Requirements & Qualifications
The minimum age to be accepted for police training in Vermont is 18 and the minimum educational requirement is a high school diploma or a GED equivalent. However, notes the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council (http://vcjtc.vermont.gov/aboutus), the agency that certifies police officers in the state, many police agencies in the state encourage applicants to have a college degree.
Police training will be conducted at the Vermont Police Academy in Pittsford, and all full-time officers must complete the training within six months of being hired.
The council recommends individuals interested in becoming a police officer in the state first contact a department in which they are interested, visit and talk with them about opportunities. A list of police agencies in Vermont can be found at http://vcjtc.vermont.gov/contact_info.
In addition to the age and education requirements to enter the Vermont Police Academy, candidates will have to undergo an extensive medical exam and written testing. The testing will be in the areas of arithmetic, reading comprehension and judgment, observation and retention and vocabulary. Passing grade is 70 percent. In addition, prior to enrollment into a basic training course all applicants will have to pass a physical fitness test.
Physical Fitness Test Standards
The physical fitness test contains five areas to be assessed and candidates must test at the 40th percentile or better for their age and gender group. Testing will be in these areas: a run of 1.5 miles, a bench press, one minute of bent knee sit-ups, one minute of push-ups and a sit and reach test. You can find the minimum standards for passing the test at this web site: http://vcjtc.vermont.gov/training/pt.
Criminal Background Check
A comprehensive background and character check also will be conducted to rule out any applicants who have been convicted of a felony. Candidates will be fingerprinted for the background check and the fingerprints sent to the FBI to be run through the federal agency’s fingerprint data bases. Vermont also will ask for criminal history records from any state in which the applicant has lived or been employed.
Finally, before being allowed to enroll in training, results of psychological testing that determines the candidate is emotionally suited for law enforcement work.
Police Training Academy
Applicants who are enrolled in the academy will undergo at a minimum of 792 hours of course work in various law enforcement and academic subject areas. The academy runs two training classes of 16 weeks duration each year.
The curriculum includes: Criminal Law, Defensive Tactics, Conflict Management/Crisis Intervention Training, Community Policing, Investigative Procedures, Motor Vehicle Law, and Patrol Procedures.
To successfully complete the program students must maintain a minimum 70 percent average in all subject areas and have no more than four failures on graded assignments.
Average Salary For Cops in Vermont
According to the Bureau Of Labor Statistics (2010), a police officer in the state of Vermont makes between $39,450 – $43,220 per year. However the data collected by BLS is not very accurate because it does not record overtime pay or off duty work like private security work, special assignments and etc. These factors, if included in the data, would drastically increase the average salary of a police officer in Vermont.
Police Jobs in VT
There are several law enforcement job openings in Vermont. Simply visit our Career Job Opening or go to the official website of the agency you are interested in to complete an application of employment. Below is a list of law enforcement agencies in the state of Vermont.
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