How to Be a Baltimore City Police Officer

Police officers help ensure the safety of citizens.

In addition to patrolling a jurisdiction and apprehending people who break the law, police officers spend a great deal of their time handling paperwork and maintaining records. It can be a stressful job with long hours and potentially dangerous work. Typically, the application process to become a police officer is also more involved than those for many jobs. For example, applicants must provide a list of every residential address since the completion of the sixth grade. Applicants must also take a civil service test and a physical fitness test.

Things You'll Need

• Driver's license
• Application
• Birth certificate
• High school diploma (or GED) and transcripts
• College diploma and transcripts
• Social Security card
• Marriage license
• Certificate of divorce
• Naturalization documentation
• DD Form 214 for military veterans

Instructions

1. Evaluate whether you meet the minimum requirements to become a Baltimore police officer. You must be 21 1/2 years old and a citizen of the United States with a valid driver's license.

2. Download the application package from the Baltimore Police Department's website. Print it and complete it. The application will ask for information such as your full name, any aliases, every address at which you have resided since sixth grade, your education, employment history and whether you have been arrested or otherwise required to appear in court. Write down five personal (non-relative) references and include a list of your debts.

3. Gather the appropriate documentation (original documents, plus two photocopies). The Baltimore Police Department requires your birth certificate, high school transcript and diploma (or GED), college transcripts and diploma, Social Security card, marriage license, certificate of divorce, valid driver's license and naturalization documentation. If you've had a past illness or injury, you may be asked to provide medical records. Take all of these documents, along with the application package, to your interview with the police department.

4. Contact the recruitment unit of the Baltimore Police Department for current information about when and where the civil service test is offered. Wear business clothing when you go to the testing site. Take the test to qualify to join the police force.

5. Meet the physical requirements. The Baltimore Police Department administers a fitness test to potential recruits. According to the recruitment unit's web page, candidates must be able to do at least 29 sit-ups in one minute or less. If you are male, you must do 20 push-ups in a minute; females must do 10 push-ups in a minute. You must also be able to bench press at least 64 percent of your body weight at least once. You will also be tested for vision, flexibility, endurance---a 1 1/2-mile run---and ability to fire a Glock handgun.

References

• Baltimore Police Department's Recruitment Unit: Physical Requirements
• Baltimore Police Department: Take the Civil Service Test
• Baltimore Police Department: Job Application Package

Resources

• U.S. Department of Labor: Police and Detectives