Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

I'm currently enrolled in a community college and after the fall semester I plan on beginning my search for a police job. This is not the first school I've attended, but it is the only one that I'll be using the credit for graduation from. When I started here, having dropped out of college twice before, I wanted a clean start so I didn't transfer any of my credits. So when I go to apply should I list all three schools and provide transcripts even though I haven't used any of those credits in my pursuit of a degree? They don't do much to show my potential, nor my present work ethic, so I'm afraid that they will be counted against me. (One school had 10 hours and a 1.something GPA, the other 0 hours and a 0 GPA...one semester, dropped all classes) I've heard though that in the hiring process honesty is the best policy. So if I provide all three transcripts and state in the interview that I messed up in the past and didn't really know what I wanted to do, will they red flag me and prevent my hiring? Will I even make it to the interview process with this situation?

List everything, if you don't; they'll find out anyway. They're cops. Plus the more credits you have the more $$ you get and the faster you can apply for more authoratative positions. I.E. Sgt, Det. etc etc. But, by showing the improvement in your GPA you're also showing your growing maturity in life and that can be a bonus if you word it right in your oral board. Just my .02.

Above all be honest...believe me, they find out amazing things doing a background investigation on someoone. So be honest, or else you'll be automatically disqaulified when caught. Yes, they will want to know any schools you attended, including credit hours. They will not necessarily red flag you, or eliminate you from the hiring process because of your college mess up, however it shows a definite maturity issue. Your background investigator will address this I'm sure. What they (the p.d.) wants to do is up to them, and what they do might be different from what another does.

If it makes you feel better, I know someone who had a semester GPA that was atrocious. Below 2.0. They woke up and finished their career strong at other schools. They were hired for a well known agency.

Explain and move on. Not everyone was born perfect. Good luck.