working for DC police (house, schools, college)

[collint]

i'm finishing up my degree as a criminal justice major here in iowa and am lookin to move once i'm done. I've been to DC a few times and loved the city especially the museums and monuments.
I also know that the DC area is one of the most if not the most violent city in the nation. Now that doesn't deter me at all.
What i was wondering about is what it's like to work for the DC police? It's one of the few places i'm considering applying to

[chrisherbert]

Originally Posted by collint

i'm finishing up my degree as a criminal justice major here in iowa and am lookin to move once i'm done. I've been to DC a few times and loved the city especially the museums and monuments.
I also know that the DC area is one of the most if not the most violent city in the nation. Now that doesn't deter me at all.
What i was wondering about is what it's like to work for the DC police? It's one of the few places i'm considering applying to

The DC area isn't especially violent. DC proper, along with parts of Prince George's county, is pretty violent.

Do you want to work for the DC police because it's a challenege? I am aquainted with a few DC cops and the job honestly seems kind of depressing.

[collint]

I want to work with DC police because i like the city and i love the museums.

[PenguinSix]

You won't see the museums on your beat, more or less :-).

DC has several major police forces, including:

DCPD - Metropolitan DC Police
USCP - US Capitol Police (Capitol Hill and surroundings)
WMATA - Metro Transit Police (Transit system)
USPP - US Park Police (monuments, parks, the Mall)
USSUD - US Secret Service Uniformed Division (embassys)
FPS - Federal Protective Service (Government Buildings).

And then many minor ones, like FBI Police, Amtrak Police, etc., etc.

You should scout around and see which pays better, better working conditions, etc. All can put you on patrol in DC, but some might be a little more / less dangerous, etc depending on your long term goals.

[collint]

thanks for the info... the capital police also look very interesting

[talktobrent]

DC proper is like a third world country. You have the wealthy living the good life in outrageously expensive NW, and a good portion of the city struggling with poverty, crime, poor schools, poor infrastructure etc. Not much of a middle class, unless you want to count the interns and college grads living off borrowed money with no families to care for. I would suggest driving around all parts of DC and getting a feel for it. There's a total social divide going on and you wouldn't even suspect it's our nation's capital in much of the city. If you're interested in the social dynamics and problems in the city as it relates to the residents themselves, then look into Metro. If you're interested in being involved with the monuments/museums and other attractions that make DC special, I would suggest Park Police, USSSUD, or Capitol Police. USSSUD patrols the white house, exec offices, embassies, and probably some other things, so you might get a little more mobility in that regard. Park Police would be the National Mall, Rock Creek Park, and probably a ton of other places around the area as well. Capitol Police, well, they protect the Capitol and the surrounding House and Senate offices. I imagine Capitol Police have top notch equipment and training, but they looked rather bored (lots of standing around as you can imagine). Although I'm sure they'll take boring over a worst case scenario any day.

[collint]

thanks for the info. The more i look into it the Capitol Police sound better and better