Background Concerns

[jscherac]

Anyone with experience in the hiring process and/or background investigators your imput would be extremely helpful. I'm a recent graduate with a bachelor's in justice studies from an ohio university. I've been pursuing a career in law enforcement for quite sometime now, but have some concerns about my background. When I started college I was quite immature and subsequently got in some trouble with the police: 2 underage consumption charges(both dismissed and one expunged), a urinating in public, and a disorderly conduct by reason of public intoxication, which was recently expunged and dismissed. The above incidents occured between the ages of 20-21. I also have three speeding convictions from when i was 18 and one when i was 20, I am 23 now. Besides that I have good credit, good employment history, im in good physical condition, and have fairly good references. I guess my question is how bad will my background hurt me? Also, does anybody have any career suggestions for someone with a bachelor's in justice. thanks

[ask80]

your background won't get you DQed

tickets a while ago and underage drinking stuff it not bad...as long as you don't get anymore tickets or trouble with the law you should be fine

[PhilipCal]

Sounds like you went through the "Rite of Passage" so many of us have. List the arrests and the citations. Keep in mind too, that arrests/convictions supposedly "expunged" can be accessed by Background Investigators.

[signal1]

Just to repeat what philipcal just said, though they were expunged to you, they are still there and any law enforcement agency doing your background will see them. I don't say that to scare you, those things you did were "normal" college antics. What will get you DQ'd quick like would be if you didn't talk about them. You'll be alright.

[ISPCAPT]

For my agency you would have to put a few more clean years between the incidents and when you might be considered for hire. When you're 23 I know that 3 yrs seems like a long time. It's not. For us you will need a good, clean, steady work record for a few more years to show you've matured. It's not what you say that matters but what you show from your actions.