Traffic incidents affecting LEO eligibility in VA

[Jeff L]

First off, I would like to say "Thank you!" ahead of time for anyone who responds to or even so much as reads this post. There are far too many LEO's in my opinion who go out, do their job, and simply disregard their duties within seconds of clocking out ;).

I am currently 21 and a senior at William and Mary (a well respected college here in VA) with a mediocre GPA (hey, life here is hard!).

As of now, i'm working with a local Bail Enforcement Agency but hope to get out of that. Aside from the work being relatively boring 98% of the time, doing quasi-LEO work without peace officer protections is losing its appeal.

Until quite recently, I failed to comprehend the consequences of traffic infractions affecting my career potential as a LEO. My record looks a little something like this:

As a juvenile:

- 1 x Reckless Driving
- 1 x Accident with property damage (no summons issued)

As an adult:

Three of more years ago:
- 1 x Speeding 20+ (the officer did not write Reckless, so this should only be a 5yr violation)

Two or more years ago:
- 1 x Speeding 1-9
- 1 x Speeding 10-14

Last year:
- 1 x Accident (hit some black ice and wasted my truck, no summons issued)

Seven to eight months ago:
- 1 x Failure to yield while entering highway
- 1 x Speeding 10 - 14

Yes, this is a bit of stuff to have on ones record, but I do wish for everyone to take into consideration that I drive over 50,000 mi per year in VA and therefore am putting myself at a much greater liability (this makes sense to me, but i'm sure the counties don't really want to hear about it?).

As of this moment, i've been talking with a county recruiter who, knowing the above, is still encouraging me to apply. Are they desperate and is she serious or are they just looking to meet a quota of applications for their next hiring phase?

All of this aside, I should meet (just barely too) the requirements of one or more VA localities by Nov. of 2005 based on research i've done (one county has a "No more than 8 points in two years and no Reckless Driving in four years" policy, which i'll be hitting on the nose). Yes, having the record is still a strike against me but i'll also be holding a four year degree and a respectable employment history (not counting the Bail Enforcement gig which is realtively recent and I do not plan on using as a selling point).

How would you all gauge my eligibility and attractiveness? I'm primarily interested in VA, but would be curious to hear about the policies of other states as well. My alternate plan was to pursue an officer position with the Air Force (as a Security Forces Officer, of course ;) ). Do I stand a decent chance finding employment with a local county, or will I be signing myself away to the AF?

Best Regards, Jeff

[Jeff L]

I just realized there was a more appropriate forum to post this in *embarassed*

-no need to be embarrased, moving things are easy. ngcsubutterbar

[Darin]

How many points do you have?

And it depends on the agency. Some require that you have no minus points. Some frown on at fault crash's. But if they want you it may not matter. If they don't want you it will matter.

How's that for riding the fence? ;)

[Jeff L]

Darin,

The county recruiter advised me that the accidents are not "At Fault" if no summons were issued and other parties were not involved as both accidents involved only my car and a barrier of some sort. (could someone in VA verify this?).

My point balance is "-4," violations rotate out of the point calculation with VA's DMV every two years, however, most departments will use a three to five year basis for calculating violations and will count the violation toward their policy regardless of whether or not the charge was amended (eg. dismissed by going to Driving School, which the Reckless Driving charge was and now shows only as "Driving School by Court Order").

I understand the basic premise of the applicable laws, its the interpretation that i'm having issues with.

Thanks, Jeff

[JD45]

As with most hiring processes, it all depends on the agency you're applying with. CHP wouldn't take you because of your driving record, but my agency and a lot of others will.

If a recruiter for a paticular agency is encouraging you to apply knowing your driving record, then by all means go for it. I haven't met anyone who does recruiting falsely lead someone to believe they have a chance in fact when they truly don't.

I would apply to that county department and as far as any other agencies, have a copy of your driving record available and ask them and see what they say.

[Jeff L]

JD45:

Thanks for your input,

CHP would not take me period, or they would not take me based on the recency/frequency of the violations? (I do not plan to apply with them, just curious). What department are you with currently?

From my research, i've seen two types of agencies:
- Those who publish discrete standards on their websites
- Those who do not disclose standards and will not discuss them whatsoever (the county i'm dealing with now is one of those)

Thanks, Jeff

[Darin]

Darin,

The county recruiter advised me that the accidents are not "At Fault" if no summons were issued and other parties were not involved as both accidents involved only my car and a barrier of some sort. (could someone in VA verify this?).

Well I'm not 100% sure. You could still be at fault even if you recieved no summons. I worked a crash in which a guy spun his Mustang into a ditch. He obviously lost control and ended up in a ditch but since there were no other cars involved and the only property damage done was to his own vehicle I decided not to charge him.

But best of luck to you!

[JD45]

JD45:

Thanks for your input,

CHP would not take me period, or they would not take me based on the recency/frequency of the violations? (I do not plan to apply with them, just curious). What department are you with currently?

From my research, i've seen two types of agencies:
- Those who publish discrete standards on their websites
- Those who do not disclose standards and will not discuss them whatsoever (the county i'm dealing with now is one of those)

Thanks, Jeff

CHP wouldn't take you (from my knowledge) based upon your driving record. When I was an explorer with them I don't think you could have more than 2 violations on your record at the time of application. This was 10 years ago so things might have changed, but CHP is pretty stringent.

I'm with Daly City Police near San Francisco. You'd probably be asked to explain your driving record, but it's something that could be overcome. It's in now way an automatic DQ for us.

[Jeff L]

How does one go about explaining a record? Its not like they're trying to hear me sit around and make excuses, what's done is done right?

[GoDirectly2Jail]

It may or may not be a dealbreaker. Ask yourself this: if you had two otherwise identical candidates, but one had a marginal driving history while the other has a clean record, which one would you choose?

There are many LE applicants who don't have any negative driving history whatsoever, and you are competing with them for a position.

Not trying to bring you down, but you have to realize you may need to go the extra mile to be attractive to these agencies. Best of luck.

[Jeff L]

GoDirectly2Jail,

I searched through most of this forum and have seen you say this many times before. Outside of the aforementioned, I would consider myself very attractive. On the other hand, Virginia departments don't play around (you know this ;) )

[mcsap]

The longer your driving record , the less attractive you are. You need to work on getting rid of your points. Slow down or change your car to something less condusive to being fast.

[Jeff L]

mcsap:

Thats in the works. I'm the one you see in the right lane doing 60 - 65 on cruise control.

I currently drive a 03 Audi TT and historically i've always owned fast, flashy cars (Mustangs, etc). I think i'm going to go with a Toyota Prius (the hybrid electric) and might even have some type of speed limiting device put on ;).

[my58vw]

Interesting, just a little insite,

Slower cars do not make you not speed, it is an attitude and habit that you ahve to break. For me it took a friend dying to relize why we do not speed on the road. I drive a car on the street that could tear apart most other cars and run 8 - 9's on the strip. Have I ever been pulled over, no. It just takes dicipline to not do those kind of things.

Last week I was at a stop light and a little honda a reving at me. I could have so blown off the doors of the car but instead I rolled down the window and said "if you want to race, see you at irwindale next weekend". Restraint comes with maturity and from what I have seen maturity is a big part of being a LEO.

The department I am applying too has strict standards on driving. Any conviction of a misdemonor reckless driving charge is an Auto DQ as is too many negative points on the record. Other rules include number of violations, etc.

Not every department is that way so just apply and see what happens. Lesson to learn, when you want to go fast, just say to yourself... if I am caught am I going to lose the chance to work in a job that I really want. Take it from someone who has been there, a few close calls and you want to be extra careful to follow the straight and narrow path.

Good Luck

[mxwelch]

Don't give up. I recently applied with the VA State Police and I too have a -4 point balance. My record which has been clean for over a year is similar to yours. I too wondered if this would affect my chances of employment. I was asked after taking the 964 question exam to come back for phase II of the process. They know of all my traffic violations and still are considering me for employment.