for now as there are some people still needing them. But when the 2011.07 is complete I will be adding them. A very important note is that the 2010.07 versions of the study guides are still usable for those people who are using the 2011.07 versions of the study guides. My current Academy class tells me that all of the objectives and all the study guides are current and accurate the only difference being the page numbers are different. If you ignore the page numbers study guides are usable and should be okay. My Academy, Santa Fe College, Institute of Public Safety has had a 99.4% passing rate on the State of Florida Officer Certification Exam over the LAST 10 YEARS! Thats right, 99.4% so we must be doing something right!! You can verify that yourself if you like by getting the results of the exams from the Florida Department of law Enforcement. I welcome the checking of my numbers. Ok enough of the soap box on others trying to sell you a bill of goods they can not deliver. On to being a cop!
Have you really thought this through? Have you thought about what it really means to be a police officer? Do you really think you can do the job? Trust me, law enforcement as a career is not for everyone. And everyone that starts out in law enforcement does not make it to retirement. This job is hard on some people, some make it, some don’t, it’s just the nature of the job. As you have heard other places I am sure, but it is very appropriate for Law Enforcement, "with great power comes great responsibility". There is no greater responsibility then taking care of your fellow man, and protecting those that can not protect themselves. This is the only occupation that is given the ability to take a human life if needed on a split second decision and you alone are the one making it! That is the greatest responsibility you can have in this world! Guard it with care!
Then there is always the aspect of danger. This job is dangerous. You can not stop some things and you can not predict all people, no matter how good you think you are. Police are killed every year, and many more injured. You have to live with the feeling that you will be as cautious as you can for the situation, and always be prepared to fight for your life in the next few seconds. I have been shot at, I have been in fights that were life and death. I have been to the hospital one to many times. But you have to learn to live with the knowledge that people out in the world may want to kill you just because your doing your job!
On being a cop!
So you may be asking first off why listen to this guy, what makes him think he can tell me about being a cop? Why do I think I can write this and it is worth your reading? Well I was a cop (Police Officer) in Florida for 30 plus years (Since December 1980 to December 2010). I have served in both small and large agencies (3 and a break for serving in the U.S. Army Military Police, 3rd Infantry Division, 981st Military Police Company). I have served in many different units, Patrol, Traffic, DUI Task Force, Dive Rescue Team, Traffic Homicide Investigation, Training Unit, Academy Staff, and now my current position (for the last 15 years) Police Academy Trainer (and Police Commander up until Dec 6th, 2010). I teach and travel a lot, teaching all over the world. I have been as far away as Singapore and other places, to teach police officers and I still currently teach. I am currently the Police Academy Trainer at Santa Fe College, Institute of Public Safety in Gainesville, Florida. I helped write portions of the Florida State Law Enforcement Basic Recruit curriculum and some of the advanced and specialized courses, assisting the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. They do a great job in keeping the curriculums up to date, having people work on them full time. Its not an easy task.
Thats why I think you should look over the material on this site. I have pages upon pages dedicated to all things related to becoming a cop (police officer), especially in Florida. Many of these pages apply to any state and any police officer applicant anywhere. There are links to help on Oral Boards, Filling out an application, the background check and a lot more. I have recently added a webpage of a complete set of study guides for the End of Chapter Exams you will find helpful if you go to any academy in Florida, and for the State of Florida Officer Certification Exam. Please don't fall for paying for a book or website that wants your money and is not made for Florida Police Recruits specifically, by someone with experience in this. I do not charge for study guides (or anything else). Please look over the study guides page before spending your hard earned money on something that "guarantees" you pass, no one can do that.
Veterans! Did you know that GI-33 pays for ALL of your schooling, including some money to live on while you go to the academy?? That's right it can all be paid for by the US Military!!!
Please feel free to download and use these. Recommend this site to your classmates, instructors, Academy staff (some of who use this site on a regular basis) as they are all welcome to use any portion of this site in your training and studying. Look around feel free to send me comments or suggestions at USArmyVet8487@gmail.com . If you are a returning veteran from Iraq or Afghanistan, or a veteran at all, look at this link, it will help you with lots of available information: Veterans Guide to Law Enforcement Careers.
I also have a YouTube channel that specializes in military videos, it's named "3rdID8487" after my time in the military. I have over 4900 videos, 25.5+ million video views, the largest military videos page on YouTube. Bigger than the military's own sites! I was rated the 32nd Most Viewed reporter overall Channel on YouTube for October 2011!!! Take a second to check it out. Use the following QR Code on your iPhone or Android to link to it.  Hey why not +1 us while your here? Help spread the word on about the page to your classmates and instructors.
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