Police work in washington (Seattle, Tacoma: home, neighborhood, school)

[collint]

Hello,
I'm currently finishing up school witha degree in criminal justice. I've been wanting to move out of iowa for awhile now, and out to the west coast. Reason being is all the times i've been out there i've loved it. Anyways i was wondering whats it like finding work and or workin as a police officer in washington?
I'm gonna be posting this in a few other threads as well just to get a general idea

[poogie777]

Congradulations on completion of your degree in criminal justice! I think you can probably go anywhere you want with that! I can't tell you what it's like working as a police officer out here, though....Washington is IMHO the best state on the west coast!
Best wishes...

[iamtickled]

Hi, It all depends on what you are looking for when you select a city or town to live in. Do you want the hussle bussle of a big city or a smaller city that is quite quaint and nice to live in. I have lived in Tacoma and could not take the rainy season, it was so depressing. So, I decided to move to Walla Walla, which is allot smaller and less hussle bussle! Walla Walla is a beautiful town, and is expanding, it is located in the southeastern part of the State. It is only about 15 or 20 minutes away from the Blue Mountains and on the other side you have the rolling wheat fields and grape fields. Walla Walla has flourished the last few years with many wineries and of course fields of grapes. It is only 10 miles from the Oregon border. Walla Walla has a good police force to work with, the juvenile justice system is good and the Washington State Patrol is good to work with also (I know people that work for all three). The city in itself is just beautiful, you have the 4 seasons, beautiful parks, and the downtown area has been built up and restored. It is just a good city all around. I think the population is in the neighborhood of 28 to 29,000, the penitentiary is also located there. There is also a separate little town just outside of Walla Walla which is called College Place, it is another nice little quaint community and has Walla Walla University there. Walla Walla has 2 Colleges Whitman College and Walla Walla Community Colleges, both have beautiful campuses! I hope this gives you alittle insite of what the city is like and I think it just be worthwhile for you to look into.
Good Luck into your new endeavors and congratulations in receiving you Crimminal Justice Degree.

[MaikeerinWA]

The WA State Police has been advertising quite a bit on billboards, etc.

Washington State Patrol - Career Opportunities (http://www.wsp.wa.gov/hrd/hrdhome.htm - broken link)

[jamesandveybe]

You need to pick the region where you want to be, then narrow it to which county, then apply to every municipality in that county.

1. Hot weather: Eastern Washington, pay is not as good.
2. Cool weather: Western Washington, pay is better.

If pay is your primary barometer, the City of Seattle has just kicked up starting pay to 90k. If lifestlye is your barometer, almost anywhere in E. WA will do you better. S.W. WA has the cooler weather but also the slower pace of life.

The local papers and job websites list several agencies every week looking for officers, entry and lateral.

[collint]

Thank you all for the information. I'll probably be lookin for somethin more towards the coast. I really love the beach and the ocean. Plus i've lived in the midwest my whole life (grew up in indiana and moved to iowa in 03 after graduating highschool) so i'm kinda not wanting to deal with snow. Rain i can take, snow i'm tired of, i can take a little bit of it but i'm tired of the full blown snow storms and blizzards we get once a week here in the winter it just blows. but if u guys have any other info please share i'll welcome all the help i can get

[jamesandveybe]

If you want to avoid the snow, don't mind more rain, and prefer the Pacific Coast area to the city, get an oversized US travel map and set your eyes on any of the beautiful small cities along the coast, starting from Sekiu all the way down to Long Beach. Did I say they are all beautiful? Least snowfall in the state. They do get cold wind, but nothing like the midwest. Salaries out there are about half of what they are in Seattle, but you know you guys get great benefits. Housing out there is generally cheap, but beware of taking a position in a tourist town, as that makes everything more pricey. There are so many towns I could name along the water, but the map will do you better service.

Link to weather averages for Sekiu:
http://www.weather.com/weather/wxcli...99?from=search
Link to weather averages for Aberdeen:
http://www.weather.com/weather/wxcli...01?from=search
Link to weather averages for Long Beach:
http://www.weather.com/weather/wxcli...34?from=search
Link to weather averages for Seattle to compare:
http://www.weather.com/weather/wxcli...95?from=search

Trees, trees, trees, bald eagles and generally older demographics. A slower pace of life. Lots of the smaller towns used to have logging as their staple, but no more, and that is the answer to why housing is so cheap in some of those non-tourist towns. One more thing, before falling in love with a one-stoplight town, make sure broadband is available there. Dial-up stinks!

The area you are asking about is my retirement destination in a few years. I haven't decided yet what town, but am weighing Sekiu, a more liberal town but ideally located for me, against Lake Quinault, a small community with a lake at the bottom of the SW corner of the Olympic Mountains. Just gorgeous. The nicest thing about that area is that, unlike any city within 100 miles of Seattle, you cannot hear freeway traffic from your yard. After being in and around the city for awhile, you too will appreciate that privilege. Enjoy your search, and welcome to SW Washington. Oh, and please don't pull me over for doing 4 mph over; the speedo on my 73 El Camino isn't easy to replace.

Photos:
http://www.olympicpeninsula.org/imagefiles/ariels/bigs/sekiu.jpg (broken link)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20071115/450getaways_quinault_lake.jpg (broken link)
http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisi...ault_Trail.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...e_Quinault.jpg <<< large file

[collint]

wow thank you james that should be a big help for when i finally make a descion. I was also wondering about the Olympia area? I know Olympia is the capital of Washington, but i'm not gonna lie i like the ability to live in a small subburb type of town and still be close enough to the city to enjoy it.
The town i grew up in in Indiana was only 15-30 min drive from indianapolis so it was nice to be able to go into the city and watch some games and have fun with friends but also be able to drive home to a smaller town afterwards.
So any information you guys could give me about Olympia or the surronding area would deffinitly rock.

[Beenaroundabit]

Seattle PD is hiring, as well as WSP, I think. Seattle PD was actually advertising in NY, if you can believe that (one of my NYPD buddies is thinking about applying).

A great agency that people overlook a lot is the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. They pay on a par with other state agencies/retirement and have officers located in/near the bigger cvities as well as out in "the sticks."

Good luck!

[jamesandveybe]

Olympia is a small city, not a large town, so you will find little of the small-town attitude there, but it sure has alot of history and a cute old-downtown area. As already posted, regional agencies are recruiting, so check them out.