Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

This is probably a stupid question, but I didn't find the answer in any of the threads that I read. Do all your answers in the VSA have to be, "yes" or "no", or do you get to extrapolate?

I'm applying to be an unpaid volunteer with our local PD. I did the CPA and LOVED it. Absolutely fascinating, to get a glimpse into the job, and get to know some of our officers. The requirements for being a volunteer seem to be somewhat similar to the application process for cops. There's the FBI fingerprint check, a deep background check, and the VSA. I was told that only one out of ten applicants usually gets accepted.

I've read a lot of threads on here, and I'll probably have a couple of flags on the VSA. I think if I can explain them, I have a good chance of being accepted. But if not, then probably not.

Thank you.

I have a terrible temper, and I saw on another thread where a LEO told a potential applicant that it was a red flag. BUT I also have, thanks to my parents, iron self-control. Years ago, when I was single, I told every first date that I was foul-mouthed and had a terrible temper. None of them ever believed me. The only people who have ever seen my temper are those closest to me, and only if they have done something so awful or egregious that I lose control. In order for anyone to GET to me, I have to let them in. This will not happen with the public or people that I work with at the PD, particularly since I will (hopefully) be a civilian volunteer. So if I'm asked about my temper, I have to admit that, yeah, underneath the exterior of a middle-aged housewife roars a Leo :-)

I yell when I'm irritated at home. Never at work. When I am very, very angry, I speak very, very quietly. And I think before I speak. My father told me years ago never to say anything today that could change all my tomorrows. I live by that.

IMHO....the fact that you have a terrible temper means that you COULD lose control not to mention the other " red flags" that you claim. Doesn't sound like a good mix , ESPECIALLY if you say that 9 of 10 don't make it.

Thank you. Is it even a question on the VSA? Also, our local cops know me because of the CPA. So I'm not a stranger off the street.

Background check won't turn up anything criminal or temper-related, because I do not lose control except in extremely extenuating circumstances. Personal circumstances.

I might react strongly to any questions about child abuse because when I was 8, and allowed to walk 2 blocks to my allergist alone, a boy, probably a teenager, asked me for the time. When I looked down, he reached under my skirt and touched my underwear. I ran home screaming and our doctor made a house call. I hate pedophiles with a deep and abiding passion. I think they should be executed or at least lobotomized and chemically castrated.

I spearheaded a boycott against Amazon several years ago because they were selling films from the Ukraine that purported to be "nature films" of young boys camping. Yeah, camping naked. *vomit* Jeff Bezos watched a few and Amazon stopped selling them.

Otherwise, no red flags. Except smoking pot a couple of times in the 1970's. Stopped when my father smelled it on me and told me that I would never smoke it again. One did not disobey the Colonel :-) funny thing, when I asked him how he knew what it smelled like, he roared, "I'm in the Army!" I could never get him to explain that.

I always wondered why LE didn't go after the pedophiles who wrote the reviews of these disgusting films. It was the reviews that set us off, even more than the descriptions of the films. Ugggh, it still turns my stomach all these years later.

No offense but I think you should stick to just being who you are now - I don't think you and LE are a good match.

Even if you explained and I was on the panel/interviewing, I would red flag you. I don't know you or very many facts, but your presentation to me indicates you are immature; unable to properly handle anger; and have an abnormal thought pattern. Maybe you need to present yourself better.

H'mmm. Thank you both. I did notice that my original question was never answered. I wouldn't say that I'm unable to handle anger at all. In the last 30 years, I've lost my temper twice. I have an immature sense of humor, absolutely. Could you please explain the "abnormal thought pattern"? I'm genuinely curious. I am also far more reserved in person than online. I want to do volunteer work to give back to the community and help the cops. I am thinking it might be better to stick with writing a detective novel, though. I keep going back and forth about whether it's worth it to have my privacy invaded for a volunteer position. I don't have to work, but I need to pick up my son at school every day at 2:30, so the volunteer hours are a good fit.