applied to be leo but was denied. have a ?

[fallnangel]

so i recently went for testing at my local LE agency, when i was going through the line an detectivve looked at my application and said i can no longer go through and i should just go home and try another county/district. This is all due to (2)misdeamenors that i have. when i was 19yr old i was basically in the wrong place at the wrong time and was given 2 petty larceny misdeamenors.(please dont judge me i am truly not a bad person ). i realize a crime is a crime but they were from 5yrs ago and soon to be 6. i talked to a few current officers from the same agency and they told me they had past convictions of similar nature and they dont understand what the problem is.

I then talked to the detective and said it violated the morals of turpitude. my questions from anyone who can honestly answer my question is do LE agncies take people with my current background into the ranks?

sorry for being so long winded but i had to explain the situation.and please dont judge me based upon the crime.

[WILawman]

Most departments will DQ for issues against moral turpitude. I'm not going to judge what you did in the past, however your past obviously is going to speedbump to you getting hired. Larceny is not something departments will take likely.

Departments take background issues case by case basis unless it is an obvious DQ issue. Just because one department would not accept your application doesn't mean they all won't.

My question to you, is what have you done with your life since the age of 19? Have you gone to college, have you stayed out of trouble, have you matured?

I cannot say every department in the United States will not accept you, but you do have an uphill battle.

[fallnangel]

thanx for the fast response. :) .as far as what have i done with my life.at the time i was in college and since then i have not gone back so i have been outta college for 3 yrs. i have totally matured i dont follow the crowds i do what i know is right regardless of what others say. I havent even gotten so much as a parking ticket since have completely stayed out of trouble.

[Centurion44]

Welcome to the world of adult responsibility. Just because it DQ's from one agency doesn't mean it will DQ you from all.

Also drop the "wrong place, wrong time" crap. Stop making excuses for yourself. That would DQ you with me more than the actual charge.

[fallnangel]

ok cool.your right about that accept responsibility. But what if i get my record expunged? Does that do anything to help this situtation?im not tryin to bug you all with is banter but i dont know anyone else to ask.thanks for your time.

[VSPTAC]

ok cool.your right about that accept responsibility. But what if i get my record expunged? Does that do anything to help this situtation?im not tryin to bug you all with is banter but i dont know anyone else to ask.thanks for your time.
There is no such thing as "expunged" record when it comes to a background investigation.

It is sort of like being charged with a crime....just because you where found not guilty....doesn't mean that you didn't do it! :eek: It just means that a judge or jury could not say beyond a reasonable doubt that you did the crime. :D

[Squader01]

Here is my advice to you, Fallnangel. I had a Misdemeanor Larceny on my record aswell, I stole a jar of change when I was 18. It sucked, it goes on my adult record, even though at 18 I obviously wasn't acting like an adult. I got hired about 3.5 years after my offence, but unlike you, I didn't do it twice.

1. Go to college, get an actual degree, I can tell just from your typing that your english skills somewhat suck. Sure it's only an online forum, but you're addressing Law Enforcement Officers, and you wish to be one yourself. So I'd suggest you get beyond that no caps, or punctuation stuff. That alone might have hurt you if you tested somewhat poorly.

2. Volunteer in the community, the office of LEO is a job for the community minded man, or women. Help out in your community, it'll feel good, and will show that you've truely changed your ways. It also shows maturity.

Tell us what else is going on, how many times in the past have you used/experimented with drugs? Which drugs have you used? What's your background like? How's your work history? How's your driving record? Remember not to lie, because even though most stuff won't come up during a background, your Polygraph WILL sniff you out.

There are people in this world, good people, with clean backgrounds that just are not cut out for Law Enforcement, it's not a knock by any means, but different strokes for different folks I guess. I'm not without a background myself, but I conformed, got a degree, worked in the community, interned within the Law Enforcement job market, and I'm a pretty young cop, so it can be done.

Keep plugging away, you can do it, even if it takes a few more years. Remember that ALOT of people DO NOT get on with the first place they apply for. I moved 60 miles to get my LE job, and I'm considering moving 1,500 more miles to take a better job. Every agency is different, some are more forgiving, some are not. You haven't showed me anything yet that would make you a reasonable candidate for LEO, concentrate on doing good things for now, keep your nose clean. Good luck

[Spork]

I don't think it was the two misdemeanors that DQ'ed you, but your inability to take responsibility for them. If your attitude towards the detective is anything like your attitude in the first post (wrong place/wrong time, it's "only" 5 years ago, etc), I don't doubt that the detective had a problem with your "moral turpitude".

People makes mistakes. People aren't perfect. But it's the ability to take responsibility from those mistakes and learn from them that defines integrity.

The next time the issue comes up, explain what happened, and what you learned from the situation. Don't try to dodge it or dismiss it. Turn those negatives into positives.

[Squader01]

People makes mistakes. People aren't perfect. But it's the ability to take responsibility from those mistakes and learn from them that defines integrity.



That's the whole enchalada right there. Nice Spork, I'm going to have to quote you on that sometime.

[SoCalSheriff]

I had 2 shoplift charges on my record. one at 16 years and one at 18 years old. I plead guilty to both and did not try to hide it from my BI. Since then I have had 10 years of honorable military service (with NO negative/disciplinary actions taken), which I believe helped "offset" the charges. I was up-front and honest in background, owned up to what I did, and demonstraited over a significant period of time that my attitude had changed. I was hired at the 1st department I applied for. Just remember, honesty is key.