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I am trying to decide between a small department(70 patrol) and a large department (500+).  Any advice from officers who have worked for both?  What are pros and cons?

The benefits of a small department is that usually you get the best equipment and new technology the down side is that you don't have as much back up when you need it. I don't think it would make a huge difference between a department with 70 or 500 once you go in to thousands it does make a difference. I work in a department with 30,000+. Also in a large department there are more openings for a specialised units while in a small department there is much less openings if any.

recruit08 says ...

I am trying to decide between a small department(70 patrol) and a large department (500+).  Any advice from officers who have worked for both?  What are pros and cons?

 I worked in a 200 man department not counting the civilian supprt staff which was a fairly large department by New Jersey standards. We were only 1.4 square miles in size and the most densely populated city in the US. The were 65,000 legal residents and an estimated 20,000 plus illegal immigrants so we had our hands full. We averaged over 85,000 calls for service every year so we were busy. It made for exciting policing and there was room for advancement but the testing competition was intense. Go larger and inner city for a well rounded police experience. JMHO.