Lisanne Sison ⋅ Sacramento, CA Bickmore ⋅ 12 years experience

I provide risk management consulting services primarily to colleges and universities. As you know, campus violence has become a hot issue on universities, ranging from violence against women, to hate crimes, to active shooter incidents. Additional efforts are being made to improve and enhance campus security and behavioral intervention efforts. These teams generally consist of police officers, counselors, human resource officers and risk managers to identify and develop appropriate intervention strategies on a case by case basis. (This means you rely on counselors, rather than having to become one yourself.) These interdisciplinary teams work together to prevent serious crimes and injury, and with the increase in interest, I can only assume there would be an increase in available positions.

Thank you very much for your many years of service, and best wishes on your new career.

Barbara Stern ⋅ Boulder, CO Affordable Closets,llc ⋅ 35 years experience

Hello,

I'd like to ask you to focus on the why you took the courses you did and what attracted you to the certain field. My assumption is that a police officer has many skills other than law enforcement. What are those skills and how could you use them to make a difference to those you work with. If you enjoy counseling, why don't you consider doing some volunteer work as you take the necessary to be working in the field?
If doing more course work, then consider talking to the local educational institutions and see if there is a fit there for you. I have a family relative who is a verteran and he became a chauffeur at a hotel and then became a security guard. He didn't want to grow the chauffeur business although you may consider that as well. You'd be working with people and you can decide down the road if you want to take more course work.
Best of luck.

Gary Coffman ⋅ Boca Raton, FL Florida Peninsula Insurance Company ⋅ 36 years experience

Hi, Let me first say, thank you for your service.

One job in LE that might appeal to you is that of an intelligence analyst. It allows you to employ all the same skills of an investigator, without the physical requirement involved in working the street.

Here's an excerpt from my book that can give you a place to start:

If you are interested in training courses, a good place to start is the Foundations of Intelligence Analysis Training (FIAT) Program. Information on the FIAT program can be found at http://leiu.org/fiat, the website for the Association for Law Enforcement Intelligence Units. The International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts (http://www.ialeia.org) also provides some guidance on training, as well as literature and potential networking events.

These are good starting points. You might also consider signing up for the job announcement emails at www.discoverpolicing.org. They often include civilian jobs in LE such as intel analyst, communications officer, and CSI.

JOHN CHERVENAK ⋅ Berkeley Heights, NJ AIG ⋅ 25 years experience

Andrew -Thanks for all of your years of service.
If you have familiarity with banking, insurance and accounting, large institutions engage your type of background to investigate frauds and liaise with law enforcement - either as part of their Audit or a separate investigations group. Check their websites and attempt to network into these channels. Although, I would think the youth counseling would be more fun and challenging and have a greater impact, even if you had to get a certificate program at a community college. Best of luck pursuing your new path.