If you want to become a law enforcement officer in Texas, you have to comply with the standards of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCLE). They set the rules for what you have to do in order to become a police officer in Texas. If you don’t meet the minimum standards, you can’t even enroll in police academy. The Texas Administrative Code details these minimum standards in rule 217.1. There are many requirements.
For starters, you have to have a high school diploma. A GED works instead. If you’ve been in the military, you have to have a honorable discharge and at least twenty-four months of active-duty service. For the most part, you have to be twenty-one years old. You can be eighteen if you have an associate’s degree or sixty hours of college credit. You can also be eighteen, nineteen or twenty if you have at least two years of military experience.
You can receive a license to attend police school as long as you meet the minimum requirements. This means passing a fingerprint check that includes being honest about your criminal record. For the most part, you can’t have any Class B misdemeanors or higher on your record, but you can in some cases if the convictions are very old.
You can’t have any criminal charges pending that would be disqualifying, either. Family violence is another problem that stands in the way of many applicants, so make sure that you do not have a history of domestic violence or of violating personal protection orders.
Texas doesn’t allow law enforcement officers who haven’t proven physical fitness by passing a doctor’s exam, and you also can’t have any drug dependencies. You have to drug test while working as a law enforcement officer in Texas, anyways, so it’s important to be free of any chemical dependencies before signing up for police academy. Your medical exam is only valid for 180 days, so it’s important to pay attention to the timing. You also need to submit a psychological exam that clears you for the type of work.
Once you meet these requirements, you enroll in a Texas police academy, or training called a basic peace officer course. This training is developed by the TCLE. There are different training courses for the type of law enforcement work you want to do, so make sure that you don’t enroll in jailer training if what you want to do is be on the beat.
Another big obstacle for many candidates is moral fitness. To become a law enforcement officer, TCLE looks into your background. Do an internet search of your name to see what they see when they research you. Even bad credit can stand in your way of receiving a certificate to attend police academy. You might be surprised at what you find about yourself online.
The TCLEOSE (Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education) conducts most officer training in the Lone Star State, both for new officers and for continuing education for officers currently on the force. In order to succeed in police training, you have to be in good health.
If you’re applying for the police academy or you’re about to start, there’s no time like the present to start working on your physical fitness. You can’t have any problem that hinders your ability to do your job well. You have to have 20/20 vision, with or without corrective lenses.
Attending a police academy can take as many as six months. Sometimes you live at the facility and sometimes you commute, depending on the program in which you enroll. Make sure you don’t have any other employment or family responsibilities that interfere with your ability to complete the training, because it is quite physically and emotionally exhausting.
If you’re about to embark on your police officer training in Texas, it’s important to take the next step and begin to learn about law enforcement policies and procedures. This can help take the stress away from your training and put you ahead of the curve. One great place to start is the book Prepare For The Police Academy. Available at www.PrepareForThePoliceAcademy.com, this book is a comprehensive insider’s guide to police academy training. Learn what the experts wish they had known before they started training. This is a great way to show up prepared and ready for the challenges of rigorous police work.
County Sheriff Agencies in Texas
Andrews
Angelina
Aransas
Archer
Armstrong
Atascosa
Austin
Bailey
Bandera
Bastrop
Baylor
Bee
Bell
Bexar
Blanco
Borden
Bosque
Bowie
Brazoria
Brazos
Brewster
Briscoe
Brooks
Brown
Burleson
Burnet
Caldwell
Calhoun
Callahan
Cameron
Camp
Carson
Cass
Castro
Chambers
Cherokee
Childress
Clay
Cochran
Coke
Coleman
Collin
Collingsworth
Colorado
Comal
Comanche
Concho
Cooke
Coryell
Cottle
Crane
Crockett
Crosby
Culberson
Dallam
Dallas
Dawson
De Witt
Deaf Smith
Delta
Denton
Dickens
Dimmit
Donley
Duval
Eastland
Ector
Edwards
El Paso
Ellis
Erath
Falls
Fannin
Fayette
Fisher
Floyd
Foard
Fort Bend
Franklin
Freestone
Frio
Gaines
Galveston
Garza
Gillespie
Glasscock
Goliad
Gonzales
Gray
Grayson
Gregg
Grimes
Guadalupe
Hale
Hall
Hamilton
Hansford
Hardeman
Hardin
Harris
Harrison
Hartley
Haskell
Hays
Hemphill
Henderson
Hidalgo
Hill
Hockley
Hood
Hopkins
Houston
Howard
Hudspeth
Hunt
Hutchinson
Irion
Jack
Jackson
Jasper
Jeff Davis
Jefferson
Jim Hogg
Jim Wells
Johnson
Jones
Karnes
Kendall
Kenedy
Kent
Kerr
Kimble
King
Kinney
Kleberg
Knox
La Salle
Lamar
Lamb
Lampasas
Lavaca
Lee
Leon
Liberty
Limestone
Lipscomb
Live Oak
Llano
Loving
Lubbock
Lynn
Madison
Marion
Martin
Mason
Matagorda
Maverick
McCulloch
McLennan
McMullen
Medina
Menard
Midland
Milam
Mills
Mitchell
Montague
Montgomery
Moore
Morris
Motley
Nacogdoches
Navarro
Newton
Nolan
Nueces
Ochiltree
Oldham
Orange
Palo Pinto
Panola
Parker
Parmer
Pecos
Polk
Potter
Presidio
Rains
Randall
Reagan
Real
Red River
Reeves
Refugio
Roberts
Robertson
Rockwall
Runnels
Rusk
Sabine
San Augustine
San Jacinto
San Patricio
San Saba
Schleicher
Scurry
Shackelford
Shelby
Sherman
Smith
Somervell
Starr
Stephens
Sterling
Stonewall
Sutton
Swisher
Tarrant
Taylor
Terrell
Terry
Throckmorton
Titus
Tom Green
Travis
Trinity
Tyler
Upshur
Upton
Uvalde
Val Verde
Van Zandt
Victoria
Walker
Waller
Ward
Washington
Webb
Wharton
Wheeler
Wichita
Wilbarger
Willacy
Williamson
Wilson
Winkler
Wise
Wood
Yoakum
Young
Zapata
Zavala