About How to Become a Police Officer
How To Become a Police Officer is a free resource with the sole mission of helping individuals learn about starting a career in law enforcement. Some of the resources available to visitors include expert-written guides on how to become a police officer and police careers, a police job board that is updated daily, and expert interviews with successful police officers.
How to Become a Police Officer is based in the Seattle metro area and is part of Project 8 Labs LLC, which has been recognized by the Better Business Bureau as an accredited business since 2012.
Our Editorial Process
At How to Become a Police Officer, we use experienced writers, editors, expert reviewers, and contributors to create and review our content. We evaluate each team member’s background and experience to ensure that our content is accurate, up-to-date, and relevant to our readers.
Writers: Professional writers research and write all of our content. Our writers adhere to a style guide in order to maintain consistency throughout the website. All of our content is original and backed by reputable sources.
Editorial Team: Our internal editors fact-check, standardize, and approve all content before it goes live to ensure the best possible experience for our readers. They also write for How to Become a Police Officer.
Expert Reviewers: Since police officer requirements frequently change, we partner with experts in the field to regularly review our content so that we can continue to provide our readers with the most accurate, up-to-date information available.
Contributors: We periodically work with law enforcement/criminal justice majors and professionals in the field who share their personal experiences and give advice to our readers through interviews and other content contributions.
Writers
April Brewster Smythe
April Brewster Smythe studied criminal justice at Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne and has been writing professionally for over 20 years. Her work includes The Green ABC’s, an environmental literacy program for youths which has won several awards including the Green Innovator of the Year Award from the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center. April has also published several e-books on Amazon. Follow April on LinkedIn.
Editorial Team
Audrey Stoffle
Audrey Stoffle is the Chief Editor of How to Become a Police Officer. A graduate of Berea College, Audrey has a BA in English with a writing emphasis and a minor in Spanish. She has worked as Editor for a literary magazine, Appalachian Review (formerly Appalachian Heritage), and spent years teaching English in Spain. Her writing and editing work has appeared on a variety of career and travel websites. When she’s not writing, Audrey enjoys running and photography. Follow Audrey on LinkedIn.
Laura McPherson
Laura McPherson is the Associate Editor of How to Become a Police Officer. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Career and Technical Education and History from Eastern New Mexico University and a Certificate in Writing from the University of California Berkeley Extension. She previously worked for the Illinois Department of Corrections and her experience includes creating and deploying career training modules for professionals in various industries. Her creative work has appeared in literary journals such as Paperbark and Corvus Review and she has been an awards reader for The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP). Follow Laura on LinkedIn.
Expert Reviewers
William Prince
Will Prince is a Criminal Justice instructor at Wharton County Junior College (WCJC). He received his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Cameron University and his Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Radford University. Previous to joining the faculty at WCJC, Will taught at Fairmont State University and worked in corporate security. He holds certifications as a Protection Professional and in Security Management from ASIS International, as well as a Paralegal Certificate from the University of Houston.
Contributors
Kristen Ziman, Commander, Aurora Police Department
Thomas Gerace, Police Lieutenant and Graduate of the FBI National Academy
Suzy Ivy, Police Detective and Author of Bad Luck Detective
Dr. Joel F. Shults, Police Writer and Author of The Badge and the Brain
Additional expert contributors: http://www.how-to-become-a-police-officer.com/expert-advice/
Data Sources
Indeed powers our flexible, national job board with daily updates.
National Center for Education Statistics
Projections Central Long Term Occupational Projections
Texas Department of Public Safety
US Bureau of Justice Statistics
US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics
US News & World Report
US Postal Inspection Service
Zillow
Select Sites Referencing Us
Hennepin County Sheriff’s Deputies Association
North Carolina Justice Academy
Northwestern State University of Louisiana
The University of Maine
University of Minnesota, Crookston
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