Indiana Conservation Officers are hiring

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News release, Indiana Conservation Officers are hiring

...Indiana Department of Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 01/28/2019 10:08 AM EST
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DNR News
Division of Law Enforcement



Indiana Department of Natural Resources

402 W. Washington St.

Indianapolis, IN 46204-2748


For immediate release: Jan. 28, 2019

Indiana Conservation Officers are hiring

The Indiana DNR Division of Law Enforcement is looking to fill Indiana Conservation Officer (ICO) positions across the state with highly motivated, outdoor-centered individuals.

Anyone interested in a career as an ICO should first to go to dnr.IN.gov/lawenfor and complete the Pre-screening test. Completion of this test by midnight Feb. 4, 2019 is required to be considered for the 2019 hiring process, which starts in late February 2019.

Indiana Conservation Officers are the state’s old law enforcement agency. ICOs are fully recognized Indiana police officers who enforce and uphold all DNR rules and regulations as well as all other Indiana state laws. ICOs spend the majority of their time enforcing fishing and hunting regulations, conducting marine boat patrol on Indiana’s waterways, and patrolling DNR properties to keep them safe and family friendly.

In addition to traditional law enforcement work, ICOs also engage in many specialty areas, including SCUBA, K-9, search and rescue, swift water rescue and many more.

To be qualified to pass the pre-screening test, you must be a U.S. citizen; be 21 years old by Dec. 27, 2019; and have an associate’s degree from an accredited college or completed 60 hours toward a bachelor’s degree, or have four years full time active military service with an honorable discharge by Aug. 12, 2018. You must be able to pass minimum Indiana Law Enforcement Academy physical fitness requirements as listed at ilea.IN.gov/2338.htm.

If you think you have what it takes, go to dnr.IN.gov/lawenfor, read “Becoming a Conservation Officer” and complete the Pre Screening Questionnaire ...

 

[VUPDblue]

I might do that if I had a do-over at life

 

[Tactically Fat]

For those aboard who may be interested: I hope you like to run. A lot. Or can learn to like running. A lot.

 

[printcraft]

If you think you have what it takes, go to dnr.IN.gov/lawenfor, read “Becoming a Conservation Officer” and complete the Pre Screening Questionnaire ...

Is "handwriting expert" one of the requirements?

 

[El Conquistador]

I might do that if I had a do-over at life

I too would do this if I had a do-over in life. I was a firefighter in my past life and loved (almost) every minute of the job , but sometimes wished I had went down this path.

 

[MadMan66]

I really feel this is my dream job. I've thought and considered it a lot, but my wife isn't on board with having to move to whatever assigned county. I am just starting out my LEO career, but maybe further down the line this path will open for me.

 

[wtfd661]

I might do that if I had a do-over at life

I don’t know, when I was in the academy at ILEA DNR started their academy about 7 weeks into ours I’ve never wanted a job that bad that I would’ve put up the crap that they had to put up with, really so no call for it other than being degrading to them. That said that was many moons ago and they may have changed by now.

 

[KokomoDave]

They don't pay squat but they can arrest the governor...

 

[Fargo]

I don’t know, when I was in the academy at ILEA DNR started their academy about 7 weeks into ours I’ve never wanted a job that bad that I would’ve put up the crap that they had to put up with, really so no call for it other than being degrading to them. That said that was many moons ago and they may have changed by now.

I know guys who were non-commissioned officers in the actual military who said that if they wanted to deal with that level of BS, they would’ve gone back to Boot Camp.

 

[phylodog]

I see the purpose of the difficult training these young men and women undergo. At a minimum it weeds out those whose heart isn't in the right place. Conservation Officers are more spread out than any other LEOs in the state (at least at the state level). They need people committed to the purpose and the best way to find those men and women is to ensure that they want it with everything they've got. These LEOs go where no others go and if nothing else their training proves they have heart and are capable of doing the job.

Before anyone loses their mind, I say this after attending ILEA with close to 30 COs. I also went through training as a LEO that made the US Army basic training (1990) seem like cub scout camp. That training was at Camp Atterbury and there were US Navy SEAL instructors who had interesting comments as to the degree of difficulty of what I (we) endured. What I knew at the end of that training, above anything else, was what the men who completed the training with me (and those who came before) were made of and that I could count on them.

 

[Hookeye]

No way I'd do it.
While some parts of the job might be great, there'd always be that dealing w John Q Public aspect.

 

[gregkl]

I might do that if I had a do-over at life

Yup. If I wasn't past the age eligibility, I would do it. When I lived in VA I ran my county Hunter Ed programs so I spent a lot of time with the DNR. In summer I went to different training classes with them. Nothing tactical as the primary purpose was continuing education for the hunter ed program, but a lot of legal classes, orienteering, survival, poaching, animal ID, etc.

Though you are mostly alone and the people you run into are usually armed, I would have liked it.

 

[Ark]

Sooo, uh, do they hire 30-year-old fat guys who can't do push-ups without crash landing on their gut every time? Asking for a friend.

 

[VUPDblue]

30 is no problem but you should start aggressively working out basically yesterday.

 

[1mil-high]

ICO's are probably some of the most likely to hire at the north end of the age cut off based on what I have seen. They seem to like to hire those who have some life experience already based on the few I personally know.

 

[MarkC]

I really feel this is my dream job. I've thought and considered it a lot, but my wife isn't on board with having to move to whatever assigned county. I am just starting out my LEO career, but maybe further down the line this path will open for me.

Having done this once for another state law enforcement agency, the moving to whatever assigned county is only a temporary thing. When I joined ISP in 1987 we had to serve two years wherever they sent us. When I left in 2014 rookies could transfer after one year, and they have been much, much better at trying to place people where they wanted to go, consistent with the agency's needs.

So the being sent to a strange, strange county far, far away is only temporary. It seems like a big deal now, but isn't in the long run.

Also, when I left the Army and joined ISP, I knew the farthest they could send me was someplace in Indiana. Unlike Uncle Sam, who literally had a world of potential duty sites.

 

[MarkC]

I see the purpose of the difficult training these young men and women undergo. At a minimum it weeds out those whose heart isn't in the right place. Conservation Officers are more spread out than any other LEOs in the state (at least at the state level). They need people committed to the purpose and the best way to find those men and women is to ensure that they want it with everything they've got. These LEOs go where no others go and if nothing else their training proves they have heart and are capable of doing the job.

Before anyone loses their mind, I say this after attending ILEA with close to 30 COs. I also went through training as a LEO that made the US Army basic training (1990) seem like cub scout camp. That training was at Camp Atterbury and there were US Navy SEAL instructors who had interesting comments as to the degree of difficulty of what I (we) endured. What I knew at the end of that training, above anything else, was what the men who completed the training with me (and those who came before) were made of and that I could count on them.

This is so true. As a young trooper assigned to nights across two very rural counties, it was usually me and 1 or 2 deputies out in the entire county. You had to be physically and mentally able to figure it out and tough it out, when needed.

And, I wasn't voluntarily wandering way off into the woods, looking for people who were almost certainly armed.

 

[MarkC]

From their DNR FAQ page:

[h=4]What are the age requirements to be considered for a position?[/h][FONT=&quot]Applicants must be at least 21 years of age at time of appointment (completion of the hiring process). There are no maximum age restrictions
.
https://www.in.gov/dnr/lawenfor/2760.htm[/FONT]

 

[patience0830]

From their DNR FAQ page:

[h=4]What are the age requirements to be considered for a position?[/h][FONT=&quot]Applicants must be at least 21 years of age at time of appointment (completion of the hiring process). There are no maximum age restrictions
.
https://www.in.gov/dnr/lawenfor/2760.htm[/FONT]

I don't think I can take the abuse at 58.

 

[Ark]

30 is no problem but you should start aggressively working out basically yesterday.

Instructions unclear, ate a bowl of ct crunch and took a nap.