The California Highway Patrol: career path and professional requirements

¶ … CHIPs: A Professional Path to Becoming a California Highway Patrol Officer

Featured in both motion pictures and a television series of the same name, the California Highway Patrol has set the standard for law enforcement agencies across the country and around the world. Today, the California Highway Patrol enjoys an international reputation of professionalism and performance and makes it a model for other law enforcement agencies and one that attracts numerous qualified candidates for employment based on its reputation as well as the generous pay and benefit package it offers. Moreover, the California Highway Patrol offers variety in assignment location and responsibilities, and law enforcement officers can gain valuable experience in a wide range of occupational specialty settings as they progress through their careers.

Created in 1929 with just a few hundred officers, eight automobiles and 224 motorcycles (Roth and Olson 53), today, the California Highway Patrol employs more than 11,000 staff members, with more than 7,500 sworn law enforcement officers (Crime in the United States 76). Since its inception, the California Highway Patrol has consistently exemplified the best in law enforcement, setting the standards for other organizations to follow and earning international recognition in the process, including unprecedented back-to-back awards of the Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in Problem Oriented Policing (Farrow and Nannini 68). Furthermore, the California Highway Patrol enjoys widespread support from the public (Schroeder 8). Taken together, the California Highway Patrol is a world-class law enforcement organization that is modeling the way for others and which represents an employment destination for many aspiring candidates, including this one.

Mission, Philosophy, Future Direction and Purpose of the California Highway Patrol

The mission, philosophy, future direction and purpose of the California Highway Patrol are as follows:

1. The Mission of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is to provide the highest level of safety, service, and security to the people of California, and to assist governmental agencies during emergencies when requested. To carry out our mission, we must have the uniformed personnel to accommodate the growing population in California.

2. The Philosophy of the CHP Recruitment Program illustrates that the vitality of the organization depends upon the successful recruitment of qualified personnel. This recruitment must produce a labor force that mirrors the community we serve.

3. The Future of the CHP depends on the people chosen to provide service to tomorrow's community, which stands to diversify even more with time.

4. The Purpose of the CHP Recruitment Program is to seek out men and women who will be committed to carrying out the Department's mission and to making a difference in the communities of California (Become a California Highway Patrol Officer 1-2).

Minimum Requirements for Acceptance into the California Highway Patrol

Given the high qualification standards for acceptance, it is clear that not everyone is cut out to be a California Highway Patrol officer based on the minimum requirements set forth in Table 1 below:

Table 1

Minimum Requirements for Becoming a California Highway Patrol Officer

Area

Minimum Requirements

Age

20-35 years of age (as of written test date).

Vision

The candidate must read from a standard Eye Test chart. If eyeglasses or hard contact lenses are worn, uncorrected vision must be no less than 20/40 in each eye and corrected to 20/20 in each eye. Applicants who have successfully worn soft contact lenses for the past 12 months are not required to meet an uncorrected standard, as long as their corrected vision is 20/20 in each eye. Normal color vision is required as assessed by the Farnsworth-Munsell D-15 test. An X-Chrom Lens is prohibited.

Health

Good health. Must be free from any physical, mental or emotional condition that would prohibit the full performance of all the essential duties and functions of a CHP officer.

Education

High school diploma, GED, or California High School Proficiency Examination. Highly desirable: possession of a degree, Associate of Arts or higher, from an accredited college; also, additional course work or advanced skills in the following areas: English, including grammar, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary and composition; reading and comprehension; mathematics (used for traffic accident calculations); typing and computer skills (many officers use computers for reports, and most patrol vehicles currently have or will have computers); bilingual; physical fitness; other helpful courses may be social sciences such as sociology and psychology.

Conduct

No felony convictions and good personal conduct; must possess a California driver license upon appointment to the Academy. The CHP has strict guidelines relating to the personal characteristics required for employment as a law enforcement officer. During the QAP Oral Interview, and later during the Background Investigation, a candidate is evaluated relative to an established set of automatic disqualification criteria. Candidates are asked questions relating to the recency and frequency of traffic citations, at-fault automobile collisions, illegal drug usage, arrests and convictions.

Source: Minimum Requirements 1-2

A review of the foregoing minimal requirements indicates that I satisfy all of these employment qualifications and exceed many of them, making me an ideal candidate for the California Highway Patrol as discussed further below.

Personal and Professional Interest in the California Highway Patrol

The foregoing mission, philosophy, future direction and purpose of the California Highway Patrol are highly consistent with this writer's personal and professional objectives. Moreover, the California Highway Patrol also provides special consideration for military veterans and provides training and working environments that are comparable extensions of military service. For instance, the transition from the U.S. military to the California Highway Patrol was recounted by Marine veteran Officer Yolanda Wright who reports, "It's just the easiest thing, going from the military to law enforcement. I don't understand why more military personnel don't do it" (1).

This veteran-turned-highway patrol officer emphasizes the high degree of congruence between working in the military and the paramilitary environment that characterizes the California Highway Patrol thusly: "Since law enforcement agencies are generally paramilitary organizations," Wright notes, "as veterans we can identify with them. We're used to structure, discipline, and being responsible. Changing from the military to the California Highway Patrol was like being on leave between duty assignments. And you're used to training before a new assignment, so it's all familiar" (2). In addition, the California Highway Patrol also offers university scholarship programs to many of the immediate family members of its officer cadre (Trickey 8).

Taken together, the foregoing mission, philosophy, future direction and purpose as well as the benefits and career opportunities that are available make the California Highway Patrol the employment destination of choice for a number of veterans, including this one. In this regard, a summary of the author's professional experience as a field medical service technician in private sector as well as the U.S. Navy is provided below, followed by an educational summary.

Volunteer and Community Service

During my assignment to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, I provided medical support for non-profit organizations and state-sponsored athletic events. In addition, during Spring 2010, I instructed students at Solano Community College on the proper techniques for performing the lifesaving stroke at the request of the swim instructor.

Excerpts and links to written works:

Finally, brief excerpts from a representative sampling of the author's written works is provided below, with the complete work being available through the links provided.

1. Peoples' Control: "The Brooklyn Daily Eagle July 29, 1900, article 'Points-of-View' discuses elements that can be better understood from the perspective of "Panopticism." People living contemporary to the article were apparently devoted to restructuring society and shaping it as they considered being best for themselves and for the community as a whole. . . ."

In the essay, "Peoples' Control," I write in part that, "I have tried my best to [curb] this anxiety, to feel more comfortable in my position of surveillance." This project was written using resource materials found on a site that is powered by turnitin.com called writecheck.turnitin.com. After completing this project, I ran it through this web site in the hopes of avoiding any conflict like that which happened on the last project in which an identical image was unintentionally used by me and another student pursuant to the Fair Use Doctrine. Upon discovery that both projects contained the identical image, I volunteered to revise my project to avoid any perceptions of misconduct, a reflection of honesty and integrity.

Intended Audience and Desired Outcome

Finally, the intended audience for this showcase consists of California Highway Patrol human resource recruiters with the desired outcome of applying my military and medical training in becoming a member of the Patrol.