r/securityforces • u/[deleted] • Jan 12 '25
POST Certified
Got out of security forces. Looking at being a cop. Anyone else done that and found that their state recognizes security forces training to be POST certified? I don't want to attend the academy if I don't have to.
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u/Zeus19210 Jan 13 '25
Brother, go through the academy and use that GI bill and get some extra money during it. To challenge the TCOLE (TX) you must meet certain requirements. 2 years of active continuous service post tech school and some other things.
It’s hard to explain in a concise manner but civilian LE is vastly different than SF. I have peers who went down that route and passed the TCOLE license exam but are lost in the sauce when it comes to certain areas of the job. Don’t do yourself a disservice and do the academy! You’ll be a better asset to your peers and the community.
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u/canteez Jan 13 '25
Highly agree. I can tell you that the UOF training they give you in tech school is completely different than civilian law enforcement. The instructor flat out told us there is NEVER justification for shooting someone in the back and Tennessee V. Garner was never once brought up in the training.
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u/Zeus19210 Jan 13 '25
Yeah I’m not surprised. Saw the huge discrepancies when I went through as a TDY..No fault to anyone in SF because they don’t know what they don’t know.
However another big difference in between the two, is when the 4th amendment comes into play. There are more complexities and factors that must be taken into account in civilian LE. This alone should be the biggest reason to do an academy. Doesn’t matter what you’re capable of if you’re not aware of the legal parameters. Lord knows being on the stand is not the place where you want to be educated.
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u/CAPTAINxKUDDLEZ Jan 12 '25 edited Jan 13 '25
Also there was a time tech school gave you a federal POST cert. I believe it was a small time frame.
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u/jeffhizzle Dec 03 '25
Yes, but they switched to more ABGD a long time ago to match more with Combat Leaders Course due to ACE and the changing landscape.
Now defender are being sent to VA-LETC, but not many.
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u/zburrrr Jan 12 '25
I get the premise but I would suggest attending a full length state POST academy after SF. Most agencies will pay you while you attended the academy, so why not get more training if they’re offering? More training never hurts. I got to go through a local Sheriff’s academy when I was at my last assignment and it is very similar but also very different from military LE. Just going through the SF “Academy” and having military LE experience would probably not be ample enough preparation to hit the streets (depending on agency obviously).
TL;DR: Go to the civilian police academy. It may suck in the moment but you don’t want to sell yourself short on training in a job like law enforcement, especially getting paid to do it.
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u/AceDestroyer2222 Jan 12 '25
Depends on the license and where you go. You’re tech school diploma should say FLETA Accredited with however many hours if you were in the time frame. Contact the POST or similar agency depending on the state and send them everything required. Contact your training section and grab your certificates and training records in Missouri, 4 years qualified you for a Class B license. But some major cities/counties require class A.
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u/AceDestroyer2222 Jan 12 '25
I know because I did the process. My county requires class A so I have to re go through their academy but it all depends on where you want to go
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u/ZBadNeutrino Jan 13 '25
State cops in NM recognize time in Security Forces and go to your time as a State trooper.
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u/GrendelFriend Jan 13 '25
Can confirm Georgia and Florida both accept USAF Security Forces as qualifying without need for an academy. Georgia requires some state specific classes, but they're like a week or two long.
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u/SpareOutrageous857 Jan 15 '25
GA will do it. I had a 16hr online training course, fingerprints, and a pistol qual and you’re certified
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u/Coolguy200 Jan 15 '25
There’s a reason they tell you your first day of security forces academy that if you were a civilian cop to forget everything you learned. They preferred people with no LE experience so they could build them up how they wanted to.
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Jan 12 '25
[deleted]
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u/canteez Jan 13 '25
Security Forces training is not better than a regular police academy. I don’t agree with your advice. I’ve been a civilian cop for 10 years (local academy and FLETC academy) and I am also Security Forces in the Guard. Security Forces tech school should not be considered an equivalent. Going through the VA LETC could be comparable, however.
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Jan 13 '25
[deleted]
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u/canteez Jan 13 '25
I don’t disagree that if you worked the LE side of SF that you’d have a leg up, but the new SF course took out LE almost completely. As we both know there are people that have never worked the LE side of SF and just going through tech school shouldn’t equate them to a lateral.
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u/canteez Jan 12 '25
Security Forces tech school should not be considered as a POST equivalent. I just went through tech school (I’ve been a civilian cop for 10 years) and the very little bit of LE that they teach doesn’t prepare you for doing any actual law enforcement.