Has he thought about being a Military Policeman/Air Policeman for 3 or 4 years? Many people do that before going into law enforcement since one has to be 21 to do that. He can take classes in the military for free, get some experience and see if he actually likes the field and see the world. Then he’d have the GI Bill to pay for college when he gets out. Another option would be military intelligence if he scores high enough. The FBI would appreciate that.
Military service discussion lasted less than 5 minutes. He has no interest in joining the military despite my telling him that military service is "a point" towards being considered for the Illinois State Police for example.
I only know a little bit about it, but from what I've learned, here in Illinois it's those applicants with the most "points" who get hired at any level. One point for college, one point for military service, one point for internship/volunteer work in the police/sheriff's department one's applying and one point for something else that I don't remember.
All things being equal, two applicants score the same on the exam, then their "points" are looked at. The candidate with the highest points "wins" ... if that makes sense.