Aviation and Law Enforcement

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FLY_BOY

Well-Known Member
I'm wondering if any of you have information or experience about flying as a police office or anything of that nature. I have done some searching but haven't really found anything useful. Thanks in advance.
 
FLY_BOY said:
I'm wondering if any of you have information or experience about flying as a police office or anything of that nature. I have done some searching but haven't really found anything useful. Thanks in advance.
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When I checked into this, most departments (all that I knew about specifically) require you to be a regular patrol officer for usually 2 years before you fly for them. It makes sense; they want you to know what the patrol officers are doing and what info they need.
 
Typically, they will want you to be a LEO first. In fact, it is not at all uncommon for there to be somewhat of a prejudice against selecting people with pilot certificates instead of training existing officers from scratch.
 
Only job I looked into was flying for Florida Fish and Wildlife. They want you to have LEO experience to even apply for the job.
 
as the others have said, I've talked to many officers and they all require you to be a LEO for a few years before even being considered. Once you do the time there's no guarantee you'll get in either I've been told as they only have so many aircraft and so many pilot slots.
 
Most agencies I'm familiar with require LEO time first.

Prior the Custom/Border Patrol merger into CBP you had to be a Line Border Patrol Agent for no less than three years before applying for a trainee pilot position.

As far as I know CBP Air branch no longer has that requirement.....MikeD???

Where I live in Ellis County TX, the Sheriff has an Rans LSA and they required prior LEO time to fly as well.
 
I know some agencies will train you provided you have the patrol experience. Los Angeles Police Department, for instance, will train you to fly their helos if you have a PPL and five years of patrol experience (and of course providing that you are selected for a pilot slot). Other agencies such as the Pennsylvania State Police require you to have the ratings AND hours in addition to having been a patrolman.
 
BillErvin said:
Most agencies I'm familiar with require LEO time first.

Prior the Custom/Border Patrol merger into CBP you had to be a Line Border Patrol Agent for no less than three years before applying for a trainee pilot position.

As far as I know CBP Air branch no longer has that requirement.....MikeD???

Where I live in Ellis County TX, the Sheriff has an Rans LSA and they required prior LEO time to fly as well.
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No longer that requirement for experienced (over 1500TT pilots). The BP trainees starting from scratch still have that requirement for entry into that program though.
 
I know a guy flying for a 206 for the sheriffs department out here who was never a cop. He's a retired DC-10 captain with close to 30,000 hours but was never a LEO. My CFI was also invited to fly for them but he wasn't interested, he also has a ton of time but was never a LEO. My CFI is former Navy if that counts for anything.
 
ChasenSFO said:
I know a guy flying for a 206 for the sheriffs department out here who was never a cop. He's a retired DC-10 captain with close to 30,000 hours but was never a LEO. My CFI was also invited to fly for them but he wasn't interested, he also has a ton of time but was never a LEO. My CFI is former Navy if that counts for anything.
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More an more they're going away from that for a) liability reasons, and b) why have someone doing an LE direct-support function who can't function as an LE?
 
Yeah, they are the only two examples I can think of who were offered a job flying for law enforcement who were never cops. I do know guys who have been patrolling the streets for years still hoping for a flying job somewhere. Apparently the slots are few and far between, and once someone does get in they often spend their career there. I was told getting into fixed wing flying is almost impossible, but every now and they they need guys in choppers.
 
ChasenSFO said:
Yeah, they are the only two examples I can think of who were offered a job flying for law enforcement who were never cops. I do know guys who have been patrolling the streets for years still hoping for a flying job somewhere. Apparently the slots are few and far between, and once someone does get in they often spend their career there. I was told getting into fixed wing flying is almost impossible, but every now and they they need guys in choppers.
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There used to be more civilian pilots, but more and more departments have been going away from this. Also, getting into air ops insofar as the time it takes to do so, really depends on the individual department and timing.
 
Here in San Antonio You have to be a patrol officer for 5 years. They also want you to have a fixed wing ppl. Once you transition to the Helo unit they train you for all the Rotor stuff.
 
mooneyguy said:
Here in San Antonio You have to be a patrol officer for 5 years. They also want you to have a fixed wing ppl. Once you transition to the Helo unit they train you for all the Rotor stuff.
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Like i said, it depends from department to department. Phoenix, AZ PD is the same. At one time, it was about a 15 year wait to get into the aviation section, other times it's been 5. Arizona DPS wants experienced helo pilots preferable with OH-58/TH-57/Bell 206/Bell 407 time and NVG/mountain flying time. The variances are wide.
 
I know a couple of guys at my airline are part time helo guys for the county sheriff's department. At least one of them put some serious time in as a cop in Memphis. He may have actually been ON Cops. :) I'll ask next time I see him.
 
MikeD said:
Whatcha you gonna do when they come for you?
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2 great police slogans

If you run, you'll only go to jail tired.

Spend time with your kids so we don't have to.

I saw a CBP helo opening on USA jobs once. Appeared to be a direct hire if you had Blackhawk time.
 
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