How's the prospective outlook for me?

[inpursuit]

This is my first time posting, and let me first say that I admire everything that you guys do. I have two cousins that are in law enforcement; one in the police dept and the other is a sheriff. I want to be a man of uniform as well. But as of right now, I am unsure whether I will be able to pursue my goal.

The bad:

I have a felony record. The charges were drug related. I spent a couple months in county and am serving the rest of my time on probation. I have about a year left to finish. I should also mention that I do have a probation violation on record, which obviously would not look good to the police department. This happened 2 years ago, and I am currently 21 years old.

The good (subjective):

Ever since the probation violation, I've been staying out of trouble and will continue to do so in the future. I've been attending college full time and working in a medical office for 2 years. I am currently pursuing a major in criminal justice.

So you see my dilemma.
1. Will having this record automatically disqualify me as an applicant in the future?

2. Will expunging that record have any benefit?

3. Does being 21 years old right now work in my favor, in terms of time and years to come? (understand that I have 2 years to go to get my BA, where I will be applying post-graduation)

Any advice or comments would be much appreciated, as I would like to learn sooner than later as to whether I should switch my major/career goals. Thanks in advance!

[deputywave]

Your chances of a career in LE are slim to none. Keep your life on the straight and narrow and make a difference in another career field.

[Curt581]

1. Will having this record automatically disqualify me as an applicant in the future?

Yes, it will. In every agency I know of. Period. Even if.

2. Will expunging that record have any benefit?

Very little, if any. In many states (like mine), expungment isn't an option at all. In others, you'll still have to answer the question on the application which asks if you've ever been arrested or convicted of a crime. Answer with the truth, and you'll be out. Answer with anything other than the truth, and you'll be out. Keep in mind that police background checks aren't the same as checks for any other kind of job. We'll find it.

3. Does being 21 years old right now work in my favor, in terms of time and years to come? (understand that I have 2 years to go to get my BA, where I will be applying post-graduation)

Being 21 is the minimum in most agencies. It wouldn't "work in your favor", other to have the agency actually accept your application. In other words, it wouldn't make you a better candidate than any others, because if they weren't 21, they wouldn't BE candidates.

Any advice or comments would be much appreciated, as I would like to learn sooner than later as to whether I should switch my major/career goals. Thanks in advance!

Change your major NOW. Today.

(and I'm being nice about it for a change)

[MountainMan]

Felony drung conviction with a probation violation. No agency woth anything would hire you for a sworn application. I dodn't know of any place in the United States where you can get POST certified with a felony.

As mentioned before change your major so you aren't wasting your money and education.

[Roger Dat]

ZERO chance.

[FBINA188]

Your chances of a career in LE are slim to none. Keep your life on the straight and narrow and make a difference in another career field.

ZERO chance.

I agree X 2 and with the other comments above.

While I'm sure you regret your previous actions, and that you are sincere in your desire to follow in the path of your two cousins, the road ahead ends now.

You're still young, so I would recommend that you chose another major and pursue another career.

Good luck in whatever you decide ...

[GoDirectly2Jail]

LE is closed to you - so are many other professions.

Change your major. Criminal justice is a worthless degree if you are not in the field.

[inpursuit]

As I understand, most of you guys are in different states. And so would the statements you made apply to where I live? Do the different counties within states differ in the requirements, when it comes to a felony? I live in California by the way. Thanks everybody for all your input. I'm not trying to refute what you guys have said by the way. I just wanted clarification if it were the same for all states, or vary depending on location.

Being 21 is the minimum in most agencies. It wouldn't "work in your favor", other to have the agency actually accept your application. In other words, it wouldn't make you a better candidate than any others, because if they weren't 21, they wouldn't BE candidates.

Some agencies only require you to be 18 and have a diploma/GED. Nevertheless, this still wouldn't make me a better candidate than others based on age haha. But what I meant by working in my favor is the time factor. As I am 21 right now, by the time I apply, would a sufficient amount of time have passed in order for me to declare that I was young and stupid and made mistakes? Just out of curiosity, how much time would be enough (if any)? 5 years, 10 years, etc ..or is it regardless?

Thanks for answering each of my questions, Curt. I'm glad you broke it down so that I could understand the answer to my questions. Just a couple more for you here, if you don't mind. Of course, open to everybody as well.

[retdetsgt]

Any felony conviction ends it for you. Even if you got it expunged, the fact you were that involved with drugs would take you out of the running. Sorry, but no way is it going to happen for you.

[inpursuit]

I agree X 2 and with the other comments above.

While I'm sure you regret your previous actions, and that you are sincere in your desire to follow in the path of your two cousins, the road ahead ends now.

You're still young, so I would recommend that you chose another major and pursue another career.

Good luck in whatever you decide ...

Yeah, I'm on the fence with my major now. I suppose I better get cracking on switching it. The only other thing I'd be able to do is teach with a degree in criminal justice haha. But that defeats the purpose, at least for me. Oh well, I'm just going to check in with the local PD before I give it all up. The starting salary is 70k at the moment, so I will not give up just yet haha. In the meantime, keep the insight and answers coming!

[Samuel]

Oh well, I'm just going to check in with the local PD before I give it all up.

Then why waste our time here? :rolleyes:

The starting salary is 70k at the moment, so I will not give up just yet haha.

Yup, that's exactly the kind of guy we want to join our ranks - a convicted felon looking for a paycheck. :rolleyes:

In the meantime, keep the insight and answers coming!

Why, so you can just ignore them and continue to ask until you hear what you want to hear? Screw that. :rolleyes:

As much as I hate to do this to the closest LE agency/LEOs, you should leave this website and just "check in with the local PD" with all the rest of your questions...



::CLICK:: :rolleyes:

[inpursuit]

I assure you I am not here to pump you guys for answers that I want to hear (haha I already have a mother). I am quite capable of handling rejection, even when it is related with a passion for the career I wish to pursue. I already know, and like many of you have said, I am still fairly young and can change my major. There are just some things that conflict with what I have heard and what you have said. The sources are people who have already been admitted into law enforcement. Sure maybe in Washington DC, for example, applicants with a felony will be dismissed on the spot. I am not discrediting any of you. I am merely obtaining information and taking into account those that apply to me and my situation.

After reading other posts, I have come to an understanding that most LEOs on this site, but not all, have a tendency to reply back with distaste, such as yourself. As to why I "waste your time" here, please realize that there are other members on this forum that may correspond their replies to me. Now if I was sitting in a one on one session with you and asked questions to which you supplied me with detailed answers, and still I go off to another source after, then I agree with you. That truly would be a waste of your time.

Samuel, to your fallacious remark, money is not the motivating factor for me to join. It is definitely one of the perks, but not the sole reason. Please refrain from insinuating comments in the future.

Excuse the digression, but if we could get back on point I'd appreciate that

[retdetsgt]

The sources are people who have already been admitted into law enforcement.

You know someone hired as a LE officer who has a felony conviction for drug use? Where, pray tell?

[greg72982]

This has to be a joke

[retdetsgt]

This has to be a joke

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people like him who think they are so entitled they can do whatever they want and get anything they want.

I'd love to see the look on the BI's face when he reads this guy's application.