I need your opinion on my career

17 Comments

Hello everyone, I'm thinking about making a big step for a long time now, and maybe I'm being naive about it and I want to hear what other people would do in my situation.
Okay so I'm a 20 year old male, I live in the Netherlands (Europe) and my life long dream is to become a police officer.
I just finished school and I'm ready to sign up, but I've always been a fan of police shows, especially American police shows, which actually made me want to be an American police officer instead, really badly.
I've actually been thinking about it a few years now, but being realistic I never really thought it would be possible, because a lot of people move there and I'm not even sure if they would allow a "new citizen" to become a police officer.
Am I being naive for thinking there is more "action" there simply because I saw it on TV?
If I start the procedure of trying to become an American citizen it will take years, and it could lead to denial.
Don't take me wrong, I don't hate or dislike my country at all, it's simply because I think being a police officer in the USA is less monotonous than in the Netherlands, and if I'm going to pursue my life-long dream I should make the best out of it.
The Netherlands is one of the safest countries in the world, not that there's anything wrong with that but I want to actually do something on the job as well.
I don't want violence or anything like that but I just think with Mexico bordering the US to the south, with all it's drug trade, and with many gangs inside the nation, there's simply more work to be done than here in the Netherlands.
I don't even know how I'm going to do it, I will probably need a lot of money on my bank account, and a job over there as well.
I've even read about joining the US military to get US citizenship, although I'm not certain this is possible.
Though I know how everything will go if I apply for the police academy in the Netherlands.
Sorry about the length of the post, just want to make everything clear.

Tell me what you think :D

Stay in the Netherlands and become a police officer there. 37
Try to become a United States police officer. 13
Try to become a US citizen while working as a Dutch police officer. 17
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Comments ( 17 )
  • karmasAbich
    12 years ago | pl

    America sucks. Police officers are cruel in America, beat the shit out of their suspects, for simply trying to explain themselves. Also, they don't get paid much. Cuts into there salary, are frequent. Not to mention dangerous because of all of the bull shit these gangs and drugs are tied into. It's just a mess that I would not want to get myself into.

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  • [Old Memory]
    12 years ago

    i agree with karmasbich they seem real mean

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  • Gelmurag
    12 years ago

    I'd like to applaud your use of English. You have better English skills than most people on this website. I had a good friend who was from the Netherlands and he did well also. He lived in Koopvaardjistrat. Or maybe that was his street name. Alas.

    America has many different types of police divisions, and all of them have some form of corruption. What you see from American TV is hardly ever true. Our media here in the states is called sensationalism. It means that the stories that have the most "bang for the buck" are the ones most reported on. Instead of talking about a company that is hiring, or a shelter looking for volunteers, the media reports about the person who was murdered. So please, don't listen to what American TV says about the way of life we have here.

    A good friend of mine was toying with the idea of becoming an officer. He instead became an EMT. However, whilst in officer training, a majority of the cases he was called to involved elderly people. With the exception of a large city, a majority of police officers in the states spend their time following-up scared elderly people, and doing traffic stops. My cousin is a SWAT EMT and was telling me that the team gets called out about once a month, the rest of his time is spent training.

    I've had a few run-ins with a massively corrupt police force in a small town. Power corrupts. (They stopped me driving once because they said I had my headlights on at night. Yes, they thought they could give me a ticket for using my headlights in town, at night) With the immigration paperwork, INS paper work, waiting to find a way into the police academy, and the fact you'd be going up against 65 million unemployed Americans (you'd need a part time job at least to find living quarters until your paper work clears) my best advice is to do it for your country.

    The Netherlands is one of the safest countries in the world because of people like you. Your desire to protect sets you apart from a majority of the USA population. I hope you do some good in the Netherlands, and keep it safe for we Americans who may want to move there to get away from our own country.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      12 years ago

      Thanks for the compliment and your reply.
      Koopvaardijstraat was probably his street name :)

      I kind of hoped for someone to say what you said, that it's not really how things go over there.
      I've only been to the US once when I was about 12 years old, and I loved it (probably because we went to all the theme parks in Florida though).

      I never understood how police officers or military men/women could be corrupt.
      It's a wonderful job why ruin it for yourself and the people around you.
      But I always try to get people to understand that the video's of the "bad cops" they see on tv and the internet represents only a small percentage of the force, and they should not base their hatred for cops on that.
      They are humans like everyone else, after all.

      And I never really thought about the competition, you're right about that, I suppose it is will be harder for me to get into the police academy, as a new citizen.
      I will have to get used to speaking English as well, and I might have a slight accent :S
      Okay it's probably a better idea to stay here and start working on it then.

      When I'm on the force I really want to have some action as well, we have the riot police here because in Europe football/soccer is quite popular and because of the rivalry between fans they sometimes clash violently.
      I have a question about that subject; Does the riot police have to step in as well or are the sports fans more peaceful in the US?

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      • Gelmurag
        12 years ago

        The SWAT team as its known here are about = to your Riot police. From my cousin's experience, they mainly get called for bank robberies, and standoffs. These are increasing by the day due to the failing economy. It is more difficult than it has been in the last 70 years to get a job, even if it is something like working at a restaurant. People riot for all types of reasons. Generally Americans hold more value to material goods and tend to not cause as much damage to property as Europeans; however that isn't always the case. American Football and Hockey usually cause the most riots. Baseball is generally seen as a more family sport. Soccer isn't that big over here. At least not to the rioting point.

        I'm not sure how much of our history you learn over there. Look up "The Great Depression" that happened earlier in the 20th century. Our economy is very similar to that right now. I don't really think it would be a place you want to come. At the earliest, I would wait until after the election, and see who gets to be president. Although (and this is my opinion) whoever it is probably won't help much.

        The corruption in the American police are simply a matter of money. In that same small town I mentioned earlier, one of the officers used to sell drugs in the local park to anyone that could prove they were over 10 years old. It wasn't marijuana either. The corruption is based off of monetary gain. Sometimes it is one or two individual selling drugs, or doing some other illegal activity. Sometimes it is the entire force. They also get blamed for racism. Basically money can buy anything here including police. You also need to think about the people that get into it so they can legally harm someone else. They are usually the most corrupt. Not everyone has a "protect people" mentality like you do.

        The police forces here, especially the government police forces like the CIA do hire outsiders for special missions. If you have a specialized background; say something in the bomb department, and it is a skill they can use here, you have a better chance of being hired here on a work visa. Just because you work in the Netherlands, doesn't mean you can't come over here for special training, or to even train Americans. It really depends on how far you'd like to go with it and how good the training over there is. It is generally assumed (and this is stereotyping so take it with a grain of salt) that the best combat instructors are Russian. The best firearm instructors are Israeli. It all depends on your expertise, and the demand for it. BUT you need your own home country's training first.

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      • JustinBiebsFan#1
        12 years ago

        euro trash, stay in your gay discos and away from the states

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  • peterr
    10 years ago

    All cops suck dick, no matter where they are. They are only good against rapists and baby diddlers, nothing else. They are of a bullshit punk mentality and this will never change. A guy in Toronto pulled a knife on a train and the cop shot him nine times. The poor bastard was mental, the people had been removed and the train was surrounded. Fuck the cops. Be a hired gun for some wealthy men and get connections with the cops or maybe be a cop first, make the connections and work for corporate America as a paid thug.

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  • fullhouse
    11 years ago

    The TV usually shows police officers as helping and they are usually helpfull but also they are abusive and bulliessometimes.. So is the case with police officers in my country India as well.. I'd say you have to know the bad part as well before you make this very important decision.
    Just stay in your country, I am sure you can help a lot there if you're willing to.

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  • Domhnall89
    11 years ago

    Hey bud, it seems like you aren't getting answers from anyone who really knows what they're talking about. So let me help you out. I am a police officer in the state of Texas, and my fiancée is Dutch, living in Doetinchem. So your story is near and dear to me haha. It will take a long time to become a citizen, and I've never heard of a law enforcement agency in America that hires non-citizens. Police work here can be exciting, but not everyday. It can also be very dangerous, depending on where you work. A lot of American citizens are out of touch when it comes to police, which is why you have so many "American cops are corrupt" replies. Depending on where you work, you can make a lot of money. For example, if you get hired for the Bay Area Rapid Transit Police in California (a transit agency much like your Dienst Spoorwegpolitie), you will start at about €3,850 per month. So it's a very rewarding job. My biggest problem is the public being ignorant of what we do. If you want to be an American cop, you can make it happen. I personally know an American cop who came here from Germany, and another from New Zealand.

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  • shade_ilmaendu
    12 years ago

    You would find more work certainly, but police brutality in the united states is a very real and prevelant issue. Your morals would be tested and you would see things you wish you could unsee. I've been posting a lot of videos related to the subject lately, I can go back to my old fb and pull something up, but the footage was enough to make me feel ill, and I peruse rotten.com from time to time for amusement. >.>

    Honestly though as far as the drug war and the mexican border are concerned, you're delving into a very complicated issue there which is very far from black and white. If you're ever on reddit.com there have been many articles on the front page recently on how the war on drugs in America is failing, and contributing greatly if not primarily creating the drug problems and the cartels in mexico.

    If you'd like to discuss the issue more I'd be happy to grab some info for you at a time when I'm less occupied, as it is I'm spending too much time writing you a novel. :P So just comment back if you'd like and Id be happy to further this discussion

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  • blablablah221
    12 years ago

    Become a U. S. citizen while working for the Dutch government? Umm, dude....

    No really, I'd go to school and get my requirements first while also trying to gain citizenship, and then come to the U. S. to put your knowledge to use. Good luck!

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  • Crudhouse
    12 years ago

    I was in Bethesda, Maryland for awhile and the police officers were really professional. I remember once being drunk and a friendly police officer escorted me home even though I was driving. That's not what I'd call mean. Stay in the Netherlands though, why do you want to increase chances of bad karma?

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  • myownopinions
    12 years ago

    If you 'want more work', then yes, I would agree that, as a U.S. citizen myself, America has more police work to do than the Netherlands. Even so, most cops in America usually control traffic or petty theft, which can be done anywhere. Stay in the Netherlands, working as a cop in the U.S. isn't all it's cracked up to be.

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  • Avant-Garde
    12 years ago

    Stay in the Netherlands and become an officer.

    America sucks on so many levels. The politics and whatnot are completely screwed. The police over here are cruel and abuse their power. Trust me, moving here would be a bad idea. You could spend a little time over hear and see if you like it. If you want a country close to america, than go to canada. It's more relaxed and the politics are no where as screwed. It's up to you.

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  • Quiblum
    12 years ago

    I think you should do whatever you want to do, and that probably sounds like I don't understand your situation and that it's easy to just say "do whatever you want", but really, it's true. i suggest that you first go to us and see what it's all about, just check it out. It would probably cost a considerable amount, but the experience is worth it.

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  • rin
    12 years ago

    I guess this depends where you live. My boyfriends moms boyfriend is a cop. I asked my BF if he knows what he does most nights and he said they just patrol their section and if they get a call they go there. He also said sometimes he'll park somewhere and watch movies, lol. and sometimes him and his partner will park next to each other and go to sleep. I mean there's only so much you can do sometimes. This isn't to say he never does anything. He's part of the SWAT team too and also has his own business doing undercover jobs. I don't think it's like the movies where there is ALWAYS action going on. If you do decide to come here then chose the right city.

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  • UNormie
    12 years ago

    American officers are boring. I'm serious!! Unless you live in New York City, or another big city, they don't have much to do. And in real life, it is not like TV at all. I know because this is a very similar mistake I've made in the past. TV makes everything look as real as possible, but it is just a construction of reality.

    But it really doesn't matter what I say, does it? Because you sound just like me from a few years back. You have a lot of ambition and you won't give up your goal. However admirable, it probably won't become true. But you're going to try anyways, so good luck!!

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