We evaluated law enforcement agencies on factors including their efforts to recruit veterans, preferential treatment of vets while hiring, how many vets they have on the force, the generosity of their pay and benefits to reservists, and other factors. The departments with the most comprehensive responses are listed here. The departments with the most generous offerings are noted with a star.
Officers or agents |
2012 officer hires |
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Department |
Jurisdiction |
Total |
% military |
Total |
% military |
Hiring now |
Veteran hiring preference |
Exam points |
Military experience instead of certification |
Retirement credit for military service |
Union |
ESGR award |
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Brevard County Sheriff's Office | Brevard County, Fla., excluding municipal areas |
830 |
no data |
68 |
no data |
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CFPBA/PEA |
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City of Austin Police Department | Austin, Texas, city limits |
1,740 |
36% |
116 |
30% |
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APA |
Freedom(2) |
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Culpeper County Sheriff's Office | Culpeper County, Va. |
97 |
12% |
30 |
33% |
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Denver Police Department | Denver and Denver County, Colo. |
1,410 |
no data |
0 |
no data |
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10/100 |
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DPPA |
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Veterans Affairs Department: Greater Los Angeles Health Care System Police Service | Greater Los Angeles VA facilities |
75 |
76% |
4 |
100% |
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AFGE |
Extraordinary Employer Support(2) |
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Dyer County Sheriff's Office | Dyer County, Tenn. |
26 |
42% |
6 |
33% |
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20/100 |
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Goochland Sheriff's Office | Goochland County, Va. |
36 |
36% |
3 |
33% |
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Harris County Sheriff's Office | Harris County, Texas, excluding Houston |
no data |
no data |
26 |
no data |
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Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office | Hillsborough County, Fla |
2,476 |
14% |
no data |
no data |
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Patriot |
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Honolulu Police Department | Honolulu and Honolulu County, Hawaii |
1,919 |
no data |
93 |
no data |
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SHOPO |
Extraordinary Employer Support |
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Metropolitan Police Department | Washington, D.C., city limits |
4,000 |
no data |
300 |
no data |
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10/100 |
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FOP |
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Mukilteo Police Department | Mukilteo, Wash., city limits |
28 |
43% |
4 |
50% |
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10/100 |
T |
Patriot |
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Office of Law Enforcement/ Federal Air Marshals | Nationwide |
no data |
no data |
0 |
no data |
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Oklahoma City Police Department | Oklahoma City, Okla., city limits |
1,116 |
5% |
56 |
no data |
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FOP |
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Orange County Sheriff's Office | Orange County, Fla. |
1,600 |
no data |
150 |
no data |
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PBA |
Extraordinary Employer Support |
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Travis County Sheriff's Office | Travis County, Texas |
1,192 |
no data |
93 |
no data |
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TCSLEOA, TCSOA |
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Tucson Police Department | Tucson, Ariz., city limits |
990 |
31% |
65 |
28% |
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TPOA |
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Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police | Washington state |
150 |
12% |
13 |
8% |
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10/ 100(1) |
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FWOG, T |
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Webb County Sheriff's Office | Webb County, Texas |
158 |
no data |
5 |
no data |
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WCDSA |
Pro Patria(2) |
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(1) Under certain conditions, 5/100 | (2) Multiple ESGR awards |
Benefits for activated reservists |
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Department |
Medical insurance |
Life insurance |
Pay raises |
Retirement credit |
Sick days |
Vacation days |
Do activated or drilling reservists receive their full civilian pay or the full difference between their military and civilian pay? And how long? |
Brevard County Sheriff's Office | ![]() |
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Full pay, 4 weeks; then full difference, 103 weeks |
City of Austin Police Department | ![]() |
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Training: Full pay, 3 weeks; activated: full pay, 3 weeks; then full difference, unlimited | ||
Culpeper County Sheriff's Office | ![]() |
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No data | |
Denver Police Department | ![]() |
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Training: Full pay, 3 weeks; activated: full difference, unlimited |
Veterans Affairs Department: Greater Los Angeles Health Care System Police Service | ![]() |
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Full pay, 26 weeks | |
Dyer County Sheriff's Office | ![]() |
No pay | |||||
Goochland Sheriff's Office | ![]() |
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Full pay, 3 weeks | ||
Harris County Sheriff's Office | ![]() |
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No pay | |||
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office | ![]() |
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difference, unlimited |
Honolulu Police Department | ![]() |
No pay | |||||
Metropolitan Police Department | ![]() |
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Full difference, unlimited | |
Mukilteo Police Department | Full pay, 21 days | ||||||
Office of Law Enforcement/ Federal Air Marshals | ![]() |
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Full pay, unlimited |
Oklahoma City Police Department | ![]() |
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Full pay, 6 weeks; then full difference, 52 weeks | ||
Orange County Sheiriff's Office | ![]() |
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Full difference, unlimited | ||
Travis County Sheriff's Office | No data | ||||||
Tucson Police Department | ![]() |
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Full pay, 4 weeks; then partial difference, unlimited |
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police | ![]() |
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Full pay, 21 days | |
Webb County Sheriff's Office | ![]() |
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Full pay, unlimited |