Lateral to Philadelphia PD?

[DangerousD]

I'm a current police officer in township close to the city of Philadelphia. I am looking for better advancement opportunities, as well as much more varied work/"action"/etc. I am considering applying to Philly PD as a result of this.

Couple of questions:
1) Do they accept lateral transfers (would I keep any current years on in terms of starting pay)?
2) Would I need to attend the entire academy again despite my current MPOETC cert?
3) What really is the opportunity for advancement? I am looking for an assignment into Detectives, SWAT, or Narcotics (a few areas of interest) within a few years time ideally....is this unrealistic?

Thanks for any and all help,

Dave

[TNT3817]

There currently no lateral entry program offered. Yes you would have to attend the academy again, I dont agree with it its just the way things are done. Keep in mind that you must be a resident of Philadelphia 1 year prior to taking the exam. (another dumb rule) Right now morale is at a all time low, there is little to no movement in the dept (unless you have a great rabbi or some strong juice) patrol is so short handed that is not uncommon to come to work to have 30,40 or maybe 50 calls waiting for service, and thats no bs!. I absolutely believe, becareful what you wish for, it very well might come true. As far as detectives (probably the best job in the dept) the test is given every two years....Hope things work out for you

[DangerousD]

thanks for the honest answer, I'll have to think about it, doesn't sound too promising.

[Philly K-9]

If you went through our academy the first time you might be able to get a waiver for some of the academy time, but not all.

Second, as stated above you have to live in the City for a year before you can even take the test (which is so easy you might think you went to the wrong place and took the wrong test! ). Most of us are fighting to get OUT of the City and you want to move in???

Third, you would have to start all over again as far as time on the job. You can't transfer your pension or your service time into our system. Why, I don't know. You can most anywhere else.

As for advancement, well you can take the tests but, like the gentleman stated above, you gotta a) know someone or b) get really lucky to go someplace good.

You said you want more action. I can't blame you there. When I got out of the Army, as an MP, I took every test that came along. Townships, SEPTA, you name it. After I got hired by Philly and was in the academy for a while I got an offer from the Delaware River Port Authority Police. More money, better hours and no residency requirement. Guess what? I turned them down. A lot of people wanted to smack me in the back of the head for that one but I wanted to be a "REAL COP". Please, no offense intended to any DRPA officers at all! I just wanted to be able to do what I ended up doing. Patrol in a very busy district, Narcotics and now K9! I guess I'm one of those guys who got lucky!

Good luck on whatever you do!
John