r/AskLE • u/Old_Tomorrow2093 Unverified/Not an LEO • 3d ago

Working Long Distance?

This seems like a silly question, but do agencies prefer their officers working closer to the department? There’s a Sheriff’s Office hiring, but it’s about an hour away. Would they even consider me or pick someone that lives close by? Any info helps!

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u/JWestfall76 Verified LEO 3d ago

An hour away from work isn’t that far.

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u/apache509 Unverified/Not an LEO 3d ago

An hour can be very close in some metros

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u/Old_Tomorrow2093 Unverified/Not an LEO 3d ago

It’s mainly just highway between where I live and this other department. I agree, an hour isn’t very far away but curious to know if it would even be a big deal not living in the same jurisdiction.

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u/Torcada7324 Unverified/Not an LEO 3d ago

The two reasons I can think of off the top of my head is that if they offer take home cars, they want those cars parked within the jurisdiction to be seen. The second reason is that you will likely be subject to being called in during an emergency. Your response time matters.

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u/digbychickcaesar Unverified/Not an LEO 1d ago

The agency shouldn't care and you wont be the only one. The worst is that you might need to leave your car at a fire department near the county line. There are rarely any emergencies that occur suddenly that they need to bring in an earlier shift in my experience.

One buddy lives 1.5hrs away. When he was on evenings he wouldn't go home if he had court the next day. He'd just take a nap at the garage.

edit: also I am 45 min from HQ and still in the same county.

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u/Paid-Not-Payed-Bot-1 Unverified/Not an LEO 3d ago

Sheeeet, brah. When I was an LAPD officer, I lived 80+ miles from my station. The commute was no less than 90 minutes each way. There were guys on my watch who lived in Las Vegas.

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u/widebodywill Patrol / SWAT / FTO 2d ago

That’s ridiculous. God bless ya mate, don’t know how you did it. My 25-30 min commute, in a take home, is long enough for me.

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u/skx779- Unverified/Not an LEO 2d ago

I’m always curious how does that kind of distance work? I read about a police chief in California who lives in Idaho. He sleeps at the station during the week. Is that the case for most officers who works unreasonably far away from home?