California Highway Patrol Blog

9/24/24

Photo by: LA dui Attorney

Welcome, everyone my name is Humberto Reynoso, and this blog will be all about the California Highway Patrol, also known as the CHP. The California Highway Patrol is principal state police of the U.S.A state of California. The CHP was founded on August 14, 1929, by governor at the time C.C. Young. California was growing rapidly at the time and traffic law enforcement was in high need. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways, roads, and streets outside city limits and can exercise law enforcement powers anywhere within the state.  When people think of law enforcement all they think about is the police officers which is the biggest key component but not the only one. Behind all the CHP officers there is also CHP public safety dispatchers, public safety operators, administrative staff, and specialized units. Throughout this blog we will be going into detail about the role and keys too all these different components. You will also be learning about the history of the CHP and hear some crazy stories the CHP has been involved in.

Photo by: Grand

 You may be wondering why I decided to do this blog and what inspires me to inform you about this. Ever since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to be a police officer of some sort. As I grew up my opinion never changed, and I still want to be a police officer. I looked into options of what type of police officer I wanted to be, and CHP caught my eye the most. From what they do on a day-to-day basis to all their benefits being a CHP officer is definitely a great carrer and the best one for myself. I am currently 18 years old attending college but plan on attending the California Highway Patrol academy. If I could've attended the academy straight out of high school, I would've but your required to be at least 20.5 years old. So yeah, my desire to be doing this is because I plan on being a CHP officer and I love what they do and stand for.

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How to become a CHP Officer

10/8/24

Now that you guys have learned a little bit about what the CHP is I will go deeper into detail about everything. The most important part to the CHP is the Officers. Without officers there’s no one patrolling the highways of California therefore CHP wouldn't even be a thing. Many people may be wondering how to become an officer. It starts by going to your local CHP office and filling out an application. 

Photo by: CHP Headquarters

Once you have completed that you’ll then be assigned a day where you will take a physical ability test as well as a written exam. In the physical ability test you’ll have to complete 19 pushups in minutes, 25 sit ups in a minute, run 1.5 miles in under 15 minutes, and lastly run 300 meters in under 70 seconds. To most people this may be very challenging so preparation before is definitely necessary. The written exam will be the entry level law enforcement test battery, also known as “Pellet B.” 

Once you have successfully passed these two
exams you will then have to complete a background investigation, and medical and psychological evaluations. Once you have passed these you will then wait for your invitation to the CHP academy. Once you have received this invitation you are officially hired as a cadet where you'll be getting paid anywhere from 6,344- 8,131 monthly just for them to train you. The CHP academy is located in West Sacramento.

Photo by: CHP Headquarters

Once you're in the CHP academy you can expect to be there 5-7 days a week for 26 weeks. The academy is described as very challenging mentally and physically. Throughout your time here you will be getting pushed to your limits constantly. You will be expected to perform under all circumstances which includes getting pepper sprayed, tased, and many more. CHP cadets will learn everything they need to learn for a career in law enforcement. In the academy you can learn how to shoot guns, drive at high speeds, arrest someone, know when someone is drinking, and much more stuff necessary to be a CHP officer.

As graduation date gets closer on weeks 19-21 Cadets will receive a dream sheet where they will see a list of what offices around California have openings. Once you have completed the academy you will then be promoted to a CHP officer. During graduation week you will have one last run from the academy to the state capitol which totals to 5 miles. At the end of the run, you are able to invite loved ones to congratulate you, and watch you graduate and be promoted to a CHP officer!

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Life as a CHP officer

10/31/24

After being promoted from a Cadet to an Officer you will then be assigned to one of the 28 offices in California. People may think that after the academy their training is over but that is false. Officers will still have to complete a field training where they’ll spend a few months alongside a Field training officer to receive more on the job experience. Once you have completed all the training you are now eligible to patrol the streets of California yourself.

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If you live in California there is a very high chance you have seen a CHP patrolling. Many people wonder what all they do on the job. Their main priority is to provide safety and security to the citizens of California. They assure it gets done in many different ways. Officer’s will patrol around the highways to make sure everyone is following the laws, and there’s no danger around. When a car accident occurs CHP officers will respond to the accident and make an investigation on what exactly happened. They will then try their best to keep traffic moving while also getting the road cleared up. Patrolling the streets isn’t the only thing officers do on the job. They also have an officer where they go to fill out a lot of paperwork. The paperwork will be about accidents they responded to, citations they wrote up, an incident they had with someone, and many more.

Photo by: CHP

Now that you’ve learned a bit of what CHP officers do on the job, let's learn about what they do off the job, their salary, and benefits. Off the job people often assume that officers don't have a normal life but in reality, they do live a life just like anyone else. Obviously, there’s some things that you may do off the job that can get you fired such as drinking and driving. CHP Officers' salaries can range from $8,887-$11,024 monthly. A yearly estimate of CHP officers' salary is $117,822. Bilingual officers get a raise of $100 per month. Officers with a Peace Officers standards and training or an associate degree will get a 2.5% pay increase. The benefits are just as great as the salary as they receive medical, dental, and vision health care for the officer and all of his/her dependents. 

 

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How to become CHP dispatcher

11/6/24

Another big department that goes into the CHP is a dispatcher. These are the ones who are behind the computers, and phones answering calls for officers to show up to. When you call 911 for an emergency you may be talking to a CHP dispatcher. There are many steps to being eligible to be a dispatcher and I will go over all of them.

Photo by: CHP Carrers

The first thing is you must be at least 18 years old with a high school diploma or something equivalent to that. You can then go over to the California Highway Patrol website and look for job openings. You will then complete and turn in your application. Once your application is accepted, you’ll have to take a written exam which will test various things. You can expect to be tested on your reading comprehension, communication skills, multi-tasking, and situational judgment. All these are crucial necessities that go into being a dispatcher. If you pass the written exam, you’ll then be interviewed which may include very random questions to see how your communication, and problem-solving skills are. If you pass this the CHP will do a background, medical, and physical investigation on you to be sure you are properly fit for the job.

Photo by: CHP Carrers

After this you will then be hired! However, that doesn't mean you are done with training just yet. You will have to go to the California highway patrol academy in Sacramento or The Clark training center in Riverside. This is a paid training of 3 weeks where you will learn CHP operations, communication systems, emergency response producers, and the CHP number codes. You can expect all the formal, and on the job training to take around 5 months or so. Lastly, they will finally be able to be a dispatcher but not normally just yet. For about a year you will be evaluated based on the ability of handling emergency calls, working as a team, and communicate efficiently. After all these steps are completed, you are finally a dispatcher.

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Life as a CHP dispatcher

Photo by: CHP Dispatch 

11/14/24

Now that all the training is over you can finally be on your own as a California Highway Patrol dispatcher. Many people believe that the job of a dispatcher is just to answer calls. They are somewhat right but answering the calls is just the beginning of everything else. When going into work there are a variety of different things that may happen that day. You need to go in mentally prepared, and ready for anything that comes your way. The first thing you will be doing is answering 911 calls from people who are in desperate need of help. Your job is to listen very closely to what they are saying and help them. Once they have told you what is going on you will help by giving them the best instructions possible as to what to do on that particular moment. At the same time, you will be informing an officer everything that's going on, and where that person is at. If the person doesn't know where they are at you will have to do extra work in the heat of the moment and track down their device.

Photo by: CHP Central

You will also have to be putting all the information into the system. This is why having the skill of multitasking is crucial as a dispatcher. Now that you have learned a little bit of how it can be on the job let's talk about the pay and benefits. A dispatcher can expect to make anywhere from $4,500 to $7,000 a month. This is before including an extra $200 a month for those who are bilingual. Many of the bigger offices around the state also receive extra money monthly as well for retention pay. Lastly all dispatchers get the great benefits of medical, dental, and vision for themselves, and their dependents.

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CHP Air Operations 

11/21/24

The CHP Air Operations is helicopters that fly over for their duties which may vary. If there is a high speed chase the CHP Air Operations will fly over following the suspect giving the officers on ground, real time information as fast as possible. This makes it much easier for pursuits because it’s almost impossible for a suspect to get away from a helicopter.

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Air Operations is also used for surveillance, and public safety. For example, if there is a big event going on with very big crowds, oftentimes a helicopter will fly over to make sure everything within the area is safe and secure. In the CHP Air Operations there are a few different pilots involved. The Chief Helicopter pilot is responsible for establishing the pilot eligibility list. They are also responsible for conducting, coordinating, and watching over the pilot training. The Chief airplane pilot pretty much has the same role as the Chief Helicopter pilot except the airplane pilot maintains the list of the officers eligible.

Photo by: CHP

Now you may be wondering what you have to complete to become a part of CHP Air Operations. The first step is to become an officer which means you’ll have to complete all the steps to become one including the academy. As an officer you will have to gain a lot of experience and meet certain qualifications. These requirements include having a commercial pilot's license, around 1,000 to 1,500 hours of flight time on a helicopter, and advanced field training. After all that you will now be eligible to apply for CHP Air Operations, and once you are accepted you will have to go through another series of training. The process included Aviation Selection, Physical Fitness, testing, and training for air operations. After that you are now a part of CHP Air Operations. Lastly as a part of the CHP Air Operations you can expect to make 9,000 to 13,000 a month which is more than a regular officer and also includes all the great benefits.

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Explorer program

12/2/24

Photo by: CHP

The California Highway patrol offers this amazing program to teenagers called the explorer program. This program is made to help young men, and women from ages 15-20 wanting to be CHP officers. Once an applicant is accepted into the program there are 3 different stages they will have to pass. The first stage will be at the nearest office to you that offers the program. This stage is estimated to be more than 24 hours of training where you will learn the California Vehicle Code, receive an introduction to criminal law, be shown how to properly document the storage and impounding of vehicles, learn the basics of how to investigate a traffic accident, become familiar with CHP's patrol radio equipment and communications protocols, as well as receive instruction on leadership and ethics.

Photo by: Stockton CHP

The second stage is to receive CPR and first aid training which is a two-day process for a total of 16 hours. The third and final stage is actually split into two different parts. The first part is a replica of the actual CHP academy. In this stage you will attend the academy for 7 days. During this time you will be pushed to your limits mentally and physically. You will go through all the tough physical tests real cadets are put through in a 7-day span. 

The second part to this last stage is attending the academy again for 7 more days but you must be 20 years old. You will again receive physical training, and DUI investigation training similar to the first time you went to the academy. In addition, explorers are also given the opportunity to drive patrol vehicles and participate in a live fire training at the shooting range. This last stage is meant for those who applied or plan to apply to be a CHP officer. Now that the training is over as an explorer you will attend community service events, ride along with officers, staff DUI checkpoints, and explorer competitions. Overall, this is a great opportunity for the youth wanting to be a CHP officer in the future.

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Conclusion

12/5/24

In conclusion to my blog, the California Highway Patrol offers a variety of very exciting and rewarding career opportunities. Whether you are wanting to become an officer, dispatcher, or part of the Air Operations division. Each one plays a critical part in making sure California as a whole is safe from any danger. To become a

Photo by: CHP

CHP officer, you will have to have good determination, physical fitness, and a commitment to keeping the public safe. The long, and draining training at the CHP academy, along with field training and real-world experience, will prepare officers for the different challenges they may face on the job. Officers do more than just enforce traffic laws. They will also respond to accidents, investigate incidents, and support public safety in a variety of ways. They put their lives at risk every single day for us to make sure we are safe, which is something we should all always be thankful for.

Photo by: CHP

For those interested in supporting officers behind the scenes, a career as a dispatcher is also crucial. Dispatchers handle emergency calls, coordinate responses, and ensure that officers have the information they need to do their jobs as best as possible. The training can be long and tedious, but the work is definitely rewarding. Dispatchers for sure love all the excellent benefits and job security. If you are looking to work in a specialized unit, CHP Air Operations offers a different type of opportunity to be part of a team that uses helicopters for various reasons such as high-speed chases to surveillance and disaster response. The qualifications and training required for this division are more advanced and difficult, but the rewards are amazing in both career satisfaction and the salary. If you are just a kid not old enough to do any of this fun stuff the explorer program is just for you. It gives the youth more insight on how it is and helps them with future decisions. I think this is an amazing opportunity for anyone wanting to have a career in law enforcement.

Overall, whether you are going in a role as a CHP officer, dispatcher, or Air Operations, the CHP offers a career that unites purpose, challenge, and opportunity. If you're passionate about public safety and ready for more, a career with the CHP could be just for you!

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