"I want to become a police officer, why should I enroll in PSM?”

There are many reasons, the first being the protective services occupations are much broader than public policing. Most people don’t realize how diverse the profession is these days.  In the U.S. today there are approximately 900,000 law enforcement officers and there are 2.2 million in the “private” security business. There are more than twice as many jobs and the rate of growth is much higher than the public policing sector.  The private sector includes loss prevention, computer (IT) and network security, CCTV and electronic salespeople, designers, and installers, and yes, uniformed security officers.  The PSM Program has been designed to get you into the protective services occupations, not to limit what you do once you are in the business.

There are very few police and sheriff departments which require a bachelor’s degree and, quite frankly, most departments don’t really care what major you had when you were in college. They just want to know you are smart enough and willing to work hard enough to accomplish getting the degree in the first place.  So your degree can be in accounting, history, political science, or computer science.  There is always the question of departments requiring a police academy of some sort, such as a Peace Officer Standards and Training academy (POST).  Both the Denver Police Department and Sheriff’s Office require you to attend their academy, regardless if you have attended another department’s academy or a private one.  Another issue is the length of time the screening process requires and how long it will take you to get into a department, once you have applied.  The Denver Police Department, which is pretty typical of modern, metropolitan police departments, starts with over 500 applicants taking the written test.  All along the vetting process, candidates are weeded out for one reason or another through the written psychological examination, reference checks, driving history and interviews.  If the candidate makes it this far, he or she goes to the psychologist for screening and then to the polygraph examiner. The process typically takes about four months from beginning to end.  Out of every 100-plus applicants, 90 get eliminated for one reason or another prior to beginning the academy. 

Next, beginning your protective services career with the Public Security Management Program offers more choices.  Enrolling in one of the certificate programs allows the student to complete the certificate and get a job.  It also allows the student to choose to complete an associates degree and then get a job or continue with school and get a bachelor's degree.  The PSM Program has articulation agreements with many institutions offering degrees in Criminal Justice.  In whatever path the student chooses to take their education and career path, the PSM Program presents the most flexibility and gives students time to gain real world experience which will serve them well, however they choose to move in their career. 

Finally, the profession is changing so rapidly that we can only imagine what it will look like in ten years. Technology and security practices will continue to converge and facilitate operations.  The line between public and private protective service occupations will become less distinct than it is now in terms of what the officers do on a daily basis.  The fields of emergency management, homeland security, network security, and business continuity are becoming more important every day.  These are not the typical subject matter areas covered in a traditional criminal justice program, but they are exactly the courses and subjects offered in the PSM Program.  So, where do you want to end up:  in the future, or in the past?  It’s your choice!