questions on juvenile past

[iwantjustice]

Hi I'm 19 years old I've wanted to be a cop since I was a young boy but as a young boy I have some questions regarding being an officer in my teenage years I have smoked pot I wasn't a pot head but i did smoke occasionally on and off but not an extreme amount. And i have quit its just not me and its not something I want to be apart of and I really want to do something with my life and try maybe help people avoid some of the mistakes I've made or or worse also I had some speeding offences as a minor all pay out tickets but being a minor more than one offence in a year they suspend your licence no matter what and my third offence was sliding off the road and i got a failure to control which so in all I had to suspensions one was three months and the other was for six month probationary thing if i stayed out of trouble for 6 months I got them back but i got another ticket so two speeding tickets one failure to control now I've read that some departments require you to be drug free for at MIN of three years for just pot is this true and can I still be an officer of the law with my ignorant juvenile past thank you for taking the time to read this

[retdetsgt]

First, learn how to write. You didn't learn punctuation and capitalization in school? That post is one of the five most poorly written I've seen here in years.

Your driving is going to be a factor if you got three tickets in a year and was suspended. Time will take care of that if you can go 4 or 5 years w/o another one. I don't know about the policies around there for smoking dope, but if you wanted to be a cop since you were a young boy, you sure didn't live your life like it.

[iwantjustice]

Yeah, ummm i typed this on a cell phone that's why I didn't worry to much about punctuation! I'm not illiterate I figured the people reading this would take what I said in to account instead of whether or not i addressed punctuation, and realize I was a young boy that was lost and growing up in todays world it's harder than ever to stay on the right path as an adolescent male. Not that its impossible nor do I condone any of it I've always been a good seed just made some bad choices. I have completely cut off my old life style I'm new and ready to make a difference. Yeah yu can sit there and criticize me but what is done is done! I know what i did and I'm never doing it again point blank sometimes you have to go down the dark path before your able to see the light from the right one! Once again thanks for reading.

[retdetsgt]

The problem is, departments don't want people with a history of bad choices. That's why you have to put some time in showing you can make good choices for a few years.


Good luck.

[marinepilot]

I won't harp on your writing skills, other than to say, no matter what form of input device you use, you should always strive for the best you can do. Don't settle for text speech and then say oh, it's okay because I was typing it on a phone. That's a cop out.

That said, you probably won't like what else I have to say. You said in your initial post that you're 19 years old. In your second post you said you expected us to see you as a "young boy" that was "lost and growing up in today's world." Got news for you, you're NOT a young boy. You are considered a grown man, old enough to vote to change your country or join the military and go fight and possibly die for it. Quit spouting the "young boy" crap and realize that you're now a YOUNG MAN! Start taking responsibility for the things you do (and have done) and yes, that includes having enough pride to ensure that when you type something out that others will attempt to read, you should do it correctly.

Secondly, you stated you have wanted to be a law enforcement officer since you were a child, yet you made the decision to smoke marijuana consistently enough that it went well beyond experimentation (that is, once or twice at most). Hmmmm, most people I know realize that pot is ILLEGAL and as such, someone wishing to have a job or career ENFORCING LAWS would try to make better choices about using illegal substances. Call me crazy if you want, but agencies you apply to are going to wonder and ask the same thing. In my area, you can possibly get hired after smoking pot, but you have to be at least 5 years from the last use. And don't forget, this job is so competitive that you will be going up against those who have NEVER used pot, or had their drivers license suspended.

Like RDS said above, PROVE that this type of behavior is in your past by staying clean both as far as driving and using illegal drugs goes, for at least 5 years. Get a job and hold it and do your best at it. Join the military for a few years. Get your education (preferably in something other than Criminal Justice). And then put in the applications for your dream job. Otherwise, if your juvenile past continues into your now ADULT present (and future), hang it up. Oh, and possibly get used to the idea of being involved with LE from the other side....