I turned in my background packet for police job, what is your opinion on my chances?

Posted by on . 11 comments.

3 speeding tickets in the last 7 years.


DUI in 2000

fired from one job due to abandonment ( it was seasonal)

I answerd yes to doing speed and marijuana ( more than 12 years ago and only experimental)

Yes I have driven without car insurance, however only when i paid late my insurance, during those lapses.

Yes I have paid taxes late before, resulting in garnishments.

That is pretty much all the bad stuff. What is someones educated/informed opinion?

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  1. Eric says:
    February 28, 2010 at 9:46 am

    Off the cuff, it doesn’t look good. The meth is an instant killer at my PD. Nothing harder than weed.

    My dept is turning away applicants left and right. We were funded to add something like 50 new recruits in the last academy, but we only found 35 or so that were worthy.

    Someone else wrote:
    "Taxes… irrelevant.

    Job abandonment….irrelevant.

    insurance,….irrelevant."

    The poster is waaaay off there. Those are important things used to gauge someones level of responsibility..

  2. Quasimodo says:
    February 28, 2010 at 9:46 am

    I’m sorry sport but shaky at best. I think most departments worth their salt will decline your application.

    There are loads of candidates out there with pristine records. Those are the ones that’ll leave you to wash out.

  3. xuserx2000 says:
    February 28, 2010 at 9:46 am

    I think the DUI is going to hurt you the most.

    Since it was the most recent, and it’s a very big issue in law enforcement..

    The speed and marijuana isn’t going to be a problem, since it was so long ago, and you were never arrested for it…they do drug testing on you anyway.

    Taxes… irrelevant.

    Job abandonment….irrelevant.

    insurance,….irrelevant.

    They need more officers….and these questionaires are mostly informational…they aren’t necessarily disqualification of your eligibility for employement.

    You will also be asked to provide signatures from your neighbors, that they support your efforts to join law enforcement, and that you are of good moral character.

    good luck….

  4. anthonydude91 says:
    February 28, 2010 at 9:46 am

    Wow fired from a job. Well if your city is in need of police jobs then you have 75% chance and if not then its 50% chance.

  5. ONeil C says:
    February 28, 2010 at 9:46 am

    sure, if i was in charge id hire u

  6. Slim Whitman says:
    February 28, 2010 at 9:46 am

    How long ago was the insurance, and garnishment, I believe if your near history shows behavior that is more consistent with changed attitude, you might be in the running.

    Background check will flag the DUI, speeding tickets.. those items, on a pre-screen you may be excluded. They may have a time period in the selection criterion.

  7. J says:
    February 28, 2010 at 9:46 am

    DUI is going to kill it. Also the speeding tickets. It would be hard for them to insure you.
    Also. if you say no to the marijuana it will come back to bite you on the lie detector test.

  8. Fakadou says:
    February 28, 2010 at 9:46 am

    I had to do a government background check packet for my current job too, but I didn’t have any of those things I had to put on mine.

    They say that it’s better to be honest, because reporting yourself for these things don’t necessarily mean you won’t get the job, but if they find out you’re lying you definitely won’t get it!

    My cousin was a cop, and he had a pretty lengthy record from his younger days. He used to do and sell drugs, he sold weapons and got shot during one such deal, and other such things. He was hired, but I don’t know what he put down on his background check.

    For my current job (which is a non-sensitive position), they didn’t do my background check until 6 months after they hired me. I know because all of my friends and family I put as references were calling me in a panic to let me know that the FBI was investigating me! I don’t know how it works for the police, but they may hire you on a temporary basis first.

    Guess all you can do is wait and see!

  9. TheRook says:
    February 28, 2010 at 9:46 am

    Sorry, but you don’t have a real shot at this. The large amount of speeding tickets and DUI show a real lack of maturity and responsibility. I’m just telling you how a background Officer and hiring Admin. staff is going to see it. There is a huge amount of liability that a Department and City take on for you and how can they do that given your background?

    The other little things such as losing a job and no car insurance are little black marks, but wouldn’t result in you not being hired. The drugs (since meth is included) really don’t help either.

    What would have really helped me to answer this question is what good things are in your background?? Who is backing you? What recommendations do you have?

    But in the long run, I think that unless that Department is really hurting, the pristine guys going through the process are going to push you out the door.

    Sorry

  10. Danno says:
    February 28, 2010 at 9:46 am

    I don’t think anyone on here can accurately give you your "chances." The importatnt factors are that you did a lot of these things years ago. The best thing you’ve done to help your chances is that you were honest about it. That shows integrity. Secondly, when asked about these things, you should explain that you have learned from each of your mistakes and it has made you a better person etc etc. Showing maturity and integrity will help you get over the hurdle of youth mistakes.

  11. Sheila V says:
    February 28, 2010 at 9:46 am

    Keep in mind that I can only answer from the perspective of the department I work at.

    The insurance thing never even came up during my hiring process, so unless it is specifically asked I don’t see the big deal.
    The speed and marijuana, they expect that people have experimented. In fact, they didn’t believe me when I said I had never even tried it. Just be truthful about it.
    I was fired from two jobs and they didn’t care. It has to do with the reasons and so, shouldn’t be a big deal.
    The DWI and the speeding tickets are the main sticking point. It has been 8 years and they might overlook it. I know that my department wouldn’t. But I’ve seen people not be able to get hired here for those types of things go somewhere else and get hired. So it all depends on the agency.

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