Curios about where he will end up

[4theBF]

I am a supporting Girlfriend of a great guy who is joining the CHP. I did have a few questions about just what is going on with his process. He just got done with his stress test and as far as I know I think he is just waiting on his background check. He's sure that he will fail but he's never been in any real trouble. Not arrested or anything. What excatly do they look for in the background info? The other question I have is about where he will be when he's done. I know he wants to be in the Bakersfield area for me, but im affraid he won't get it. No matter where he goes I am totally willing to go with him. I'm just curious as to how that works with getting the area he wants. Thanks for all your great forums. These posting have been really helpful for me to see that other family members are here too. :smile:

[rayni]

I am a supporting Girlfriend of a great guy who is joining the CHP. I did have a few questions about just what is going on with his process. He just got done with his stress test and as far as I know I think he is just waiting on his background check. He's sure that he will fail but he's never been in any real trouble. Not arrested or anything. What excatly do they look for in the background info? The other question I have is about where he will be when he's done. I know he wants to be in the Bakersfield area for me, but im affraid he won't get it. No matter where he goes I am totally willing to go with him. I'm just curious as to how that works with getting the area he wants. Thanks for all your great forums. These posting have been really helpful for me to see that other family members are here too. :smile:

He's sure he will fail huh? What is it that he thinks he will fail? Is it the backgrounds or the stress test? I'm not sure what the stress test is cause it all seems to be stressful, the application/hiring process I mean. All your guy can do is be HONEST & wait it out. Your bf should know the questions ask of him for backgrounds since it comes w/ his packet. Worrying about where he'll end up is the least of his worries til oh about graduation week in the academy. If you're willing to go anywhere w/ him then what does it matter where he'll end up? Check out this website http://www.chp.ca.gov (http://www.chp.ca.gov/) click recruiting and go to town w/ your hunt for how the process works & the such. I read my husband's hiring/application packet before he applied & constantly used it for reference to keep on encouraging him through the process all the way through break in ending. Pending graduation assignments are given based on homeownership & most fall on the SSN w/ priority going to last four digits of SSN the best being 9999. Bakersfield not gonna be an option from the gate since I know of some it's taken 5 yrs to get into that office. Good luck to your aspiring cadet & you. The hiring process to first day of Academy life was 1 yr for my new officer/hubby who is finally OFF OF BREAK IN. (amen to that haha) Again, good luck to you both.

[Mom]

I know he wants to be in the Bakersfield area for me, but im affraid he won't get it.Just a forewarning, Bakersfield is in the area known as Fantasyland. It is basically the entire valley. It may take a little time to get there. But, on the positive side, Bakersfield is very close to LA, and LA gets a large percentage of new officers.

[Eagl5]

He goes where the Dept. needs him to go. Dwal with, plus who wants to live in Bakersfield, yuck :sad: always smells like manure:think:

[dw]

I assume the "stress test" being referred to is the CVSA (Computer Voice Stress Analyzer) examination, which is considered a portion of the background investigation.

As for what the background investigation looks for, it is not simply about being in "real" trouble involving arrests. We are looking at your boyfriend's suitability, per the legal requirements, to be a police officer. Some of the traits that will be evaluated are honesty, integrity, dependability, performance under stress, and so on...

For more on that, search for "backgrounds" and I'm sure you'll find more than enough to keep you busy for a few hours. Also, "academy assignment" should turn up some hits, but the bottom line is plan on the Bay Area or greater Los Angeles Area for at least a year or two.

[hfan217]

How hard do you think it will be to get into the Redding office after grad? My wife and I own a home here in Redding and we are not to positive about it selling in this market.

I know on the chp website it talks about an hour commute from a field office for home owners?

Any help would be great.

[Chippysgt]

There is almost no chance of getting an academy assignment to Redding, Red Bluff, Oroville, Williows, Williams, Chico, Yuba Sutter or Lake Shasta. It usually takes several years to get a transfer anywhere north of Sacramento and transfers are based on seniority. Sometimes people get lucky but there are no guarantees. Lucky means the Central Valley, not Northern California. Usually you get into an area like those when someone retires or someone transfers.

You have good reason to be worried about selling your house in Redding. I had a great house in Merced that I put for sale in June 2005 and it finally sold in Sept 2007 after dropping the price 33%. It has gotten worse since then and we got incredibly lucky. If you have a qualified buyer lined up at a price you can live with, you are lucky. If not, you may want to rent or lease it until the market improves.

[RJSMITH]

If your bilingual you can get Bakersfield pretty quick. The last transfer there was an Officer who got it after 2 1/2 years. That is kind of on the quick side. A lot of people commute from Bakersfield to Newhall. Fort Tejon and Buttonwillow takes even longer to get than Bakersfield.

[uoplax13]

There is almost no chance of getting an academy assignment to Redding, Red Bluff, Oroville, Williows, Williams, Chico, Yuba Sutter or Lake Shasta. It usually takes several years to get a transfer anywhere north of Sacramento and transfers are based on seniority. Sometimes people get lucky but there are no guarantees. Lucky means the Central Valley, not Northern California. Usually you get into an area like those when someone retires or someone transfers.


I heard a class or two ago sent a few to some random places up north (very rare), but you really never know. I had my fingers cross for Truckee (:biggrin:) and ended up at an RP in the Eastern Sierra- talk about dumb luck.....

[Mom]

I heard a class or two ago sent a few to some random places up north (very rare), but you really never know. I had my fingers cross for Truckee (:biggrin:) and ended up at an RP in the Eastern Sierra- talk about dumb luck.....One of my son's quadmates (CTC 07-II) got Happy Camp RP. :::wondering:::

[Jeff Rhea]

It's a crap shoot. It took me six years on the job to get into Los Banos and then I was training new officers just three years later! My class had four go to Bakersfield and I've seen others go there over the years, so it happens. I did a cadet ride-along in South Lake Tahoe. Their rookie (and that is what they called him) had 17 years on. A decade later they were taking guys with a little more than a year on. That said, some places are closed out to newbies consistently. Visalia has 55 officers. None of them have a transfer request on file and only a couple are pushing retirement in the next couple of years. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone actually breaking in here. Porterville on the other hand opens up from time to time, and that is very commutable from B'field.

While I understand most people want to work where they are coming to us from, my personal opinion is that is a mistake and you do yourself a big disservice. It took me 16 years to get around to coming home, I'm glad it did. It's a long career. There is a great deal of advantage to using the Highway Patrol to explore this very large state and working in a variety of places, meeting a lot of people, and having a life of varied experiences. I personally feel better off having worked in 4 Divisions and explored this state. Hopefully your boyfriend will get to explore it as well.

[bcjack]

You will end up somewhere in California!!!!:biggrin:

[JavGonz]

You will end up somewhere in California!!!!:biggrin:


Oh man, I was getting scared of going back to Iraq... Glad I'll stay in California when I graduate. :lol:


Yes I said WHEN. What can I say? I'm going in confident... Good luck to all of us!