Anyone going to the Police exams on the 18th of April?

 

I won't be at the testing, but I am a police officer in Georgia, on the other side of the north metro Atlanta area. Let me know how the testing goes, I wish you the best of luck!

-Chris

 

Chris,

I have always lived in the North. I was wondering what its like in GA? It will take me around 20 hrs to drive down

From what I can gather the Dekalb County police department is similar to a sheriffs department? Looks like they have the whole county which oversees various cities?

Do you by chance know how far the obstacle course is? Or anything about the written exam? The math section is where I will really need to review I think.

I did some checking on housing in the area and I must have picked the wrong cities as it seemed 100,000 dollar house was not much to look at? The cost of living might be high though I am not sure. I know my gf has been looking at NC some and its supposedly cheap living.

Do you by chance know if the dept is hiring right now or just getting a list together? I saw one site that listed them on a hiring freeze but it may have been out dated by this time.

 

I don't know if Dekalb is actively hiring or not, to be honest. Georgia is a nice place to live, in my opinion. As far as the department, it is a county-wide police department; they answer calls that are outside of incorporated cities, handle traffic duties, and all of the regular work the police officers in cities would do.

I can tell you that housing in Atlanta is pretty pricey. I know a lot of out-of-state guys/gals that move here to do police work try to start out by living in an apartment that offers free rent/reduced rent to cops that are willing to be courtesy officers. That way, they can take a year or so to save money and scout around for a home they want to purchase. The only drawback to that route is that you generally have to live within your jurisdiction to qualify (it does no good to be a courtesy officer if you live where you don't have arrest powers). Some people don't mind living within their jurisdiction, some do.

If you need anything while you're in town or before hand, I would be happy to help any way I can.

 

Chris,

Do you know of any good websites off hand that would give me information on the area and pictures?

The department sounds pretty nice, good size, fairly large area to work with. Sounds like the living in the district rules are different down there then here. Most places in the North you HAVE to live in the district. If it was a nice area I would not mind living in an aptartment for a while, but having been in school the last four years I am anxious to get a house of my own.

I realized the April 18th date is over my spring break. I get out of class on the 16th and after that I am on break for the rest of the week and weekend.

Any tips to taking the exam? It seems like the test may be a bit different then the couple I have taken so far. The math sections being the most significant. Any memorization sections? They may have changed the exam since you had to take them though.

I think the testing is held at Lathonia, GA so I am going to need to plot and figure time/miles to get down there.

Thanks for the help!

 

Phil,
Yes, the rules are a bit different. In most jurisdictions I know of in Georgia, it does not matter where you live. If the Dekalb test is anything like the test I took, you should have NO problems. Most testing I encountered was aimed at people with high school/ minimal college education level.

Metro Atlanta is a little different from most large cities. The metro area is considered to be made up of approximately 8-12 counties (depending on who you ask), with Dekalb being just east of Fulton county (Fulton is where the actual city of Atlanta is located). Another point of interest, Dekalb has the highest population density of any metro-area county.

The Metro Atlanta area has much more urban sprawl than most urban centers. There are only about 4 million people within the technical city limits of Atlanta, but the great influx of commuters from surrounding counties (Cobb, Cherokee, Dekalb, Paulding, Gwinett, etc.) that work in the city has meant enormous amouts of sprawl. Atlanta is an area that has grown out, not up. There is very little high-rise living, with most apartment buildings not being more than 4-6 stories. This living trend has made the developed area of "Metro Atlanta" several counties wide.

Interstate 85 is the major north-south interstate that enters Dekalb county. From there, your best bet will probably be to take the 285 perimeter loop east to the Decatur/Lithonia area. It should not be difficult to navigate, but once you have the address, I'll be happy to check on it to see if I can offer any tricks to save you time and headache. Just contact me if I can help you in any way.

-Chris

 

Just to let you know, DeKalb is not the "nicest" area of Atlanta. Heh, I guess that means it needs more police. I grew up and still live (in the summer) in south Gwinnett county, which is about 10 minutes east of DeKalb. In my lifetime, I've seen the DeKalb area slowly but surely dive into a seriously run-down area. To relate it personally, my grandfather's car was stolen right out of his driveway, twice. Chris is right about it being "dense" in an urban sense. Like many areas in Metro Atlanta, DeKalb simply has too many people than it can possibly support. Gwinnett and Cobb are like that, too. If you're going to be living in the Metro Atlanta area and/or raising a family, I'd suggest looking at some other counties' police departments (if that's even an option). You might want to look at Forsyth, Dawson, Hall, and Newton counties, as these places are just beginning to grow rather than "dying off." Just some thoughts from a native.

- Brandon