Q&A with David Hiller: A Veteran Police Chief’s Career Advice
Updated October 16, 2026
David Hiller, a now-retired Michigan police chief with more than 40 years in law enforcement, recommends a four-year degree as a competitive advantage for aspiring officers, though minimum education requirements vary widely by state and agency. He also names common sense, careful listening, and self-discipline as traits he looks for in recruits.
CriminalJusticePrograms.com spoke with David Hiller during his tenure as Director of the Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan Department of Public Safety, where he led a consolidated police and fire department after more than 40 years in law enforcement that began with the Detroit Police Department. Hiller has since retired from that role. His answers reflect hiring practices, technology, and staffing conditions from the period of the interview, including references to recession-era budget cuts and emerging in-car technology, and should be read as his personal experience and opinion rather than current nationwide standards.
Breaking Into Law Enforcement
Q: How did you get started in law enforcement?
I started my career over 40 years ago at the Detroit Police Department, and then moved one town over to Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan. At the time, we had a separate police and fire department. Now, we merged police and fire and are a fully consolidated public safety department that does both jobs. My undergraduate degree was in criminal justice, and my master’s was in public administration.
Q: How important is a degree in advancing someone’s career in law enforcement?
Now a degree is critical to being hired. Agencies today require, at minimum, a two-year degree. Most require four year degrees. I teach college courses, and I tell my students, “Don’t even think about [law enforcement] unless you have a four-year degree.”
We have lost a number of officers to attrition and budget cutbacks. We need the absolute best that’s out there.
Hiller is describing his own hiring standards and the agencies he’s worked with. There’s no nationwide minimum: many departments still accept a high school diploma or GED, sometimes combined with military service or relevant experience. Check your target agency’s specific requirements.
Q: Is there a particular training/educational background that would help someone get his or her foot in the door?
The main reason we want you to go to college is that it teaches you discipline and self-responsibility. Once you graduate from college with a four-year degree, you’ve earned it. I tell students, “You need to do this on your own-set your work schedule, life schedule, etc.”
If you have a young person who’s had his eye on a criminal justice career since high school, he is probably going to gear his college curriculum to a criminal justice program. There are a number of colleges in Michigan, for example, that let you graduate with a four-year degree and take the state certification test. They work in conjunction with our state licensing agency. People come into the job not so much because of their degree, but because of an interest in the criminal justice field.
Michigan’s licensing body is the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, or MCOLES. Completing an approved pre-service program and passing MCOLES testing makes a candidate license-eligible in Michigan; it doesn’t by itself guarantee a job with a department, and the process is specific to Michigan. Other states use their own POST, or Peace Officer Standards and Training, commissions, with different coursework and testing requirements.
Q: In general, are there any specific traits that work well in this career?
Not everybody can do law enforcement. You may think you can, but it takes a certain breed of individual, male or female. People ask me, “What is the most favorable trait that I want in a candidate?” It’s common sense. The law is black and white, but enforcing the law is not black and white.
You also need to develop a tremendous ability to listen, especially if you’re going into a specialized area like interviewing and interrogation. Listen to what people are actually saying. You need dedication and commitment to the job.
Q: Given the economy and the tough job market for police officers, is there anything applicants can do to stand out?
We’re going to give you a test and do an interview. You can have all the stuff on paper that makes you look like a whiz, but then you open your mouth, and prove who you really are. We want someone who is dedicated and has common sense. You need to have a great understanding of what you’re getting into.
There’s no single national hiring exam. Written tests, oral interviews, physical ability tests, psychological and medical evaluations, background investigations, and polygraphs are all common steps, but which ones apply, and in what order, depends on the agency.
What the Job Actually Looks Like
Q: What can students expect as they start in law enforcement?
It’s a learning experience from day one. You graduate from the academy, and you may think you know everything. You have not even begun to learn. What they have in the book is not the way it is in real life. Your training with a field training officer is going to run about three months. Learn, listen and pay attention. You don’t have to be a chief to be the best cop. You have to learn the basics. It’s not television. You start out as a street cop, working nights, holidays, in the snow and rain etc. We refer to the job as 95-5. By that, I mean that 95 percent of the job is absolute, utter boredom, but the other five percent is enough to make you come back to work every single day.
Q: What is an average day for a police officer like?
You might be driving around issuing parking tickets or helping someone with a burglar alarm. The very next minute, you’re involved in a high-speed pursuit. There is no set day-the day you think there won’t be anything could be the day all hell breaks loose.
Q: What are the biggest challenges in the field?
The biggest challenge today is that we have to do the same job with far fewer people. There have been some tremendous advances in technology, which have probably been a lifesaver for us.
Where Law Enforcement Is Headed
Q: How has law enforcement changed over the years?
Technology. Now there are in-car cameras and microphones. We can track cars. We have tasers-a lot of that technology has made our job more professional. Tasers have eliminated a tremendous amount of resistance of arrest. Because of cutbacks, most agencies have one-man cars. When you stop somebody, you’re all by yourself until backup gets there. If it’s going to get ugly, you have to be ready.
Q: What do you see for the future of law enforcement careers?
I think there will be more handheld capability-for example, I think you will be able to take fingerprints or do a simple DNA test on the street. All of those things are designed to eliminate error. I can remember when I first started, it was two guys in one car and one radio. Now everyone has his or her own radio. There are computer programs being developed to assist officers in high-speed chases. It’s only going to get more technical. We need to be on board with technology if we’re going to keep doing a professional job.
Q: Any other particular recommendations for aspiring police officers?
Never stop learning. If you think you know everything, you’re going to get hurt, or someone else is going to get hurt. It’s been a great career. If I didn’t think it was the best job in the world, I wouldn’t still be doing it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this interview still current?
No. It reflects David Hiller’s experience and the law enforcement landscape at the time it was conducted, including staffing, hiring, and technology conditions that have since changed in many places. Read it as one veteran’s perspective, not as current nationwide data.
Who is David Hiller?
David Hiller is a retired Michigan law enforcement veteran who spent more than 40 years in the field, starting at the Detroit Police Department before becoming Director of the Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan Department of Public Safety.
Was David Hiller a police officer?
Yes. He began his career at the Detroit Police Department and later moved into public safety leadership in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, where he oversaw a combined police and fire department.
What degree does David Hiller recommend for an aspiring police officer?
He recommends a four-year degree, saying it gives candidates an edge in hiring and promotion. Actual minimum requirements vary: many agencies still accept a high school diploma or GED, sometimes combined with military service or relevant experience, so check your target department’s specific requirements.
What does David Hiller say was the hardest part of the job?
He pointed to staffing, saying his department was handling the same workload with fewer officers because of budget cutbacks during his career, and that newer technology like tasers and in-car cameras helped offset the loss. Staffing levels and technology have likely changed since at most agencies.
Key Takeaways
- The degree math isn’t fixed nationwide – Hiller tells his own students to get a four-year degree, but actual minimum requirements still vary by agency and state.
- Field training timelines vary by department – Hiller’s own department ran about three months with a Field Training Officer. Ask your target agency for its specific timeline.
- Hiller hires for common sense and listening – he names these, alongside dedication and self-discipline, as the qualities he personally weighs most in a candidate.
- He describes the job as “95-5” – mostly routine, punctuated by the moments that define it. That’s his characterization, not a universal metric.
- Technology reshaped the job during his career – tasers, in-car cameras, and vehicle tracking were a visible shift for him, though exact equipment and policy still vary by department.
If this interview has you thinking seriously about patrol work, the next step is understanding the actual hiring process, not just the degree requirement. How to Become a Police Officer walks through it in order, department by department.
(Photo: Detroit Free Press)
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