I was turned away...

[AZTechie]

I was turned away for a position with the Phoenix Police Department. Am I entitled to know the reason and/or what they would tell future agencies I might apply to as to why I was turned away? The file has my name on it, am I wrong to think I am allowed to know what it says?

[Switchback]

You should be able to get it with a FOIA request.

[icu650]

Did you ask them? What did they say?

[Kimble]

You should be able to get it with a FOIA request.

Also, if you've never done a Freedom of Information Act request, you can Google it and get some good insight on what it entails (many larger agencies will even have FOIA info listed on their websites).

[Citicop]

Were you disqualified, or simply not selected for the position?

If you were disqualified, it will be easy to find out why (even if you have to use the FOIA to do it).

BUT, if you simply weren't selected, then there likely is no one single reason why. Maybe other people were better qualified than you, maybe you rubbed the chief the wrong way in the interview, maybe your BI thought you wouldn't be a good fit for the department...

Lots of people apply, but there are only so many available positions; the process is competitive and just because you meet or exceed the standards is not a guarantee of a position.

-Citicop.

[DeltaV]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that FOIA only applied to federal agencies. State and local agencies are subject to the public records laws of the state that they're in. I know that because of the type of information contained in police applicant files and background investigations, we don't release any of that and have never had a problem.

[Kimble]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that FOIA only applied to federal agencies. State and local agencies are subject to the public records laws of the state that they're in.

Technically that's correct, I just looked it up to double check. "FOIA" has sort of become a buzz word for finding out information from a public agency via a law (either FOIA for feds or a similar state statute). All 50 states and Washington, D.C. have open records laws, though.

Here's a resource with a breakdown of said laws for each state: http://www.rcfp.org/open-government-guide

[AZTechie]

Thank you all, this was very helpful. Surprisingly, I did not get any reply notifications via email, so I am glad I checked.

[AZTechie]

I know why I was disqualified, but I am curious if they are allowed to tell me how they would portray me should I apply with another agency. Here are the details, I don't mind sharing (but that doesn't mean I am proud of it):

I unknowingly admitted to a felony by asking for clarification as to whether going home and using the company's remote login information posted in the break room of my workplace counts as computer hacking. Apparently it does. They said to come back in three years, but isn't that SOP? That was six months ago.

I called my BI and left messages several times, and she isn't returning any of my calls.

My question is, if I can finally get through to her, am I allowed to know what she would tell the FBI if I choose that path in the future? Also, do age and maturity over time affect future application processes? In other words, will the FBI understand that I was only 19 and have matured since then?

An FBI recruiter said that the hacking wasn't a big deal, but I want to know if she would describe an "integrity issue" since I did not disclose it until the polygraph following the background interview because I missed the keyword "hacking" the first time through the questions.

FYI, the FBI won't happen until I am at least 27, if ever, so the statute of limitations is on my side (for now).