San Jose City Living

There are a lot of steps and requirements to become a police officer in California that you’ll need to know about.

Police Departments I am familiar with include San Jose Police Department, San Francisco Police and Sheriff Department, and the California Highway Patrol.  Recently I responded to a person asking what it takes to become a police officer and how much they make.  Here was my response to him:

As far as I know, police officers in San Jose and the rest of the Bay Area make probably the most in starting salary than just about any where else in the country. Starting pay range for a starting or lowest status San Jose Police Officer in my area is $72,000 a year. And if you stay at that rank, you can eventually make up to $107,000 a year. In a neighboring city, Santa Clara, they start at $82,000 and go up to $124,000. The great thing about being a police officer in San Jose is that you retired with a yearly retirement income of 90% of your salary when you leave the department.

Note: Keep in mind if you go up in rank (sergeant) you make more. Starting level sergeant in San Jose is roughly $120,000.

Also note that the cost of living here is high as well.

How to become a police officer and what are the requirements?

It is good you are asking this question now as opposed to later. Here are my tips on things to think about when deciding to become an officer (see the actual process at the bottom):

1. Make sure to pay ALL your bills on time and make sure your credit is good. Also that your debt to income ratio is appropriate. Meaning make sure your monthly debt/bills is at the MOST, 75% of your income. Departments are weary about those that are spending too close to how much they make unless there is a valid reason (i.e. lost job, times have changed, etc.). So stay smart with money.

2. Stay clean with the law. It will be near impossible to get hired in any department if you have a felony on your record, which includes stealing something worth over $500 in most states.

3. If you have Facebook or Myspace accounts, make sure they are respectable. They WILL investigate almost everything about you and if your profile info appears to not fit the principles and demeanor of a police officer, they will most likely be weary about your maturity. In other words, don’t write like an illiterate kid and don’t place offensive language or views about various things.

4. Stay fit. Most department agility testing is pretty basic but if you’re just plain out of shape or fat, you probably aren’t ready for the academy training and they’ll decline your application until you’re more fit.

5. Assess your own maturity and ability to speak with others. Honestly look at yourself objectively as others may see you and evaluate how you react in stressful situations. I’m not referring to when your mom is mad that you got a bad grade or something like that. Think about how you react when someone says offensive things to you or verbally attacks you. Do you get angry and respond? Do you walk away? Do you think about why this person is angry at you and think of a way you can actually resolve the issue? The more appropriate response for a good police officer is to stay neutral and react to aggression in an appropriate manner. For more info on this topic, check out the de-escalation of Force principles. Here is a great article on the topic: http://www.myselfdefenseresource.com/police-military-a-law-enforcement/107-de-escalation-of-force-and-the-difference-between-resistance-and-attack.html

6. Finally, my suggestion to become a police officer is to spend time with officers. There are a lot of programs where you can do ride-a-longs with an officer to get an idea of what they do. In many departments there are programs where you can be a “junior officer” where you get to either learn under the direction of your department or once your older even serve as a community officer where you basically are able to sign on for community/crowd control (most likely without a weapon and no arrest powers). Just start talking to your local police department and get into programs that show you are serious about starting a career down that path. Maybe you can even start working jobs in security when you turn 18 to get experience in some enforcement of the laws.

While to many, working as a “mall cop” is pretty lame. But in all honesty, it is incredible experience training. Most mall security departments utilize the 10-codes (how police communicate calls over their radio including ‘all clear’, ‘attempting to arrest’, ‘I need back up and how urgent’, etc.). You’ll also learn how to deal with some CRAZY people in effective ways. Check out YouTube for ‘Security Guard’ to see many ways on how NOT to act as a guard.

1. Apply (this is probably the BIGGEST application you’ll ever have to write/fill out)
2. Get a response as a potential hire
3. They will schedule for testing on reading/writing and your past history
4. You go for physical testing
5. You have to pass an initial panel interview of upstanding members of the community and current police department officers or employees. They usually just ask you questions about your experiences and how they relate to the job of an officer (i.e. times you’ve dealt with highly angry/aggravated individuals and how you handled it or resolved the issue).
6. Meet with a background investigator to answer certain questions (usually recorded and includes a drug test where normally they not only check your urine but also your body hair for any traces of any illegal substances. Urine test can typically happen at any point of the hiring process.)
7. Begin the background investigation. This includes the police asking about you at all of your past jobs/employers for usually 7 years. You will also sign a document stating they can ask anything and your employer has to answer everything (unlike the limitations put on what a new employer can ask a past employer, which is not much). Typically they are asking about your attendance and demeanor on the job. They will also call and talk to your friends and family to see how they perceive you. You will have to write out all of your past ex girlfriends/wives and significant relationships so try not to do anything in very bad character like cheat, steal, abuse, and what not. Key thing here is that you DO NOT exclude any employers or significant relationships. They WILL find out every paid job you’ve had that was reported to the government and through talking with your family and friends, they’ll find out about girlfriends you may have left out and question you about them and why you withheld that info.
8. You’ll be given a psychological test. This often if not always includes some form of a polygraph test.
9. You’ll have to pass a medical exam. This is typically beyond your typical exam you have to take before you go play sports in school.
10. At some point you will usually have a sit down interview with your background investigator and most if not all of your immediate family to talk about the job and allow the investigator to get a feel for your family background and life.
11. If all goes well you finally get to interview with the Chief of Police. If he/she likes you, YOU’RE IN!
12. You ship off to the academy for what can be 4-6 months. This training is paid for by the department and you usually get about 75% of your starting salary as pay while you’re in the Academy.  If you’re sent to the academy for the CHP you will be living on the academy property with limited availability to phones and you are typically only allowed to leave the academy for a brief time on Wednesday nights and the option to go home (if you want) on the weekends so long as you pass your tests for that week.
13. After you pass the academy, you’ll typically go through the FTO program. This is where you ride around with an officer and go through the process as he/she shows you the ropes. (FTO= Field Training Officer). In this process the FTO evaluates your ability to handle the various duties of the job including a set list of things you have to do from traffic stops, DUI tests, and so on. Eventually he/she will have you drive the car and act as the primary police officer while he/she wears civilian clothes. This is done because when dealing with people (say when dealing with a domestic disturbance call), the parties you’re dealing with will usually get a feel for who is the more seasoned officer and only talk to them while you observe. Having an officer in plain clothes puts YOU as the in charge officer and allows you to actually get your hands dirty dealing with people. Your FTO is always armed and has their badge with them in case they need to show it to you. Otherwise, they just look like someone that is on a ride a long.

If you pass all that, you are set for a long and prosperous career.
NOTE: Steps 3-11 will often be separate days. I’ve heard the whole process before going to the academy can take as little as 1 month all the way up to 6 months. It really just depends on the hiring process of each department. Around here it takes typically 4-6 months.

Long story short… Be serious and take action. Asking us is on Yahoo! Answers is a great start but the real people you should ask is the police department near you. I hope this answer helps you in the right direction. Keep in mind that some states vary on requirements and the hiring process but usually it isn’t much different from what I stated above. Good luck and be safe out there.

Early this morning in Downtown San Jose a home went up in flames engulfing surrounding homes in smoke.  Included in the flames path was a full carport where 4 cars were burned to the ground.

Here are the photos of the ordeal aftermath:

Twitter made the giant leap from a social networking tool to a suicide prevention method for a local San Jose woman.

Thanks to the popularity of Demi Moore and her 379,446 Twitter followers, along with many other Twitter members, word spread that a San Jose woman known as @sandieguy planned to kill herself by “getting a knife, a big one that is sharp. Going to cut my arm down the whole arm so it doesn’t waste time”. Read the rest of this entry »

The Mercury News has taken a turn for the… well that’s for you to decide.

As popularity for The Mercury News takes a dive and newspapers grasp for any rope that can pull them out of the hole that is a dying trend, articles like the recent one on Puberty become a new twist to keep you interested.

“During 2009, the Mercury News will publish
a story each month about the events that make each life extraordinary.
This month: A group of Silicon Valley tweenagers hit puberty, and puberty hits back.“

Maybe the Merc is working the bugs out or maybe this was a perfect ploy but the two most visible headlines being “Mortgage Rates Plummet” and “Puberty” send quite the an interesting signal.  I’m not 100% sure which to read first!  It’s all just so exciting.

However, newspapers are reaching a point where a change has to be made in content and how it is distributed.  Personally, I happen to read articles from the newspaper when presented via my personal circle of internet media sites I follow or happen upon.  Usually this happens by viewing the Yahoo! newspaper consortium articles I see first on my Internet Explorer homepage or when I read Inside San Jose.

But will these “real” issue articles be what brings people back to reading a physical newspaper?  We’ll see! What are your thoughts?

It’s true! Democratic State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano thinks legalizing and taxing the sale of marijuana could be the 1.3 billion dollar answer to California’s economic woes.

“The state of California is in a very, very precipitous economic plight. It’s in the toilet,” says Ammiano. “It looks very, very bleak, with layoffs and foreclosures, and schools closing or trying to operate four days a week. We have one of the highest rates of unemployment we’ve ever had. With any revenue ideas, people say you have to think outside the box, you have to be creative, and I feel that the issue of the decriminalization, regulation and taxation of marijuana fits that bill. It’s not new, the idea has been around, and the political will may in fact be there to make something happen.”

Fun Facts:

• Pot is California’s number 1 cash crop totally $14 billion annually (milk coming in a not so close 2nd place at $7.3 billion)
• In 1996 California became one of the first states in the nation to legalize medical marijuana.
• Currently, $200 million in medical-marijuana sales are subject to sales tax.
• If legislation passes, sale of marijuana will follow rules similar to the sale of alcohol, meaning those under 21 can’t buy marijuana unlike the 18 year old age limit of cigarettes.

Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray estimates that legalizing marijuana will save $1 billion a year in prosecuting and imprisoning non-violent offenders.  Others like Joel W. Hay, professor of pharmaceutical economics at USC, feel that the legislation will only cause more harm than good.

So what are your thoughts?  Do you feel marijuana should be legalized or not?  Is making marijuana more accessible and taxing its sale worth the the money?

Silk Road Bistro Recession Special - Photo by Eric Carter @ Dizzy Pixel

If this isn’t a sign of our economic woes, I don’t know how much clearer it can get.

I commend Silk Road Bistro for this sign.  What a great way to leave a lasting Silk Road Bistro impression in each passer-byer that walks down the San Fernando Street block between 3rd and 2nd.  While a constant reminder of the impending doom effecting our economy isn’t a pleasant thought, the fact that you can get discounts on some great Indian food might help alleviate the painful thought of being let go, fired, squadooshed, canned, or “don’t let the screen door hit ya on the ass on the way out”.

I suppose this sign could be categorized as Sweet and Sour – but in the opposite order maybe?  And when you show them your pink slip in in order to redeem your half off discount, will they say, “Penny for your thoughts”?

Can Silk Road Bistro become a kind of Laid Off Anonymous where the no longer employed can share their story and seek friendship and support during such a rough time known as a “Recession”?  Probably not.  And that is most likely not their end game for the discount offer.  Clever thought none the less right?

Even if you haven’t been given that dreadful pink slip, (do they make it pink to try and keep spirits lifted?  Why not red?)  try to get down to Silk Road Bistro for lunch or dinner sometime.  Great prices, calm environment, and fantastic food.  I personally recommend the combo plate, (called something else) which gives you Salmon, Chicken, Shrimp, and one other thing… I want to say, lamb?… along with rice.  And make sure to get an order of Garlic Naan – oh man is it good.

Good job Silk Road Bistro!  SanJoseCityLiving.com is proud to have you in our neighborhood.  Its that kind of witty sense of humor and good food that helps liven up San Jose.

Photo by: Eric Carter @ Dizzy Pixel

Tonight San Jose Police took a drug dealer off the streets at the corner of 2nd and San Fernando.

Did they really need 8 cop cars and 10 police officers for one guy and the lady he was either selling to or selling with?  This is not including the two pairs of police officers I saw just 20 yards away outside of San Jose Bar and Grill and Tres Gringos, though I’m thankful for them being there since I’ve seen some wild riots go down outside those two establishments.

Through asking around, it seemed none of the bystanders saw how the bust happened, but from the storage zip lock bag of pills on the police car, it was obvious the guy in zip-tie handcuffs was heading to jail for possession.  No doubt he’ll be needing Bad Boys Bail Bonds to get him out.  I just hope when he does, the last thing he does is try and sell more drugs.

While I’m happy when a drug dealer is off the street, does it really take as many police as they had?  I would much rather see one of those police officers parked on San Salvador between 3rd and 4th, also known as “Drug Street Alley”.  For those of you that don’t know why it’s called that, “Drug Street Alley” is a common hang out spot for drug dealers, gangs and their affiliates.

Just about every night if you drive by, you’ll notice some sort of deal going down.  If you don’t see a sly handshake or what looks like a deal being made, you can bet there is some large gathering of people that you’d feel uncomfortable even looking at as you walk down the street.  Even I was harassed walking down San Salvador Mardi Gras night, and I’m a pretty big guy!

So thank you to the San Jose Police Department for taking the drug dealer off the street on 2nd and San Fernando.  And thank you to the undercover narcotics officers I’ve known that have risk their lives to perform undercover buys in order to catch those peddling drugs on the street, especially the ones I’ve seen on San Salvador.  It just would have been nice if we could finally drive the dealers and gangs off of the streets knowing full well where they are there every day.

More photos of a San Jose Police arrest:

The bag of pills confiscated by the San Jose PD

Placing the drug dealer into the police van

What do you think about how many cops were at the scene?

Kids Need Options is the title of Joseph Di Salvo’s recent article on the San Jose Inside website.

Mr. Di Salvo wrote about how there is a rising gang-related violence in the suburbs of San Jose.  Basically as he talked about the rise in crime he also talked about how “kids need options” and that the typical intervention programs don’t seem to “do the trick” and are more costly than prevention methods.

Long story short he wanted to hear the readers views on alternatives for kids.  My reaction wasn’t really an alternative for kids, it was an alternative to the parents!  Responsibility has to be put back on the parents.  And here is where I sort of got aggressive with it.  Here was my response in full:

“Is it too much to say there should be some sort of limits to how many babies we can have?

Maybe throw an income factor into the mix?  A credit report maybe?  If you can’t afford them, don’t have them maybe?  Just a thought as I see fellow young adults with no college degree, no jobs but a boyfriend making less than 30k a year and living with parents, popping out kids like its required of them.

And what about teaching these kids some self control?  IT IS OK TO SAY, “hang on babe, I need to put the condom on”.  Why not make that a cool thing to do!

I mean heck, if we can make cigarettes look like a swell idea, we should have the talent and skill to make wrapping it up “cool”.

On another note relating to over population, we are currently taking up WAY too much of the natural habitats of animals in order to make more room for us.  This is also ever more relevant in some parts of Africa.  Maybe the guilt of taking their land and stressing their survivial might encourage us to stop making so many kids that are practically doomed to fail from the get go.” <- I recently watched the animal planet…

So tell me, what do you think about my reaction?  Valid? Too much to ask?  Isn’t there some sort of medium we can reach in concerns to the over growth of the population?

As I visit one of my favorite hiking spots, Castle Rock, up HWY 9, I look down at the city in sheer disgust.  Though I love San Jose, it truly just looks like we’re this destructive fungus that infects an area, kills the foliage, and just takes over without much thought to the effect we have on our surroundings.

Keep in mind, I feel the child limit ban that is in effect in China is a bit much and a weak, unplanned preventative measure, but there has to be a compromise in the middle right?

So tell me your thoughts on my response to Joseph’s solution plea.

You can read Joseph’s article directly at http://www.sanjoseinside.com/sji/blog/entries/kids_need_options/.

San Jose PD blocking off side walks on 2nd street during Mardi Gras

Downtown San Jose’s Mardi Gras party was just as dead as last year.  This time though, there were a record low number of arrests, 18 to be exact.

I’m even amazed they got that many arrests in the first place.  On my street corner last night, a Dodge Viper (verrry sexy) did a small burnout RIGHT IN FRONT OF A COP!  The cop didn’t do a single thing but watched it happen. Person on sidewalk signals to “burn em up” (the tires) and the driver looks back at the cop, hits the gas, drives off, and no pursuit.  I’d been waiting for something exciting to happen and finally thought I had my chance to catch something good.  But no.

Oh well, glad there weren’t any damages in San Jose this year.  Unlike a few years back when groups of idiots ran around breaking windows and vandalizing San Jose.

All in all it was a laid back evening.