Lauren: Police Sergeant, Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice

Growing up in a household where both of her parents were police officers, Lauren developed a deep desire to serve and make a positive impact on her community.  She naturally progressed to pursue a Criminal Justice degree and a career with the Houston Police Department.  Lauren shares her story and describes the process one experiences as they apply, train in the Police Academy, work, and promote through the organization. Lauren shares how she and her husband, also a police officer, are able to raise a family and support each other’s career.  If you have an interest in becoming a police officer or serving your community in some capacity, listen to Lauren’s story! 

If you are interested in pursuing a career with the Houston Police Department, please go to www.hpdcareer.com. 

Transcript

Carrie: 0:02

Thank you for joining us today on Paths in Progress. I'm your host, Carrie Young. On this podcast, people in a variety of career fields, talk about their journey from choosing their college, deciding which majors and minors to pursue, their first jobs out of college, and all of the hurdles, detours and victories along their path through today. Our goal is to help students hear about a variety of exciting opportunities out there and understand what day-to-day life is like in these careers. I hope you enjoy and learn from our story today. Thanks for listening. Hi everyone. Thanks for joining us today. We are here today with Lauren, who is a sergeant in the Houston Police Department, and she has a degree in criminal justice. So Lauren, thanks so much for joining us today.

Lauren: 0:48

Oh, thank you so much for having me.

Carrie: 0:50

I'm so glad you're here. I'm looking forward to our conversation. So can you take us back to your high school days, as a teenager, and tell us a little bit about what you were thinking regarding your education and career path?

Lauren: 1:04

Sure. Well first I wanna preface this with apologizing for my raspy voice. I was at the Astros game last night and it's the playoffs, so I'm

Carrie: 1:11

Yay! Go Astros!

Lauren: 1:13

I'm a little hoarse, so I apologize.

Carrie: 1:15

We forgive you. You are forgiven.

Lauren: 1:16

So Back in high school, I was torn between two professions. I either wanted to go into education and become a teacher, or I wanted to be a police officer. There really was no other option for me. Like my mind was set at that time.

Carrie: 1:32

Where did each of those come from?

Lauren: 1:34

Education. I honestly don't know where it came from. I enjoy helping people. I love children and I just thought, okay, well I can teach them and be a part of raising a better generation. And you know, selfishly I was like, Oh, and I'd have summers off. That's awesome. Then as far as law enforcement, both my parents are prior law enforcement, so I was kind of raised in that realm. Been around it my entire life. They never really wanted that for me because they were just, you know, concerned about safety and, you know, things like that For your own children. Yeah. But for me, it was just innate in me. I don't know, it's a weird thing to describe, but, helping people, Right? That's what we do. So I decided I would choose a college that really excelled in both. So I went to the college and I decided to get a criminal justice degree initially, because that's kind of what I was more leaning towards. And then that's what made me decide, yes, for sure I wanna go into law enforcement.

Carrie: 2:30

Can you talk a little bit about education requirements or expectations in law enforcement? There is a minimum requirement, right, to become a police officer? Can you talk a little bit about that and like how different levels of education can benefit you in that career path?

Lauren: 2:45

Sure. So our recruiting standards have changed, at least with my department, with the Houston Police Department recently. It used to be you would have to have a certain amount, like 40 something hours of college credit, before you could even be considered. And then the a six month academy would go towards the college credit as well. So you would get credit for that six month academy. They've lowered the standards now. So now you don't even necessarily have to have college. But, for me, I know that having my degree, one, you get paid more, per check. Mm-hmm. if you have your degree. And, basically if you're promoting, let's just say later on down the road, you decide you wanna be a sergeant or a lieutenant, you get what's called education points. So if you have your degree, you get an extra point towards promotion, which is actually a huge advantage, when it's such a tight race to get these promotions. So that's a big benefit. For me, just the skills and knowledge that I received in college really helped me in the academy with penal code and code of criminal procedure and kinda knowing what to go into whenever I stepped into that academy setting, which is a school-like setting. It was just an extension of my college for me. So it was a very easy transition, and I was able to use that knowledge I learned in college. And it helped me excel in the academy as well.

Carrie: 3:57

So would you recommend that people at least consider like an associate's degree, potentially in criminal justice, just to help them down the road?

Lauren: 4:05

100%. Yeah. I mean, at least an associate's degree. I mean, bachelor's degree is better because you're gonna be able to experience more classes and more of those electives that you can kind of skew towards the path you wanna take in law enforcement. Yeah, I highly recommend that.

Carrie: 4:19

So as you were going through college and your criminal justice degree, did you ever waiver on this? Did you ever think back to education? Or was it more of like a confirmation for you that this was definitely the path you wanted to take?

Lauren: 4:31

It was really a confirmation for me. My roommate at the time was getting a degree in education. She's actually a teacher now. And just kind of comparing the things she was doing in her classes, the things that I was doing in my classes really kind of solidified like, yeah, this is the right path for me. After that, I mean, I never waivered at all from that.

Carrie: 4:49

Is there anything else in college, other than, you know, taking your classes and going through a degree plan, are there any like part-time jobs or internships or anything that either you completed or that you recommend that people consider, just for some of that hands on real life experience?

Lauren: 5:07

Absolutely. So for myself, I did an internship with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. It's a federal agency here in Houston. I did an internship there for a few months, towards the end of my degree. And again, that really did help me see the real world example of what I possibly would be doing in law enforcement. It was such a great experience. You meet a lot of people with a lot of connections. You get to see the enforcement aspect of law enforcement, but then you also get to see the legal aspect, and testifying, and all the things that goes into making a case. And it was a huge benefit to me, to again, really solidify that, yes, this is what I wanna do.

Carrie: 5:45

Can you describe what that internship was like? Like you show up, you know, on a typical day for that internship, what things are you doing and what are you observing?

Lauren: 5:55

Yeah, so you're essentially, you're just shadowing. Well, for me, for my example. They assign me to an agent. And I typically shadow just kind of like you would any other job. You know, you have to learn. So obviously I'm not, you know, filing charges as a civilian, and doing interviews as a civilian, but I can shadow these individuals. So I can listen in on phone calls or, like when you have surveillance cameras up, help watch the surveillance cameras and see if you capture any criminal activity. Go with them to court and watch them testify. With ATF, it was seeing them like tag guns and how they receive those guns and meet up with certain subjects of interest. And I was able to actually be there for all of those things and witness it. Like I said, it was incredible. I mean, obviously I had to go through an extensive background check to be able to get that kind of access prior to being accepted. Once I passed the background check, it was pretty cool. The things you got to experience.

Carrie: 6:51

So speaking of background checks, yeah. Can we talk to students about if they're considering a career path in any kind of law enforcement, what is some advice you have to make sure that they keep their record clean, you know, and in a state that's gonna help them with this career? Sometimes, you know, people make mistakes and sometimes they're kind of silly mistakes and you don't necessarily realize how that can impact your future down the road. Mm-hmm. So, especially with a career path like this, what kinds of advice do you have for teenagers just to make sure they're hyper aware of that as they go through high school and college?

Lauren: 7:32

So, my first thing was be aware of who you're hanging out with, the types of people you're hanging out with. You could be just in the wrong crowd, you know, Right place, wrong time with the wrong people. I feel like even as a young kid, you know who's a good influence and who's a bad influence on you? For me, because I knew that this might be the path that I was gonna take, I was very cognizant. I, you know, did not do drugs and you know, not even the little things that people would be like, Oh, it's no big deal now. No, I didn't do drugs. Parties, I would go, but I was very careful about what I was seeing and what I was around. Anything that I thought the police, if they showed up, they wouldn't like, I left, because I didn't want any kind of association with that kind of behavior. Like I said, growing up with my parents, being police officers, I kind of knew what to do and what not to do. Just don't break the laws as a kid, you know, don't steal. Really that's it. You know, Don't hang out with the wrong people and get caught up in something that you wish you could take back. So I think at the time, you know, and if you're trying to be cool or fit in. You know, it's not worth it, it's not worth your future. I've seen a lot of people that tried to join the police department and have made mistakes in the past that it's just not something that the police department could overlook. And they had to figure out what else they wanted to do with their life. You don't ever wanna settle for a career in the rest of your life. You want it to be something you're passionate about and that you think you'll really excel in. So that was my thinking throughout my entire growing up. I don't want to mess this up for myself in the future.

Carrie: 8:56

Yeah. Was there anything in particular that sticks out in your mind, watching your parents grow up in this career path, that you think really influenced you the most, you know, as far as wanting to do this yourself? Like what stuck out to you that you saw in them or you saw in their experience that made you say, I think I might wanna do that, too?

Lauren: 9:19

I mean, being around them and seeing, because again, they were both law enforcement, so they would have the discussions with each other. You know, when I'm in the room and I could hear them talk about the people that they put in jail. These individuals that were just awful and did horrible things. And they would talk about the way they went about their investigation and they would kind of ping ideas off of each other and I could just listen to all this. And I got to hear, you know, the final result. Like, Oh yeah, he got 20 years in prison, or whatever the case may be. And for me that was like, Wow, to me they were a hero. Like you are helping these innocent victims. You were their only hope. And to see them put that much time and effort and they would work at home and have like photo arrays and all the things that they needed to do to make sure that their case stuck, and prepare for testimonies, and to just see the hard work and then see the good that they were doing in the community. For me, I was like, Oh, I have to do that. I have to continue the legacy and then help the people of Houston the best that I can, to keep it a safer place. So for me that was just seeing everything that they did.

Carrie: 10:22

Yeah. Are there certain like personality traits or characteristics in people that you think are important to have as you go in this career path? Sometimes there's a paths where it's like, Oh, but if you're this type of personality or this kind of person, this is gonna be a hard road for you. Cuz you're gonna have to fight that all the time. You know what I mean? So are there certain things that you feel like are kind of innate in people who are in law enforcement, or things that students should really think about either strengthening or considering within themselves as they start this journey?

Lauren: 10:57

Yeah, that's a hard one because I feel like with law enforcement it takes so many types of personalities to make it run well. Yeah. You know, if you have super type A individuals, you know, we have a lot of military, prior military, if you have a lot of that, like that type A, that dominant personality will then you won't have that empathy and the compassion and the parts that you also need in dealing with this. So really I don't wanna say one way or the other because it's a group effort of different personalities. I can speak for the Houston Police Department and that we want all the different personalities and characteristics so that we can really assist all the different types of personalities and characteristics out in the community that need help. Yeah. So I mean, we have a lot of military, we have a lot of people with family that were in law enforcement obviously. And we do tend to have a certain type of personality, that type A personality. But then you have the other individuals that will come in and they humble you a little bit, you know, And they give you another way of thinking. Sometimes it takes another way of thinking to really get to that point you wanna be in that investigation or dealing with that certain individual and it's successful. So I don't really like to say one way or the other cuz everybody brings something to the table.

Carrie: 12:10

Yeah. Well that's encouraging. So really that would mean that no matter what kind of person they are, they could find their place in a police organization.

Lauren: 12:19

Absolutely. As long as they have the drive, the will to be a police officer, they wanna make a difference and benefit the community, then yeah.

Carrie: 12:25

Going back to your college experience, were there any courses or things that really stick out to you from your college experience that you're really thankful that you had, that you felt really helped you as you moved forward in your career path?

Lauren: 12:39

I liked all of my electives in general, but the big class that stuck out for me, and I don't know why it felt like a turning point for me, but, it was a family violence class that I took.

Carrie: 12:50

Oh wow.

Lauren: 12:50

It was a semester and, we had individuals that would come in that were victims of domestic violence, and they would tell us their stories. And, you hear about that. Like, for me, I heard about it, you see it on TV or something. But to actually speak with these survivors of this type of behavior, it really hit home for me. The fear that they had and then the strength it took to leave and just the whole cycle of violence that they had to go through repeatedly, that I was like, Okay, well that's what I wanna do. I wanna help survivors of domestic violence, victims of domestic violence. And that's what I ended up doing, you know, for four years once I joined the department. So that was really impactful for me. And I remember that class, almost all of it to this day.

Carrie: 13:30

Wow. Yeah. I can see how that would make a huge impact. Yeah. So once you graduated from college, are you like applying to the police academy before you graduate? Or what's the kind of timeline as far as graduation and entering the police force?

Lauren: 13:47

I applied, oh gosh, I wanna say like maybe four months or so before graduating college and then you go through all the background investigation and you go meet with the recruiters and everything that needs to happen. The way it fell for me is I graduated from college and then two weeks later I was accepted and started the police academy. So it just depends. Some people like that break, they wanna graduate and kind of have a little bit of time and then apply, but there's about, I mean, it could vary, but you know, there could be a four to six month wait for the process to go through. So for me, I tried to time it out because I didn't really have plans for that break after college. So I just wanted to go right back into my career. So that's why I did it, you know, while I was in college about four months before graduation.

Carrie: 14:32

Going through a criminal justice program, are they talking about the application processes for all of the different areas of law enforcement? Like are they encouraging people to do that early and to understand what that process is going to be?

Lauren: 14:45

I wouldn't say the university is, but what they'll will do is they have job fairs, at least my university did, with the criminal justice. We had a bunch of different police departments from all over the city and state that would come in and you could speak with the recruiters at that point in time. Tell'em where you're at in the process with college, and then they would advise you, you know, if this is something you wanna do, you can apply at this point. And by the time you get accepted, you'll have your degree. So you immediately, you'll get your education pay that we spoke about earlier, and they will kind of help advise that. I don't know how other departments are with their recruiting, but I do know with the Houston Police Department they'll come in and help and guide you if that's something you wanna do is just go right into your career.

Carrie: 15:27

So when you started the police academy, can you tell us about that experience in itself and what that's like and what people should expect from that?

Lauren: 15:34

Sure. Again, for me it was just like an extension of college, but with PT added, so physical fitness type stuff. You're in a uniform, so that was different for me. You have to have your uniform pressed and you have to look squared away, kind of like the military. You're in formations and you're learning all the different, right face left, all the different things that the military would have to do. So it's a very paramilitary organization, but then you also have that classroom time where you're learning about the legal aspects of things. Penal code, code of criminal procedure. Then you're also out there running and getting physically fit. And you'll be in the best shape of your life by the time you're done with it. You know, you're studying, you wanna get the highest in the class that you can. Score the highest. The little competition factor. That's really what it was like for me. But I think the biggest thing that I took from it, cuz I've been on almost 13 years now, is the camaraderie that you gain from your academy classmates. That is something that I can't compare to anything else with college or with anything. They become like your family for that six month period of time. And even all these years later, we get together and catch up. We've all gone different paths within the department and it's just, it's a great thing. It feels like home. And that's something that, it's hard for me to even describe to people. But you'll never forget who was in your class, and it's a great feeling.

Carrie: 16:53

Well, as a woman going through this process, how many women were in your class? I know things have changed a lot from when your parents were police officers. Maybe you can talk a little bit about that, but did your mom tell you anything about her experience as a woman in the police force? Did she give you any kind of guidance with that and what has your experience been like?

Lauren: 17:11

Yeah. Times have changed. I mean, exponentially since my mom police academy. For her, there was only two women in her entire academy class, her and one other woman. Wow. So that was difficult. My mom is always, she gets along with everybody though, so she fit in just fine. She didn't have to deal with a lot of issues. And then as far as my academy class, we had a lot, I don't remember the exact number, but we had quite a few women. And so, that was nice cuz you got to bond with the other women in the class as well. But something my mom just kind of prepared me for is because this is such a male dominant field. You just have to be cognizant of things you say and the things you do and who you're hanging out with, because your reputation will stick with you for the rest of your career. I mean, it kind of mirrors when I was a kid and just trying to make the right decisions because I wanted to get in law enforcement. I made the right decisions and continue to make the right decisions in law enforcement because I want the best reputation I can have throughout the rest of my career. And that's just something she's taught me and I've always been really cognizant of is, and that's with anybody. And I hate to say more for women because I don't really think that's the case. The Houston Police Department is very open and we have so many women in positions within the department. But, you know, and I feel like we just have to watch what we do and really just make sure that we have the best reputation we can carry on.

Carrie: 18:33

So when you're going through the police academy, how does that work to transition into the department? Do you get to voice any preference for the type of position you wanna have or the area you wanna work in? How does that job placement work out of the police academy?

Lauren: 18:49

So you always have to go to patrol, like that is your first assignment, regardless. I got to choose where I wanted to patrol based on where I fell on our final academy list, as far as all the grades and the scoring and everything they rank you. So I was able to choose where I wanted to go. So I chose to go into what, probably one of the most dangerous parts of Houston, because that's where I felt like I would learn the most, cuz I was pretty sheltered growing up. That's what I chose to do. You do roughly at least minimum three, but sometimes more years on patrol. So I did two years on patrol. You train for six months initially. So you graduate the academy, you start on a training program. You typically rotate days, evenings, and nights. So you can kind of experience all aspects and all different types of people that are out and about. And that's a six month long process. Once you get off probation, then you're on your own and you can ride alone if you want, but during that training time, you'll have a partner, you'll have a trainer. They'll just be teaching you everything you need to know. You'll be responding to all different types of scenes. And that's where you really learn like the real world aspects of being a police officer. It's different than the academy cuz this is real life. It's a different experience. It's a little shocking for some. It was shocking for me, like I said, cuz my parents tried to keep me pretty sheltered, but it was such a great learning experience and I took so much away from that, that I still used to this day.

Carrie: 20:16

What were some of the shocking things from you? Do you mind sharing that, or was there a particular experience that kind of shocked you?

Lauren: 20:22

I worked in a very, I guess low income, struggling part of our city when I went over there for training and to see individuals with no food in their apartment that are calling the police for something else completely different, disturbance or something. To see children sleeping on the floor because they didn't have even beds or mattresses, and to just see a different way of life that people are having to live in this city, for me, was very eye opening. Cause I had no idea. You know, I didn't grow up like that. It really helped to teach me compassion for individuals in the situations that they're being raised up in, you know, and the situations that they are in and the part of town that they live in. And then on the opposite side of things, seeing just the sheer amount of violence. I obviously was not raised around a lot of violence, so shootings and see individuals that had been hurt or deceased. That was really something that I had to process and get my mind around. And in the area that I worked, it was so frequent that it was just, it was mind boggling to me. You know, you watch the news and you see these many shootings happened last night, but to actually be there and witness it, it was incredible to me to be a part of that. It just made me realize my little suburb of Houston that I grew up in is completely different than what these other individuals are having to live through. It's just opened up that compassionate part of my heart and empathetic part of my heart to realize, wow, this is a difficult situation for them.

Carrie: 21:49

Yeah. I'm sure you've seen a lot now over the years. How is mental health addressed within the police department? Is that something that's provided or encouraged, or at any time are you required to talk to someone if something catastrophic has happened? I would assume that when your parents were in the police force, it was a lot different. I don't know if you ever talked to them about that in the past, if it is even was a conversation when they were going through their career. How has your experience been with that?

Lauren: 22:18

So I haven't,really spoken to my parents specifically about how they're, I know that mental health wasn't looked at as much back then. I just don't know a lot about their experience cause I haven't really talked to them about that aspect. I know for myself, part of the recruiting process and the hiring process, you have to speak to one of our psych services therapists, and they will evaluate you to see if they believe, in all of their training and experience that we would be a good fit for the police department. And I don't know what goes into that and how they figure out what they figure out. But you take this long test and then they talk to you. Once you join the police department, yes, the HPD is so great about critical incidents and trying to take care of their employees. So if you have what we call a critical incident, let's say an officer involved shooting or you see something traumatic, The police department mandates that you go speak with a therapist, and the Houston Police Department has our own therapists, that we can go talk to at any time, and they will then evaluate us and say, Hey, are they fit for duty? Are they fit to go back? Or, Hey, let's spend some more time talking to them. Luckily for me, I haven't had to use that. I haven't been involved in such a critical incident that I've been required to go through that. From individuals that I've spoken with that have had to go through that, it's a great thing. Even if you're not going through something specific with job related, if it's just personal life. You can always reach out to them and meet with them and talk to them. So I feel like they're doing their best to take as good care of as mental health as possible, especially with what's going on in law enforcement at the time and. Right. They're really trying to focus heavily on that and I can really appreciate that.

Carrie: 23:54

Yeah. That's awesome that that's provided for you. Mm-hmm. In those first six months, when you said you're going through like that probation time, do you have the full authority of a police officer? Or is there kind of a line that you're walking within those first six months as far as how you're operating as an officer?

Lauren: 24:11

Well, no, you have the full authority of a police officer. So as soon as you graduate the academy and you take your oath of office. That's it. You are completely a police officer. It's just within the Houston Police Department, they mandate that you have someone riding with you that is considered a trainer that's gone through all the courses mm-hmm. and they just assist you. Cuz you're gonna have questions, Yeah. They'll just help guide you along the process or if you have any issues. They also grade you based on, you know, officer safety and kind of guide you that way. So you can potentially graduate from the police academy, go to what they call field training in your probationary period. And if they see something that's an incredibly huge red flag, right? And they're like, This person is not fit for law enforcement. Whatever the case may be, they will evaluate you and grade you on that. And there have been individuals that don't pass the field training program. Book work and learning about it in a classroom is a lot different than doing it in the real world. That's kind of what they are there for is just kind of see, okay, let's mold them and guide them and make sure they're on the right path. But if they are not a good fit and this is not the career for them, they can then catch that prior to these officers going off and riding on their own. And do what they need to do on the other end to say, Hey, this might not be the best career for you. So you have your academy and then you have your field training. Where, hopefully, the goal is just to catch anything that would, you know, be unbecoming of a police officer, something that would be unfit, that we can get them out so that we do the best we can as a department.

Carrie: 25:38

Yeah. So after your patrol years, what was your next step?

Lauren: 25:43

After my patrol years, that's when I interviewed and became a detective with the Family Violence Unit. I spent four years doing that, which was an absolutely incredible experience. I got to work with domestic violence shelters and different aids, domestic violence, and just provide victims with services that they needed and prosecute people that deserve to be behind bars, to be quite honest. So that was such an incredible experience for me. I remember it fondly. So that that's what I did for the four years after. Then I was recruited, I guess you could say, for recruiting division, and they asked me to come over and work for them. So I did that for two years as a background investigator. Anybody that would come in and try to apply to be a police officer after they go through their phases, I would then check their background and check their resources and then all the people that were vouching for them and make sure that they're credible, reliable and that they would be a good fit, prior to getting the chief's approval for them to join.

Carrie: 26:45

The title of detectives sounds like a big jump from a patrol years. Is that a normal progression of a career path, or did having your degree gave you the advantage to be able to take that step into a detective position?

Lauren: 26:57

The degree doesn't play into the detective position. So when you go from patrol and you become a detective seat, you know, plain clothes and you're investigating, it used to be investigators and now it's considered detectives. Once you spend time in that position, they have different grades of a detective. So once you've been there for, and I don't know the exact specifications, but you know, you have a certain amount of years at a detective, you'll become grade two and then grade three. So as the more experience you get, the higher your grade of detective is. It's just a natural progression of doing investigations.

Carrie: 27:30

Okay. So what are the options right out of the patrol years? Are there like different paths that people can apply to take? How does that work with that transition?

Lauren: 27:40

Oh yeah. I mean there are so many opportunities. There are people that are interested in they wanna fly, right? That's just what they wanna do. So they join what we call Fox and that's our helicopter detail. They train and fly our helicopters. So the police helicopters you see above police chases, that's them. And there are officers in there flying that helicopter, you know, keeping an eye on things. There are some individuals that really love dogs and so they wanna become canine officers and then they go into that field. As soon as you've done your time on the streets, your required time, there's so many avenues. Homicide, people wanna be homicide detectives, or for me it was family violence. That was my passion. So I went into family violence. Robbery. I mean, there are so many divisions, at least within my department, that there's so many things that you could do. And then there's even administrative positions. So if you're like, Oh, you know, I think I wanna do administrative work, you know, detective work isn't for me. There's administrative positions for officers to do. It's such a well-rounded department with so many opportunities. It's like you can't get bored because There's so many different avenues to take. It's pretty great.

Carrie: 28:44

For students with questions about those type of opportunities, is that something where you can find all of the divisions like listed on the website? Is there like a recruiting page? Like if people said, I wanna see what the different divisions are to see what I think I might be interested in. So perhaps they could like, pick electives in college that are more in line with what that is. Is there a a good way for them to be able to look into that, to see what options are?

Lauren: 29:11

So I know with the Houston Police Department, we have a website called hpdcareer.com, and it basically walks them through all of the avenues. If you're prior military, the requirements needed to join. If you click benefits, it'll start with salary. It'll tell you how much you make and then how much you would make if you have your bachelor's, master's, or doctorate degree. It tells you how much leave you would get. But at the very bottom, it will tell you your opportunity. So it says HP is over 45 divisions, including patrol vehicular crimes, and it just goes on and on. I'm not gonna read'em. It lists all of the different divisions within the Houston Police Department that you could look at and go, Oh, okay. Ooh, financial crimes, that's something I'm good with computers, you know, that's something that I would wanna do. And then that could be the path that you take once you're off probation. I mean, there's so many things to do.

Carrie: 30:01

Yeah. I think a lot of people get their ideas about that from like Law and Order,

Lauren: 30:06

and Right, right.

Carrie: 30:08

from shows they see on tv. But, I think that's kind of people's perceptions sometimes right. Of what the job is like, or what types of roles that they could have. So that's great that they have that resource on the website so people can dig a little deeper, and see what their local police department would potentially have regarding opportunities.

Lauren: 30:27

Sure. Every police department will have a recruiting division or recruiting officer, so they can always call and even just ask if they have any specific questions that the website, they don't think addresses. Someone will speak with them and provide them with the guidance that they're looking for.

Carrie: 30:42

So you said you worked for the recruitment office. What was your next step after that?

Lauren: 30:47

So when I was at recruiting, I decided I wanted to promote. So I took the promotional exam and promoted to sergeant. Once you promote to sergeant, we say you're kind of starting back over, right? So when you promote to sergeant, you go back to patrol. Because you're a rookie sergeant and you've gotta learn the things that you may have missed the last few years that you've been gone. So for me, it had been almost seven years since I had been on patrol. I went back to patrol and I was again, night shift with like middle of the week off, Monday, Tuesdays or whatever. That's what I did as a sergeant for awhile.

Carrie: 31:21

So when you said you took the sergeant's exam, what kinds of things are you studying for that? What kinds of things are they testing you on?

Lauren: 31:29

For the Houston Police Department, we have what's called general orders and it is a huge book of what it is, general orders, right. It's explanations of what the department expects of you in all aspects. They take whatever they wanna take from that, and then they'll test you. And then they also provide, for us, it was reading materials separate. So whether it be leadership books or ethics books, or whatever the case may be, they pick a certain amount of books that you will then have to study as well. And then you'll take an exam with those combined sources in it to be able to have the opportunity to promote. So you'll go into a testing center, then you'll test and see how you land. Once you get that done, you then have what's called an assessment, and that's where another law enforcement agency, so that there's no bias, will come in and you'll go in and do, like a real world type assessment. It's just like an oral type assessment, where they'll give you scenarios and you'll have to explain how you would handle those scenarios as a supervisor. And then those assessors, you'll never see them or know who they are, but they will grade each individual sergeant candidate or lieutenant candidate, whatever it is, and then rank them on a final ranking list. And then that's what they'll use to promote.

Carrie: 32:42

So is that completely like independent self-study for that exam? Are you taking any kind of workshop or class or anything, or they're just kinda giving you the materials and saying, Okay, just test when you're ready.

Lauren: 32:53

Yeah. There, there are some outside vendors that will come in and give you practice tests so you have some kind of knowledge on what maybe to expect. There's assessment vendors that will come in and help, but as far as like what HPD provides, you study yourself. If you wanna pay for these vendors that come from outside of the department, you're more than welcome to do that. But for the most part, it's a self-study and you know, everybody studies differently.

Carrie: 33:15

So if you're going back to patrol as a new sergeant, is the process similar to before where you have all of these different areas that you can apply to once you've completed that patrol assignment? How does that work?

Lauren: 33:28

Yeah, so you'll go back as a sergeant and you're basically in training. So you go back to the training program and then you're essentially on probation as a new sergeant. And it's kind of the same way of thinking, where you'll have a sergeant that has been in that position for a while that has taken these training classes that you'll ride with and they'll see how you supervise and guide you on what to expect. Cuz it's a whole different ballgame going from officer to supervisor when you have people coming to you with issues and concerns. Again, they will grade you based on how you handle situations and if they think you're fit to be a sergeant. So you'll go through that phase and you'll go through the probation. Once you get through probation, you know, you do your time, It's at least a year on the streets before you can go back and apply to go elsewhere. Oh. So it's just like when you're an officer, you apply for whatever position you want that's open within the department and then you'll have your interview. And then hopefully get accepted to where you wanna go.

Carrie: 34:25

Yeah. So can you tell us a little bit about what you did and what your experience has been like since then?

Lauren: 34:31

Sure. So I did my year, I applied at one of the divisions within the police department shortly after I hit my year. Went through the application process, went through the interview, and luckily was accepted. So now I'm back in an investigative division, working different types of major assaults and shootings and in that type of situation.

Carrie: 34:54

So we haven't mentioned yet that you are married to another police officer mm-hmm. Right. And you have children. So can you talk a little bit about how your lifestyle has been over the course of your career and how you all make it work. That's one thing that students are asking more and more now is, you know, what is my life gonna be like if I take this path and what are some ways that I can make it work for how I want to raise a family or how I want my lifestyle to be? So can you talk a little bit about what that has been like for your family and if you have any advice about that?

Lauren: 35:33

Yeah. So for myself and my husband, we kind of have different, I don't wanna say goals, but different paths that we've taken within the department. He's interested in things that I'm not necessarily interested in doing. For us it was just really being supportive of one another. Once we had children, the shift work became kind of an issue. So we had to figure out, okay, who wants to be nights and who wants to be days so that we can make sure someone's always with our kids, You know what I mean? So that's kind of a challenge, but. Finding that individual that you have that good support system with. And I really truly do think, at least in our example, having someone and being in a relationship with someone who is going through the same things you're going through and in the same career, again, like my parents, you can kind of ping things off of each other and ask for advice and be the support system that they need to come to whenever they're struggling with something or, Hey, what are your thoughts on this? And kind of bounce ideas off of. So for us, it's been wonderful. We are luckily able to both be on days now, and we have enough time on now where we've been able to kind of settle down into a normal schedule. But when I started back out as a rookie sergeant, you know, I was on night shift again with like a Monday, Tuesday off, so mm-hmm. that was a big shock for him too, having to kind of step up and go, Okay, well I'm gonna have to take a bigger role right now because she's doing this. So, It's just being that support system. And when he has situations where he has to go out in the middle of the night, you know, I'm here and I'll take care of whatever it needs to be taken care of. So it's been a great dynamic for us, in how we've been able to handle all the things that law enforcement can throw at you. But, you know, it doesn't get boring and it's always exciting.

Carrie: 37:09

Yeah. Can I ask you what it's like being pregnant as a police officer? Like what points in your career, you know, were you patrolling the streets when you were seven months pregnant? Like, where were you and what, and I don't mean to joke about it, but, you know Yeah. For people who have been pregnant, we know that all of a sudden something that wasn't difficult could become very difficult. Right. So Yeah. So what was that experience like for you and were you able to, you know, do what you needed to do to accommodate that?

Lauren: 37:38

Yeah, so the department, they're really helpful in that kind of aspect. They don't expect you to be seven months pregnant, chasing after somebody on the street, Right. for, so they'll essentially put you on what's called light duty. So, for me, I was already in an investigative division, so I just wouldn't go out in the field, like looking for suspects or something like that, because obviously, you know, I was pregnant and so I was just considered light duty. So it's kind of like desk duty. I was still able to do my investigation, still able to go to court, file charges and things like that. But it was just a more controlled environment, to protect you while you're on light duty. And then, let's say you're in a patrol position and, you get pregnant, they would just put you on like what they call the front desk. So walk in reports and stuff, but you're at a desk, you're not in a police car driving around trying to fit into your uniform. You're in plain clothes. That's kind of how they will accommodate you.

Carrie: 38:28

One thing that has been interesting to hear a lot of people say is what meaning they find in their work. Mm-hmm. and obviously you've already talked about that to some extent. And I think to the general public, we can see a deep meaning in the work of all police officers. Mm-hmm. Cause we understand that you're protecting the public and you're taking people off the streets who are causing harm. It's a very appreciated role in the community. Can you talk a little bit about maybe some things that are meaningful to you that may or may not be obvious? Are there some things that are really meaningful and fulfilling in your work that maybe people wouldn't necessarily be aware of?

Lauren: 39:07

There were situations where, you know, you're on patrol. Like for me, I was a sergeant at the time. And you're dealing with people going through probably, if not the worst day of their life, a traumatizing experience. And to have a child come up to you that, and this isn't even affecting them, it may be involving a parent or a brother, whatever the case may be, having a child come up to you and just give you a hug and thanking you for being there. Asking if they can just hold you. And I'm not talking like an infant baby, I'm talking like, A 15 year old child that will run up. Yeah. To be able to provide that sense of security and trust and to just be able to hold this child and be there for them, for me, like, that's why I do what I do. They come to you for help, right? You're there to solve their worst problem and after you facilitated all that and you're in the process of doing that for them to just come up to you and hug you and thank you and just wanna be near you because at that moment, you're their only source of security. It's a feeling I can't even describe. Like, it brings me to tears to this day because that is why we do what we do. It's to help people that need us, that need us in their worst moments of their life. A lot of people don't see that. A lot of officers don't talk about that, but. Like for me it's huge. It's huge to that. I know that child will remember that encounter for the rest of their lives and yeah, and I will too. And so that, that's just a part of law enforcement. You know, you see on TV, shootouts and all this crazy stuff, and that's just not realistic on your day to day life. You know what I mean? It's your human interactions.

Carrie: 40:50

Obviously there's been a lot going on in our country, in the last handful of years, particularly with young black men, being shot in police incidents mm-hmm. and there's been a lot of public scrutiny. A lot of these waves of public opinion, particularly with the police. And some of them have been really negative. Some of them have been overwhelmingly supportive and positive. Can you talk a little bit about what it's been like to be a police officer during these years with all of this? I mean, I don't, I'm sure it's not the first time in history something like this has happened, but it's a fairly different thing, right? Yeah. To experience as a police officer in our country. So can you talk a little bit about what that's been like from your perspective, how that's impacted your experience as an officer, and particularly someone who supervises other officers and just maybe what you would wanna say to your community about that?

Lauren: 41:51

Yeah. So that, I mean, that is a difficult question, because you're right, things have been different, at least in our generation. I know this things like have happened, let's just say in Houston in the past that they've had, you know, riots and things. Things that I've told my officers and what I tell myself, it doesn't change why we do what we do and how we do what we do. Because it is, it can lower morale, I guess, the things you see on TV and yeah, reactions you get, it can lower morale within our ranks. But for me it's, you know, the passion, the reason you joined this police department, whatever your reason was, for me, you know, was to help others and be that difference that hasn't changed. And whether people like you or don't, I mean, to me, that doesn't change my goal and my path and what I'm going to do. And that's what I kind of steer my people. Do the right thing. Take care of each other. Take care of your community, and be a good person. Right? That's all we wanna do. I can't control what somebody who does not know me says about me, or what somebody says about our department that we had nothing to do with. I can't control any of that. All we can control are ourselves and our own personal actions and how we do our jobs and engage with our community. That's what I tell my officers. It's what I tell myself. I've learned from my parents, and this is what they've told me in the past, that it ebbs and flows, the public's perception of the police department, right? Sometimes it's really high and they think very highly of us. And then sometimes it's very low and you just kind of ride the wave, but it doesn't change your mission. It doesn't change the reason that you're doing what you're doing. As long as you're there for each other, if you're struggling or having a hard time, you know, being that support system, going to psych services, whatever is needed to get you right back on that same path where, you know, I'm gonna complete my mission and the reason that I joined this department. And that's really all we can do. I can't control anything else that the public says, but for me, it hasn't hindered the reason that I do what I do. And to be honest, it hasn't hindered any of the coworkers that I know. We're still trying to do the best that we can do and take care of our community and take care of those that that need our help.

Carrie: 43:59

So for students who are listening, maybe they're already considering this career path, or that's kind of in the back of their head and they're maybe considering it a little bit, but they're not really sure. Mm-hmm. when you talk to a young person who's interested in joining law enforcement for their career, what are some pieces of advice you have for them? If someone approached you and said, why should I be a police officer? What would you say to them?

Lauren: 44:27

I would ask them, you know, what their goals are. What do you wanna do with your life? For me, when I am like done on this earth, I wanna know that I did the best that I could do while I was here and helped as many people as I could help and left a lasting impact on this world. So that's my personal philosophy. So I would ask them, what are you wanting to do? You know, is this just a job or is this a passion? You're gonna be able to really impact people's lives in a very positive way, but then you're also gonna have to impact people's lives in a very negative way, as far as they're concerned, you know what I mean? Are you willing to do that and is it something you're passionate about? Because it's one of the few careers where you can impact so many people. You have so many interactions with so many people on a daily basis, and you could be potentially, you know, after your investigation and everything, put people in prison for quite some time, and that really affects their life.

Carrie: 45:21

Would you say that a lot of police officers enter this path because they have like a servant heart, they're very service oriented?

Lauren: 45:29

Yes. I would say a servant heart is absolutely necessary to do well in this career. To be able to go through all the different avenues that you have to go through and see all the things that you have to see. Having that servant heart is what will get you through all of it to know that you're there for the greater good. You know, you've made a lasting impact while you're in your career. And when you're long gone and you've retired and you're livin' life, you know that you've left this department better than it was when you joined. That's what I try to tell people. be the change you wanna see in the world. And that's for every career, right? If you, yeah, you can really impact things if you become a part of it. So that's what I try to tell people.

Carrie: 46:08

And of course for all of us, we never know what tomorrow holds or how long we have on this earth, but I would wonder if there's people out there who hesitate to enter this career path because there's a concern about safety. Mm-hmm. whether it's their parents concerned about their safety, their partner is concerned about their safety, they're concerned about their own safety, they have a child, and that concerns them with their safety. How did you wrap your head around that, entering this? How does your family, talk about this or address this? Because you do have kids and your husband and you are both on the police force. Is there a certain way that you approach that as a family or a certain way that you approach that within yourself, that you would share to potentially reassure someone who wants to enter this path? Is there a particular mindset that you have regarding that? Is there a fear?

Lauren: 47:03

I would say yes. There's a fear, but it's more of just like: you know the risk is there. You know the risk is there when you join the police department. You hear the stories, you watch the news. For me, the things that I can do on this department and the people that I could help for me just outweighed the fear of what could possibly happen to me. When I grew up, I knew what my parents did and I was fearful for them, knowing when they were out running warrants or things like that, you know, I was scared. But I knew, and they would talk to me about it as I got older. I knew that they're helping their community. And they're helping people that have been victimized, and getting dangerous people off the streets. And for me, I'm like, okay. The risk is worth it for the greater good. And that's how I look at my career. My husband, that's how he looks at what he's doing. And our kids are young. We haven't had that talk with him yet. We don't want them scared. We don't let them watch the police shows. Right. And all of that stuff. Yeah. But for us, doing greater good in our community and making a lasting impact, well outweighs any kind of fear of something happening. The chances are pretty low that, you know, you see the stuff on TV and you think it's super prevalent, but the chances of you getting hurt aren't just like exponentially high. Yes. They're higher than if you were like an accountant or something, you know? Right, right. You're also making such an impact on people's lives that, you know, me holding that 15 year old that came to me and just wanted to hold me because I was a security, Like, for me, that's worth it. Because if I was scared to go into this career, I wouldn't have impacted all of the people that I know that I have. And that goes for, you know, the other almost 5,000 police officers that we have on this department. You're impacting so many people that it's worth it. I mean, my parents are former law enforcement, so they know, and obviously they're fearful for me. And when I was on night shift, you know, obviously they were scared, but they understood that you're there for the greater good and you have to have faith and trust that your training will keep you safe and that your partners and your other police officers will back you up and that you're gonna be okay and you're gonna come home at the end of every night. And that's why police officers, it's really like a family cuz we're all there to help each other and protect each other and have each other's back.

Carrie: 49:19

So looking back over your journey, do you have some big picture advice for students, whether it's approaching this career path or it may or may not have anything to do with specifically being in law enforcement. Do you have some big picture advice that you would wanna share?

Lauren: 49:36

I would always advise, and I'll tell this for my kids when they're older, but I will always advise the high school kids to go to college. To experience that, to dabble in the different options and degree plans. To try the different classes. And then use that to gain some kind of knowledge on in the career that you wanna be. For law enforcement. It solidified it for me, going to those classes and seeing that. I was like, Yes, I know for a fact this is what I want to do. For others that did the same thing, they took those classes and realized, eh, I don't think this is the career for me, and they were able to switch.

Carrie: 50:07

You can test out certain subjects in certain fields, kind of in a safe environment. Right. And still have time to Right, to pivot and pick another track.

Lauren: 50:16

Yes. So if you have a passion for a career in this field, or law enforcement in general, I would just encourage anybody listening to reach out to your local police department and their recruiting division. You can speak with a recruiter about any kind of specific questions you have or go to their website. Every police department that I know of has a recruiting website where you can look at their requirements and what to expect. Again, with the Houston Police Department, it's hpd career.com and we have a lot of resources on there. I just hope people know that this is such a fulfilling career. You really do make such an impact in the world, such a positive impact in this world that I just really encourage anybody who has that servant heart that we spoke about to delve into that and see if this would be something that they would be interested in because, it's one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life.

Carrie: 51:06

Hmm. That's awesome. Well, Lauren, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your story and your advice for students. I think this is such an important career track and an important role in our community that I wanted to make sure that I highlighted. And that I had somebody talk about. So thank you so much for joining us to do that for us today.

Lauren: 51:26

Of course. Thank you so much for having me.

Carrie: 51:28

Do you know someone I should interview? Please DM me on Instagram@pathsinprogresspodcast and let me know who I should talk to. I would love to hear about how these stories are impacting your journey. Please follow Paths in Progress wherever you download your podcasts and leave a review to let me know what you think. You can also follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn at Paths in Progress Podcast. Our music is by John Grimmett and the artwork is by Edgar Alanis. Thanks again for joining me today.