Question for police officers

[Pixiedust34]

If a career goal is to be a Police Chaplin, how do you best reach that goal? Would you generally get your degree in Divinity first and then go to Academy for police training, or do it the other way around with becoming an officer first at Academy and then earning a degree in Divinity? TIA!

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

all of the ones I have met are chaplins and/or ministers in their church, and do it on a volunteer basis.

they are not police officers and do not attend the police academy, as a general rule.

they do not have police powers of arrest, nor carry weapons. They are usually there to assist officers and their familys when needed.

 

[Pixiedust34]

all of the ones I have met are chaplins and/or ministers in their church, and do it on a volunteer basis.

they are not police officers and do not attend the police academy, as a general rule.

they do not have police powers of arrest, nor carry weapons. They are usually there to assist officers and their familys when needed.

This is good to know! Thanks.

 

[yoopermom]

I don't know the answer to your question, but one of the most amazing books I've read in the past few years is an autobiography by someone in this field. It's called "Here If You Need Me: A True Story" by Kate Braestrup.

Terri

 

[Va-bear]

all of the ones I have met are chaplins and/or ministers in their church, and do it on a volunteer basis.

they are not police officers and do not attend the police academy, as a general rule.

they do not have police powers of arrest, nor carry weapons. They are usually there to assist officers and their familys when needed.

My BIL was one for sometime and all of what you said applies to him except he was in a paid position (big city....maybe the difference). He _did_ wear a uniform though.

Good luck OP.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

My BIL was one for sometime and all of what you said applies to him except he was in a paid position (big city....maybe the difference). He _did_ wear a uniform though.

Good luck OP.

interesting about the paid position, but then again a large city would need one or two full time.

The ones that I met were wearing a windbreaker with "CHAPLIN" in large letters on the back. No uniform. (cheap department? hehehee)

In a casual conversation, one mentioned that he was on call.

And I remember another time when a police officer said that three or four churches and synagogues would take turns providing someone.

an interesting profession!

 

[Russian-in-Kansas]

If you want to become a chaplain you'll probably need to spell "chaplain" correctly. I assume that is the first step on the path to becoming one, but I could be wrong.

 

[tazdev3225]

A friend of mine was a police captain when he was ordained as a deacon in our church. He retired as a Commissioner and also served as a chaplain for the department for a period of time. I don't know if this is normal though.

 

[AshleyW]

If you want to become a chaplain you'll probably need to spell "chaplain" correctly. I assume that is the first step on the path to becoming one, but I could be wrong.

Seriously? She didn't even say it was her - she could be asking on behalf of someone else. No need to be snarky.

Anyway, back OT, you should look at this website:
http://icpc4cops.org/
It's the International Conference for Police Chaplains. If you click the "Employment Opportunity" link, they list job openings around the country and the qualifications needed. It might give you some insight as to what might be required.

This website is for a group in Michigan, but it has some good information:
http://americanpolicechaplain.org/index.php?page=become-an-apca-chaplain

 

[barkley]

i would imagine it would also depend on weather a person was looking at jobs to work more intensivly with the jail population vs. staff/victims/family of victims.

i knew someone who worked in this field with the prison population and his take on it was that if you went into it you better have a tremendous knowledge of comparitive religions in order to serve the varied population, and be especialy strong and confident in your knowledge of biblical scripture. his reasoning on the scripture was that the guys in jail had nothing but time on their hands to read and those inclined to do so and become either mail order of self proclaimed preachers knew that bible better than most any seminary grad but it was often squewed/interpreted in ways unimaginable (and those guys loved nothing more than to get into a theological argument with him to try and gain 'cred' among the in-house 'flock').

 

[IDoDis]

My neighbor is a police Chaplin. When we moved here almost 11 years ago, he was a young police officer. He's been a Chaplin now for two or three years, so he started out as an officer first. I don't know about the other training he had though. I remember the first time I saw his Chaplin car, my heart stopped, because he parked his car in front of our house. So, when I pulled up, I freaked out and thought someone had died. I was relived to learn it was our neighbor in his new police Chaplin car.

 

[DisneyFed]

I have seen it done several ways...also, it depends on the PD, as some have "sworn" chaplains, others have "non-sworn" chaplains, others have volunteer chaplains.

Our Chaplain at my Police Department was an officer first, heard a different calling (understandable and admirable) and got his Master's in Divinity. He then became the Chaplain, and that was his official position and title. He was still a sworn officer, had a car and wore his uniform and had arrest powers. He just worked day hours (always on call) and had is own office, etc...that was job, minister to the troops (we needed it at times)

Neighboring PD had a part time Chaplain. He already had his Divinity degree and he heard a different calling (undestandable and admirable). He worked his regular shift but was on call in case his services were needed. Keep in mind, his department was much smaller than mine.

The Sheriff's Department had a Chaplain on call who was a volunteer and was in no way associated with the Sheriff's Office except when needed. He was a well known minister and well liked....but sometimes the deputies didn't feel like he could "walk a mile" in their shoes...does that make sense.

Personally, I felt like the Chaplain's who were one of us were a bit more effective. The guys knew he knew "where they were coming from"...HOWEVER, it took a little while for guys to warm up to them and voluntarily open up without fear of him running to the Chief...I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY CHAPLAIN OF ANY TYPE DO THIS---and that is CRITICAL (should you decide to pursue this line of work)----trust is everything in that relationship....

I guess the real answer is, find out where you'd like to work, then plan accordingly...can't go wrong becoming a cop first and going from there. This is just my personal opinion as an 18 year law enforcement officer, but I always found them to be a bit more effective....even if they were of the "volunteer" kind, they still had been cops and had some understanding of the cop mindset--it's different.

Please don't "grammar Police" (pun intended) my post...What do I know...I'm just a dumb cop.......

 

[Pixiedust34]

Thanks, everyone! I should clarify that I'm asking for my ds (13) rather than myself. He's young, but expressed an interest and I told him I'd look into what type of career training was needed.

Sorry about the spelling! : )