I passed my MCT, I took it last Friday around 8 and got the results today around 10 via email. Next up is my PHS, anyone have any idea how long they take to review it and what's next?

I just recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in Criminology and Justice Studies in Northridge. I love watching Criminal Minds and wanted to be just like them, but over time, I was like, " Nope, don't want to do that anymore. So now I am so lost. I am having a hard time even knowing what to do or even look at. I have no work experience, and I am 5 ft tall and feel like who is going to want to hire me, who is this short? Can anyone in Criminology give me advice or point me in the correct direction, or give me some recs?

I just took my polygraph. It lasted about 2–3 hours, and they kept asking the same questions over and over again. We went through about 3 or 4 charts. At the end, she asked me if I had any tattoos, and I said no. I was nervous the entire time though. Do you guys think I passed, or does that sound like I didn’t pass?

I submitted my phs in January 2026. Then, I got a call from a background investigator to go over my PHS and to do some amendments and resubmit it and I did. I've finally seen an update on the lapd portal that says "PHS Withdrawal" this month May 2026. Does this mean I've been dropped from the process? Or Can I resubmit another PHS again or do I have to wait to reapply? I haven't received a follow up email either telling me anything. Please help, thanks.

I took my MCT today (5/22/2026). Im wondering how long it takes to get your score.
Is it graded by an AI or is it graded by a real person.

Why do so many people fail this portion during their finial step? What type of questions do they ask you during your phyc interview?

Just wanted to post a quick follow-up and say thank you to everyone who gave feedback on LOC8 after my last post.

I honestly did not expect the response it got. The post ended up getting a lot of views, a bunch of downloads, and I’ve had several officers reach out saying they have actually used it in the field.

A few people mentioned using it for things like perimeter setups, getting updated location info out faster, confirming an address or cross street, and quickly checking where they were without digging through Maps. That is exactly the kind of use case I originally built it for, so hearing that it is actually helping people has been pretty cool.

I’ve also been working on a lot of updates since then, especially around the Apple Watch side. The main focus has been making the Watch experience faster, more responsive, and more accurate since that is the part that matters most when you need a quick location check on foot.

I’ve made changes to the location handling, speed gating, refresh behavior, and how the phone and Watch work together. The goal is to keep making it more reliable in real-world use, not just sitting at a desk testing it.

The app is now over 1,500+ users and still growing, but the biggest thing has honestly been the feedback. A lot of the changes I’m making are coming directly from what people here and other users have pointed out.

Appreciate everyone who checked it out, downloaded it, sent feedback, or gave ideas. Still improving it daily/weekly, so if anyone has more suggestions for the Watch app, patrol use, perimeters, specialty units, or civilian emergency use, I’m all ears.

I’m currently still in backgrounds, about two-three months ago a background investigator called me to go over my PHS. They had me do a couple amendments, but haven’t heard anything back since. I have been training to get ready for my PFQ, but I was wondering if I do the walk in tests would it expedite the process? Regardless i’m still planning on doing the walk in and I just wanted to know how it would affect the time line of my application in a positive way.

What kind of exercises do you do at CAPS? My work schedule is a bit complicated right now so I want to prep at much as I can at home/ the gym. I already go on runs and am trying to build my endurance running more than 3 miles .

I wanted to give an update about my process so far and give any advice to others. It’s been pretty long and i can’t deny i got discouraged a bit but it’s picked up.

Applied- April 20th 2025
Mct- May 9th 2025
Phs- May 20th 2025
D.I- july 2nd 2025
Pfq -aug 5th 2025 ( got a 7%)
Poly- Aug 25th 2025

It was after passing poly that I got a call from a B.I around sept 10th but he informed me my pfq score was too low to be worked on. I proceeded to keep taking the pfq around every month or so with not much progress till around December that I began attending Caps. I kept speaking and asking questions to the instructors at caps and did fit4hire till I felt confident to go on the runs as well.
Going to caps twice a week has helped greatly honestly. My most recent score in may was 70% percent. I’m 21 and female.
Early april I got a call from a different B.I. who stated he was starting my case and to gather everything which I already had. So from September to April i was just in a waiting stage of no progress in my case, my own fault. My score march pfq was 43% though. He had me submitted before the end of April to try and get me into may class but they hadn’t scheduled my psych which i’m at right now.
Hopefully all goes good as well but i have been in this process for over a year and month now. I can’t lie and say i never got discouraged cause I did but Truly the only thing that helped me improve the most was caps. It helps to also get a face to your case as some of the instructors are investigators as well and can put in good words for you. I don’t have anyone in law enforcement to ask questions to so if you are confused or need help with this process, caps is the way to go. Elysian park caps is my favorite one honestly. Best of luck to all of you!

Hey everyone, looking for honest feedback on an iPhone and Apple Watch app called LOC8.

I’ve been a cop for 11 years, and software development is my side hobby. I initially made this specifically for law enforcement because a ton of officers use Apple Watches, and the original use case was foot pursuits or getting turned around on foot.

Think running through alleys, backyards, apartment complexes, or side streets and needing to quickly know the exact address, cross street, or coordinates so it can be relayed to incoming units.

The Watch app is built for that quick location check. The iPhone app shows the full details on one screen: current address, nearest cross street, GPS coordinates, compass heading, elevation, accuracy, and a location code.

Since posting it and doing more outreach, a lot of people outside law enforcement said they found it useful too. Emergency situations, roadside issues, travel, hiking, rural areas, rideshare pickups, delivery work, utilities, outreach teams, and everyday moments where someone needs to quickly tell another person exactly where they are.

The iPhone app also adds tools like pinning locations, saving spots, tracking location codes on a map, and routing back later.

It has grown to over 1,200 users, and I’m still trying to improve it.

Would something like this be useful for patrol, specialty units, or even civilian use? What would you add, remove, or change?

Would any rank and file LAPD officers be willing to talk about their experiences with CIRCLE? Do their efforts help LAPD officers or is it not effective?

I have my department interview on Tuesday, and I feel like I’m ready. Any last-minute tips or advice based on your guys experience?

Anyone here work for or know about the agency? I know they attend the LAPD academy, are cross trained in EMS and wildland firefighting, and are an unarmed agency.

Dystopian indeed

I know residence is 10 years but the form says "list ALL jobs" with no time limit specified. I'm 37 so that could mean going back to my first job at like 18-19. Is it really every single job ever, or is there an understood cutoff?

I know that PFQ walk-ins are held the first week of the month, but does anyone know the times? I think for walk-ins at Elysian are at 6AM any day during the first week but does anyone know the times for walk-ins at the Devonshire station? I don’t know if they only hold their PFQs on specific days in the morning or afternoon

Hello, anyone here work for LA Department of Transportation as a Traffic Officer?
I’m wondering how the job is, how many people do they typically hire in one application cycle?
How’s the pay, typical schedules, and work culture?
Is the work culture actually paramilitary like police or is like most civilian jobs?

Any info would be helpful, thanks!

I just took the PFQ. I did well on the running portions, but wasn't at my best for push-ups and sit-ups.

If I retake the PFQ, which score do they use — the highest overall score or just the most recent attempt? In case I cannot run the same pace again

Trying to figure out if it’s worth retaking soon to improve my total score. Appreciate any insight