are my chances of being LE done forever??

[f120man]

i recently applied for a peace officer position her ein CA. i filled out my background papers in front of the background investigators, and there came one question that was odd. it stated "how many times have you driven on a night when you had alcoholic drinks." i figured that ill be honest. so i put 20 as in times i drove on a night i drank alcohol. i told me friend later and he told me that i screwed up and that ill never get hired.

i came to realize that it looks bad on paper, so im going to understand if i dont get hired. but now since i put that on paper, will my chances with other departments become jeopardized? i know when you apply to other departments, they ask for any previous background investigators that worked on your case. i feel that i will never get into LE again. am i done for?

[shftat6]

The question isn't specific enough that I feel they can use it against you without clarification. It isn't asking how many times you thought you drove drunk, just how often you drove after having an alcoholic drink. What if you were a person that stopped and had one beer every day after work? Were you intoxicated..no, but according to the question you would have to list each time like that.

I wouldn't worry about that yet. I would expect to be clarifying that in the near future like at the poly.

I'm no BI though, so take that with a grain of salt.

edit: Now if you were saying you drove drunk 20 times....then it may be an issue.

[BLUSHRT4SRT]

DUDE!!! Not for nuthin but your a retard, sorry. You have to use SOME discretion when answering these type of questions. Look put yourself in there shoes, you know what pretend your not even going for a L.E job, that answer would look bad even if you were trying to get hired at wendy's!

[LakeLaw]

Look. I agree about the question being vague. Nowadays, agencies don't discount you based on one ridiculously worded question. They tend to understand that better officers are ones who have lived a little. We have ALL had drinks, and drove a car the same day. It certainly does not mean we were drunk drivers. I would call the background officer, to clarify the question, and to explain your answer. If you truly do want employment in law enforcement you will do what it takes to be sure that a department understands who you are. Yes...agencies do want a list of other departments that you have previously applied to, as well as reasons for you being turned away. They typically keep the full application on file for 2 years, but keep record of your applying for up to 8 years. Hope it works out. And PLEASE, don't listen to knuckleheads that tell you that you totally screwed up. We all make mistakes. It doesn't mean you wouldn't make a good cop, especially when you find the place you really want to be.

[cspy26]

DUDE!!! Not for nuthin but your a retard, sorry. You have to use SOME discretion when answering these type of questions. Look put yourself in there shoes, you know what pretend your not even going for a L.E job, that answer would look bad even if you were trying to get hired at wendy's!

i have to say that before you start to bash another guy asking a question you should brush up on your grammar because
"nuthin" is actually spelled "nothing"
"your" a retard is actually spelled "you're"
"there" shoes is actually spelled "their"

Regards

[daveplaz]

DUDE!!! Not for nuthin but your a retard, sorry. You have to use SOME discretion when answering these type of questions. Look put yourself in there shoes, you know what pretend your not even going for a L.E job, that answer would look bad even if you were trying to get hired at wendy's!

Maybe it's just me, but BLUSHRT4SRT's post makes me think his idea for discretion is to lie. And he calls the other guy a retard!

Anyway, I think you did the right thing by being honest and, like the others said, unless you were drunk driving for those 20 times, I don't think it'll ruin your chances of being hired. Sure, you'll get questioned and grilled about it but most background investigators have probably come across quite a few things worse than admitting you drove after having a drink or two.

However, for future reference, if you do decide to have a drink, let someone else drive so that number doesn't increase. After all, that's what we have cabs for.

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