Surviving the Police Background Investigation

being 36 ans trying to get into the field does not make me nervous but the credit check thing does and the grade thing. i was not a "great Student by any means but that was over 14 years ago. My credit is actually good but with today's economy I needed to make some changes there also. I hope that does not hurt my chances when In exit the academy.

If you don't meet the criteria and are still obsessed with being a LEO, open you're own security firm & hire some retired or moonlighting officers. You'll still have to pass the state exam and their investigative process which is not as stringent or invasive. Learn how to sell you're experience on protecting lives & property, plus you can possibly employ & help an officer out of work. There are also franchises you can buy. Contact me if interested in a possible business oppty. I am in the Broward County Area of South Florida at Evansentangel@yahoo.com

Just finished my oral interview and i am not sure if a particular questioned asked may hurt the outcome.

Question: During my oral interview for Irvine PD in CA i was given a scenario where a 16 year old individual had located the gun of a police officer and as I (a police officer) walked in what would i do if the 16 year old was pointing the gun at the other police officer. Are police officers trained shoot to kill regardless of the circumstances or are they trained shoot to wound???i said shoot to kill because the life of a police officer is at harm...

This is good info to know.

No doubt about it, the BG check is stressful. I've always kept my nose clean, but Big Brother can make you nervous. I think the point is, they're not looking for perfect people; they're looking for honest people with good judgment. If you've done something stupid in the past (everyone has, I promise), tell them it was stupid, you'd never do it again, and your take-home lesson was _______.

zackster: Too late. I already was a deputy in the past. I left law enforcement to a career in computers with better compensation and no shift work. But do for yourself whatever you highest ability allows. At the time I did desire to be in law enforcement. I passed all the background checks at the time. Looking back however, and having seen where law enforcement is going with using them, I can no longer support their use in the way they are being utilized. I find it interesting that you feel you have the ability to psychoanalyze me based upon one post, in an effort to classify me in such a way as to put my credibility into question. If having an opinion makes me a "difficult subordinate", then sadly the police ranks are indeed not a place for me, and it casts a sad shadow on fellow officers like you who believe this.

Cgidney are you high? Another fine example of someone who immediately has to try putting someone down to place themselves into a position of faux authority. Just because someone passes a criminal record check does not make them hirable, neither does a background check. There are just as many examples of people that have made it past the background check. My issue is the nature of the background check and the level of intrusiveness into people's personal lives. I believe there should be a firm line in the sand as to how far the check can go. Like I said in my original post. Any questions of character, authority, responsibility, etc, will be vetted out during the training. It will be quite obvious if they can cut it or not. And the threat that "if I don't like it blah blah blah" is just that... a bunch of BS. Just because it is currently done the way it is, does not mean it should remain the "way it is". As Dwell noted above you there is some serious problems with the way it is done. How many people on the inside have to speak up before we start considering the merits of my point?

In conclusion, I'd like to also comment on kcsdlew's post from a day ago... I completely disagree that we spend our entire lives "preparing" for a background check. As an American citizen I enjoy my right to privacy, my right to freedom of expression, and my right to my individual liberty. Your comment about "if you have done it all right" is pretty damn scary to me on many levels.

Who decides "what is right"? By whose standards? Do I want to be "affirmed" as having fit in to a narrow definition of what is currently defined as "right"? Our society is a tremendous blend of cultures, mores, political views, and perspectives. What might be completely acceptable to you, might not to the next person. Actions you consider to be completely within your moral code, might be unacceptable to someone who rigidly intolerant of differing standards.

I have very troubled that the law enforcement community has become a group that has slid down the path of groupthink in their tolerance of all these different forces. It casts aspersions on the transparency and fairness of the selection process, when you allow the investigators to bring in reports that may be skewed based upon their personal set of beliefs, and/or the skewed opinions of the candidates friends/neighbors/teachers/peers.

For the candidate boards to not take this into consideration and work to mitigate this potential for prejudice and groupthink is a shame.

Take care

RC

okay I just have to say this-not everyone that has this career is amoral and decent person. You know there are some crooked cops out there. So, this has no effect on whom really gets hired! Sure there are a lot more good cops than bad, but ....some get slipped through the cracks. I'm surprised that they ask that many people about you. They can even check what sites you've been on online? That's too much.