Info for a Prospective Police Recruit

[Ranger+P+]

I know a young guy that want to become a police officer and he needs some advice, I do not have any LE experience so I thought I would reach out to the Forum. The kid is 25 and his background is clean, no felonies, he did 4 years in the Army, Honorable Discharge. He has some college, about 70 hrs. The snag is his credit is not that good: he had a car repo'd becasue he lost his job and got behind on the payments. He also had to have surgery 2 years ago on his back (fell of a ladder)--herniated disc. He is fine now, and has a letter from the Dr to go to work. He is in decent shape, 6'3 about 225. This Kid is a good guy with a solid work ethic, but he has hit some snags in his life. What advice would you give him?
Should he apply with smaller depts? There are alot hiring right now..
Should he fill out as many applications as possible and go and take their test? He has been looking at depts. Like Bryan and Cedar Hill where they will put him thru the Academy if he is hired.
With his background, what will be his biggest obstacle?
Can you help me help this Kid??--I want to steer him in the right direction.

[carlson1]

He might have better success if he went to a County with a large Jail. I am not for sure where you are, but Dallas is short handed. Many times the Sheriff's Dept will hire deputies from within (the jail). Then after a couple of years there is his experience. His military and college is a plus. I am not for sure the car repo will hurt except for a few. The jail is "experience" and easier to get on to start with.

[txinvestigator]

His military and college will be big pluses. If he is working on paying his debts, his credit will be a challenge but not an insurmountable one. If he just blew off the debts, it could be a problem.

Even if a department does not disqualify due to credit, there will be other applicants without that issue.

He should not worry about applying at multiple departments. By that, IN mean it is a good idea. He should not worry if he does not get hired at the first one or two departments either.

Tell him from me thanks for his service to our country, and his desire to further serve.

Another good resource is http://forums.realpolice.net

[srothstein]

In most departments, his biggest problem will be his back injury. Most places are very leery of people who have back injuries since it just makes it that much easier to re-injure it.

After that, his credit will be a problem, but he should just acknowledge the problems and be ready to explain how it happened and how he is addressing it. After the 90's with all of the bankruptcies, most agencies have started to relax the rules on credit problems a little. They are looking now at how a person handles a problem and if he is so in debt he is more easily corrupted.

As for how to apply, I would say he should pick the department he wants to work for, along with maybe a second and third. Apply just to them at first while he sees what is going to happen. After the age, clean record, and no drug use, each department pretty much gets to make their own decisions on hiring criteria. Some of the very largest (Houston) are so critically short, I think they would jump all over a candidate like him. If those departments don't take him, then start applying at the next three.

One of the problems with multiple applications is that some departments are still stuck in the stone age about only trying to work for them or you really don't want to be there and they won't hire you. Others look at it and say this is his fifth application and no one has hired him yet, there must be a reason, and drop him now. Let him know that perseverance does pay off and he can get in if he keeps trying.

Also, tell him to start a local academy if he has the time and money. Most of the regional academies do have a part-time evening school that takes about a year to complete. After he gets a license that way, there is another whole world of departments that cannot afford to pay for an academy that will take him.

And then also tell him to try some of the lesser known alternatives. Almost every state agency has some police now, even the cosmetology board and insurance commission. Many of those will hire him and put him through an academy. Some will require a bachelor's though.

There is another alternative if he still has some GI Bill benefits. Texas now has an academic alternative program to the academy. If he goes back and takes an Associate's or Bachelor's degree in any major, and takes some specific required courses, he can then take the license test as if he graduated an academy. A degree will also help him get hired or paid better, as even TABC has a monthly incentive for a degree ($50 for an Assoc., 100 for a Bach, 150, for a Master).

[KBCraig]

In most departments, his biggest problem will be his back injury.

Please excuse me if you're heard this one before...

A friend of mine was one year behind me in college Army ROTC. When he attended "Advance Camp", he opted for the Class A physical, because he was interested in flying helicopters. (He had 20/20 vision, and vision is the biggest disqualifier, so he thought he'd take his chances.)

After all the bend/prod/poke/jab was done, they told him he had a bad back. So sorry. You're not only disqualified from flying helichoppers, you're officially out of the Army. Permanently.

Fast forward a few years. I had finished my active duty tour, and was back home. My (then-) wife and I were at a holiday picnic at her best friend's house, and her best friend's sister happened to be married to my old ROTC buddy. It's a small world in small-town Arkiesaw.

So as the conversation flowed, I learned my old buddy was now an officer on the Dallas PD. He told me about how he got kicked out of the Army, and after graduation responded to one of the many newspapers ads for DPD. After he was accepted, he reported to the physical; out of caution, he brought along his back X-rays from the Army. What with the Army kicking him out for his "bad back", and all.

The academy took their own X-rays. They thanked him for bringing his own copy, then told him that the X-rays he provided were not of his back.



Some joker with a bad back had probably been flying Army helicopters for years, while my buddy with a perfect back was left hanging.

Ahh, Army life!

Kevin

[texasmr2]

I know this thread has some dust on it but I wanted to respond as I had a similiar experience with the Montgomery County Sheriffs Dept. My background is spotless except for traffic tickets but my credit is not good do to my stupid younger day's so I believe that was the reason I was denied employment. Fortunately I have a longtime friend who knows a captain very well at Fort Bend County Sheriffs Dept and they are in dire need of approximately 150 new jailors. After personaly speaking with the captain last week and telling him my circumstance he told me dont worry you have a job as we are looking for more mature people in your age range for these new positions. Once my app leaves H/R for the background check dept thats when he will make his calls and contacts to secure my employment.

The moral of my story is to never give up and it is not what you know but WHO you know!

Gregg

[lawrnk]

It continues to amaze me that someones personal finances can bar them from employment. We cannot discriminate if someone wants to worship the devil, but bad credit is a job killer.

[quidni]

It continues to amaze me that someones personal finances can bar them from employment. We cannot discriminate if someone wants to worship the devil, but bad credit is a job killer.

I can understand how chronic bad credit can indicate poor decision-making ability, but at the same time, how is someone supposed to clear the bad credit if they're not earning anything to pay it back with?

[Excaliber]

Steve Rothstein provided some excellent advice below.

If your description of his background is pretty much on and there are no hidden "gotchas" he's not telling you about, my suggestion would be to approach this from the perspective of selecting an agency to work for, not begging for a job from any agency desperate enough to hire him. I've served on the hiring board for a 200 man agency, and the truth is it's surprisingly difficult to come up with enough really good candidates who will perform well and remain in the career for 20 years or more. In each hiring cycle, we started with a pool of around 10,000 applicants and hired around 25. A look at the ads for officers in the large Texas cities who can afford an advertising budget speaks volumes that little has changed in that regard.

One good option is for your friend to explore his personal contacts to find someone who is already a well respected member of a law enforcement agency. (Someone at the rank of LT or above is a plus.) A friend of a friend is OK if he will make a personal referral. He should then ask to meet with these folks, talk about why he wants to be a law enforcement officer, and the characteristics of the kind of agency he would be happiest in (rural, city, small town / large (lots of specialized positions and promotional opportunities) or small (fewer special assignments and promotions, more personal, but the personality of the chief is much more of a factor in an officer's daily experience). The next step is to ask how the current officer's department matches what he's looking for, and if it looks like a good fit, how to apply. If the contact thinks he's a good candidate, he'll give him the information he needs and almost certainly talk to the right folks on his behalf. Good officers like to mentor good candidates into the agency, and this may help him to be seen as a better candidate. It will most certainly not hurt his chances unless he is not forthright in his dealings with these folks. If the chemistry isn't right, he should ask for a referral to someone in another agency that the officer thinks would be a better fit and follow this lead as well.

Perseverance here will prevail.

[KBCraig]

It continues to amaze me that someones personal finances can bar them from employment. We cannot discriminate if someone wants to worship the devil, but bad credit is a job killer.

Bad credit is a warning sign for any law enforcement, "sensitive", or fiscally responsible job.

Anyone who might be tempted by a bribe (or to steal) because of their financial situation is automatically rejected.

[lawrnk]

It continues to amaze me that someones personal finances can bar them from employment. We cannot discriminate if someone wants to worship the devil, but bad credit is a job killer.

Bad credit is a warning sign for any law enforcement, "sensitive", or fiscally responsible job.

Anyone who might be tempted by a bribe (or to steal) because of their financial situation is automatically rejected.

I understand that. What confuses me is that our government might block a good and decent person who had a financial problem, yet the state of Chicago is totally cool with hiring a convicted bomber and terrorist. That would be William Ayers, Obama's good buddy. If Chicago happens to vanish tommorow...I'll not be too upset. They can't see anything wrong with making a professor out of a terrorist? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers

[KBCraig]

What confuses me is that our government might block a good and decent person who had a financial problem, yet the state of Chicago is totally cool with hiring a convicted bomber and terrorist.

Political "hirings" are a whole different matter. If Ayers was granted a waiver to join the Army, he wouldn't be granted so much as a "sensitive" security clearance, much less Secret or higher. If he was appointed Secretary of Defense, there would be great gnashing of teeth among the security specialists, but they would have no choice but to allow him access to TS/compartmentalized information.

[lawrnk]

What confuses me is that our government might block a good and decent person who had a financial problem, yet the state of Chicago is totally cool with hiring a convicted bomber and terrorist.

Political "hirings" are a whole different matter. If Ayers was granted a waiver to join the Army, he wouldn't be granted so much as a "sensitive" security clearance, much less Secret or higher. If he was appointed Secretary of Defense, there would be great gnashing of teeth among the security specialists, but they would have no choice but to allow him access to TS/compartmentalized information.

Yes. Instead the liberals give him a government job. I thought treason was met with execution. Now it includes a pension, thanks to the likes of Obama.