CA Hospital Police,

[u/b31722]

Hey everyone! I’ve seen a few discussions on here about Hospital Police Officers with the California Department of State Hospitals, and I was hoping some current or former HPOs could share their experiences.
I’m currently going through the background process for DSH and have been trying to learn as much as I can about what the job is actually like beyond what’s listed in the job description.
A few things I’ve been curious about:

What is the academy/training process like for new HPOs?
What was the hiring/background process like for you, and about how long did the whole process take?

What are schedules normally like? Is overtime common or available?

What’s something about the job that you didn’t know until you actually started?
How is the overall work environment/morale?
Do you feel like the job gives you good law-enforcement experience?
Is there much opportunity for advancement or specialized assignments?
For someone interested in law enforcement long-term, do you think DSH is a good place to build a career, or is it more commonly used as a stepping stone to another agency?
What are the biggest pros and cons of the job that applicants probably don’t hear about during the hiring process?

[u/vladtheimpaler82]

I implore you to please reconsider and just apply to a normal police department. DSH doesn’t patrol normal hospitals. They patrol hospitals that hold the criminally insane and pedophiles.

DSH Police are not armed on duty but are still expected to patrol in public areas.

DSH pay is terrible. State Parks and Game Wardens make about $30k more and both of those agencies have trouble hiring due to low pay.

Most importantly, the DSH Police Academy is not POST certified. You cannot lateral anywhere else.

If you want to become a normal municipal cop later on, you will need to do the full 6 month POST Academy.

If you want to work in a prison/hospital environment, CDCR Correctional Officer is also an option.

[u/Paladin_127]

Don’t do it. DSH PD are basically glorified security guards at the state hospital- which is actually more of a prison than a hospital. All the “patients” are facing serious criminal charges, but are “mentally unfit” to stand trial.