Montgomery County, Md.

[jellwood]

Could anyone please let me know of any info. on the Montgomery County Police Department in Md? I am looking for Positives and Negatives of this department. In addition I heard the work schedule is 4 on 3 off, is that permanent days off and shifts?
Thanks guys and Take Care!

[irishlad2nv]

Do a search on the site, I believe this was discussed not too long ago on this dept. Right now they are one of the highest paid in Maryland. However, you need to meet the minimum college requirements before applying. But do not just focus on one dept. You may think you are the best candidate for the job, but they may have only 15 positions to fill at one time and then you have wasted 6-9 months applying, waiting, etc and you can apply to other departments and attempt to get on somewhere else also...ie. B-more County, B-more city, PG County, Howard...

[tcopeland949]

MCPD does work 4 ten hour shifts off three. When I was there midnights were permanant and days and evenings rotate. Though I believe after looking at their union webpage a while back that it is in their new contract that all shifts will be permanant. MoCo. is a very diverse county. You have urban type areas such as Silver Spring that border PG County and DC and are pretty busy. Then you have a lote of suburban neighborhoods in Rockville and gaithersburg. Very wealthy areas such as Potomac with multimillion dollar houses. and up in the northern part of the county Olney and dickerson type areas it is very spread out and rural. So there is quite the variations in area. MCPD do have a competetive salary. But plan if you do make it to not get paid for a month because they have a two week hold back policy where you dont get your first check for a month. but if you leave you get a check two weeks after you leave.
The cost of living in montgomery county is very expensive. the highest in the state of Maryland. If you live in the county they do have a take home car program after 18 months of service. They allow you to use the car for use on and off duty. If you dont live in the county then you sign out a station car every day.
Their Academy is pretty intense. very paramilitary and plan on doing lots of physicla training. when I was there we were up to a six mile run by the end of the six month academy. after the academy you ride with a field training officer for 14 weeks. then if you are squared away you are cut loose on your own.
You can get more information from their website.
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/poltmpl.asp?url=/Content/POL/index.asp

Definately look into other departments though. becasue one department may not take you but another might. every major department in the area is pretty much doing constant recruiting lately.
hope this helps.

[jellwood]

If you don't mind me asking, why did you leave M.C.P.D.?

[tcopeland949]

at the time I was young, too quiet, and shy to be an effective police officer. at the time I was unsure if it was the career for me. However, since then I have spent the last 4 years as a firefighter paramedic in the City of Baltimore and have since developed a very differerent personality. I have seen many bad scenes and gone to numerous scenes where my training form the police has finally kicked in and made sense. I find myself thinking more like a police officer than a firefighter or paramedic. As a result I have developed the confidence and a very strong desire go into a career in law enforcement and stay there.

[rfcmitch]

I'm very interested in MCPD. One of their officers came up last week and talked to us at our school about their department and gave us the requirements and everything like that. It seems like a very progressive, active department.

[tcopeland949]

It is a good department. A lot of good benefits. And a lot of good people to work with. Expensive area to live in though. I looking forward to hopefully going back there myself.

[copsluvme]

i live in queen annes county, but im relocating to Carroll, they have AWESOME benefits and a great staff. sorry i dont know much about mongomery county, but maybe this will help you :rolleyes:

[BravoSVO]

What are the written tests like for these Maryland agencies?

[CPDjock]

I have a couple of MCPD buddies. They have nothing but good things to say about the dept. They all have take homes. I know a couple of guys that work for PG County too and they also have great thing to say about their dept. The chief complaint from PG guys is that crime from DC has been pushed into their county and they're spread thin sometimes.

Try MPD, PG, PW and MCPD and see what happens. Good luck!