Quote:
Originally Posted by davidr3
Do you enjoy the sheriffs department or did you enjoy CHP more?
Pros and cons to each job?
I feel like I constantly hear about people switching departments and wondered why that is.
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I enjoy both departments, but I will say there's more cultural/unnecessary bullshit on the Sheriff's Department than with the CHP. Sometimes the Sheriff's Department's culture purposely makes you feel like you are subpar/less of a human when you're new or on training (..
e.g....custody training, patrol training, etc.). Most departments don't treat people like that. In fact, I can't really think of another department that treats people like that outside of mine. My main reason for making the transition was because I originally wanted to work Special Victims, but the defund movement may have halted that. Another reason I transitioned is because I don't want to patrol forever, and with my current department I have a ton of latitude with regards to jobs on the department. If I had gone to a police department I would have to patrol forever. I could actually leave patrol now, but our Sheriff wants us to patrol for 4 years in order to gain access to every job or be able to promote to Sergeant. I just left the CHP the end of 2017 and I had to work the jails when I first came to the Sheriff's Department. I left the jails late last year and have been on patrol ever since. I may not do 4 years on patrol to be honest, especially since I had already put in 7 years with the CHP. I like my peace of mind more than anything else. I might go to courts or another assignment and just chill.
As for the pros.....
...I would say the things in favor of the CHP are the pursuit policy, better treatment, statewide flexibility in terms of job(s)/movement, strong union, etc.
...The things in favor of the Sheriff's Department are the sheer range of jobs (...
400+ jobs; many not on paper....coveted), the ability to promote really quickly because of our size, the ability to not have to be on patrol forever, strong union, you do more cop stuff/get more experience IMHO, etc.
The cons.....
...CHP: You get less experience with certain aspects of police work, the state has control over CALPERS/retirement money, the department is affected when the state cuts money, overtime is mainly sitting still watching CALTRANS work (..
which is good to some people), etc.
...Sheriff's Department: The culture is
absurd, up until recently we had a hard time procuring good equipment, bureaucracy/fighting between our Sheriff and the Board of Supervisors, etc.
With regards to your inquiry about why people switch departments, it's almost always due to one of the following: pay/benefits, treatment or proximity to home.