career change

[chumosh]

hi, i currently live in CA. i have been in the dental field for about 3 years now i am currently 23 years old. i have couple of questions i wanna pursue a new career in Law enforcement i just fell in love with it to many things to type and explain why, but i wanted to ask when i was a teenager i smoked pot for maybe 2 years in that 2 years id say i prob smoked weed 20-30 times no more then that i never had the money to be honest only did it when friends had it... i am very ashamed of my past,

another thing that happened when i was 14 years old i never sold weed before then never wanted to so this kid moved down from Sacramento and i knew him for about 2 weeks he was just a kid that would play basketball with me then he told me he smokes and maybe i only smoked one time with him, well one day he told me to give 5 dollar worth of weed to this kid in the bathroom for him "which was stupid idea of course" and all i did was hand the weed for him and he told me to get the money which did "again my stupid fault for doing that for a friend" well that kid was an undercover cop and a month later i got arrested for selling 5 dollar worth of weed to him.

which i went on probation for a year and i got good grades all A's and B's and proved to the judge that i am better then that and since then i have turned my life around i am married and i have not touched weed for like 7 years or so, and i have a clean driving record 5 years of driving experience.

1 last mistake i maid was at work at my dentist i took some of the gold teeth in this stash we have that we give to these vendors that come by and pick the teeth scraps and sold it to one of those stands in the mall it was like 100 dollars worth of gold but i never did it on purpose then i realised oh wow that was stealing so i confronted my boss and let him know i did this and i maid him take out 100 from my paycheck and i apologized and he said that was ok and he said thanks for letting me know and that was that. again i returned every penny.

My real question here is with all that said, i want to go to school and get a degree in criminal justice, and apply for LASD or LAPD before i go ahead and spend the money and 2 years of studying i want to ask Real cops do i have a realistic chance of getting hired as a police officer with my back round i mean i was a kid 13 or 14 years old maid very poor mistake but i have learned and moved forward with my life should i go for it and get my degree in criminal justice? Thanks for any help in advance.!

[marinepilot]

I don't know about LA, but in my area, the selling of drugs charge, even as a minor, would DQ you from any agency around here. The weed use was bad, but since it's been so long ago, but getting arrested for selling it would mean permanent DQ. The theft from the dentist is also bad, although you made it right by admitting and paying for it. But, the point is that you did that as an adult (you stated you're 23 and have been working in dentistry for 3 years, so it must have happened after your 18th birthday). Leads to a state of mind that is not what LE agencies are looking for.

One thing, you mention that all the things you did were "mistakes." That is not true as a mistake is something that happens when you try to do the right thing and miss the mark. Deciding to do those things you knew, or should have known, were against the law were just that, DECISIONS, albeit majorly incorrect ones. Instead of thinking of them as "mistakes," get it into your mind that you messed up through your own bad choices and move on from there.

While this probably isn't the answer you were looking for, it is what it is, and I recommend you either stay in dentistry (and maybe go to school to become a dentist), or find another field to work in, because I believe your chances at getting a career in LE are nonexistent.

[ET109]

i prob smoked weed 20-30 times

Not good... that'll disqualify you from many places, and make you a poor candidate at others.

well that kid was an undercover cop and a month later i got arrested for selling 5 dollar worth of weed to him.

So you didn't want to sell weed... but you sold weed. To an undercover cop. That shows a lack of integrity, smarts and luck. Or that's the only time you were caught. It may have been at 14 but it still happened...

1 last mistake i maid was at work at my dentist i took some of the gold teeth in this stash we have that we give to these vendors that come by and pick the teeth scraps and sold it to one of those stands in the mall it was like 100 dollars worth of gold but i never did it on purpose then

...un huh. The problem with that is that most people have probably gone their lives without stealing gold. Even alone, an incident of stealing from an employer would take some time and effort to put behind you.

My real question here is with all that said, i want to go to school and get a degree in criminal justice, and apply for LASD or LAPD before i go ahead and spend the money and 2 years of studying i want to ask Real cops do i have a realistic chance of getting hired as a police officer with my back round i mean i was a kid 13 or 14 years old maid very poor mistake but i have learned and moved forward with my life should i go for it and get my degree in criminal justice? Thanks for any help in advance.!

No, you should not spend time and money on a CJ degree for the purpose of being a police officer. Maybe you're on the right track in life and have mended all your ways, becoming a beacon of honesty who does not sway based on other people... or maybe you'll make another 'mistake'. A LE agency can't be confident in someone with that pattern, though. There are other careers out there.

I am ignoring the grammar etc in the post, but that would come into play if the content wasn't a killer- it doesn't read like a young professional looking for a career change, though.

[Cat_Doc]

I would not hire you.

[Samuel]

Stick with dentistry...

[mcsap]

All of the replies were great. You may wish to speak to a recruiter from a PD / SO in your area and run this exact same info. past them but I suspect that even if you aren't DQ'd , you will come into the arena with some heavy baggage.

[chumosh]

I am assuming you guys are not police officers from California.

[Samuel]

Why would you assume that? And why would you want to make that statement instead of simply just asking if any of us were located in CA?

[G35 Mass]

Unfortunately for you, in my great state your drug conviction is an automatic DQ. You may actually be DQued under federal law... I'm not sure if distribution of drugs triggers the "no firearm possession" law.

[icu650]

Why not a dental forensic scientist in a private lab. They seem to pop up with these type of people on every high profile case.

[Samuel]

Why not a dental forensic scientist in a private lab. They seem to pop up with these type of people on every high profile case.

Yep, those guys have it maid...

[deputywave]

I sense that a career in law enforcement is NOT in your future.

[Legoate]

I am assuming you guys are not police officers from California.

If it makes you feel better, I'm an officer from CA so I'll reply:

"Experimentation" with drugs, particularly marijuana, is acceptable for some police departments. However I don't know of any agency that would consider two years of pot smoking with an admitted "20-30" uses as "experimentation". You could expect to be drilled regearding EVERY SINGLE time you used marijuana. You say 20-30, How do you know it's not 30-40, or 40-50? Is your weed clouded memory that good that you can remember every time you smoked?

Selling of drugs? I know of no agency that will hire you with a narcotics sales history. Please drop all of the "mistake" nonsense- you don't mistakenly sell drugs, you do it on purpose because you are looking to make a quick buck and don't care how you do it.

Theft from your employer? Try to google the term "embezzlement" and see what you get. Agencies will be putting a lot of trust in you- giving you a gun, having you make mature life and death decisions. You've already shown you have a lot of issues with integrity.

In short, skip the CJ degree. I highly doubt that you will ever enter the field of law enforcement. Your history will likely disqualify you automatically- and if it doesn't, you will be at the very bottom of a very long list of qualified applicants.

[mcsap]

If it makes you feel better, I'm an officer from CA so I'll reply:

"Experimentation" with drugs, particularly marijuana, is acceptable for some police departments. However I don't know of any agency that would consider two years of pot smoking with an admitted "20-30" uses as "experimentation". You could expect to be drilled regearding EVERY SINGLE time you used marijuana. You say 20-30, How do you know it's not 30-40, or 40-50? Is your weed clouded memory that good that you can remember every time you smoked?

Selling of drugs? I know of no agency that will hire you with a narcotics sales history. Please drop all of the "mistake" nonsense- you don't mistakenly sell drugs, you do it on purpose because you are looking to make a quick buck and don't care how you do it.

Theft from your employer? Try to google the term "embezzlement" and see what you get. Agencies will be putting a lot of trust in you- giving you a gun, having you make mature life and death decisions. You've already shown you have a lot of issues with integrity.

In short, skip the CJ degree. I highly doubt that you will ever enter the field of law enforcement. Your history will likely disqualify you automatically- and if it doesn't, you will be at the very bottom of a very long list of qualified applicants.

Hmmm......this answer seems exactly like the rest that weren't from CA. Must be some sort of a nationwide thing afterall.