Disqualifications

[azhockey10]

I am trying to get an idea of why people have been disqualified from police hiring processes. I tested with one PD about 3 1/2 years ago and I was dq'ed because of recent marijuana usage at the time and I was dq'ed from another dept because I did not do enough push ups in a minute. What have others been dq'ed for? Were you surpised when it happened? Was it something you did or did not disclose in the poly? Share your DQ stories...

[Nitey]

Check some previous postings. I found a lot in the back pages.

[Darin]

Originally posted by azhockey10
I am trying to get an idea of why people have been disqualified from police hiring processes. I tested with one PD about 3 1/2 years ago and I was dq'ed because of recent marijuana usage at the time and I was dq'ed from another dept because I did not do enough push ups in a minute. What have others been dq'ed for? Were you surpised when it happened? Was it something you did or did not disclose in the poly? Share your DQ stories...

I got DQ after my credit report. I had 1 30 day late pay on 2 credit cards and 1 account go to a collection agency. All these happened in 95-97.

[bhanson]

[i] What have others been dq'ed for? Were you surpised when it happened? Was it something you did or did not disclose in the poly? Share your DQ stories... [/B]

How about from the "other" side, why I dropped candidates from consideration.

#1 - Giving false or incomplete information on the application/ backgroud form.

If I find you have lied, you are out, for good, no second chance. Being able to trust what an officer says is an absolute necessity.

#2 - Can't pass spelling test / can't write an understandable essay (We ask each applicant to write a brief biography while they are waiting for the oral interview board).

We don't have the time or money to teach an applicant how to read and write.

#3 - Bad background, includes being fired (depends on reason), excessive number of jobs in short period of time, misdmeanor arrests in near past, drug use. Minor credit proiblems aren't automatic disqualifier, but sure don't help and may tip the scales against you. Severe credit problems - good bye...

#4 - Fail Polygraph - see #1 above

A police officer is a position of trust and responsibility. Anything that shows you are lacking in either area is going to hurt your chances. I will take into account youthful stupidity, we all have done stupid things. However, is you don't change and continue on this path don't consider a career in law enforcement.

Please understand I am not directing these comments AT YOU, just using the generic you.

[Stump]

Bob, you ROCK!

[bhanson]

Originally posted by Stump
Bob, you ROCK!

Is that good or bad?? :D My age is showing.

I spent a large amount of time conducting hiring processes for my department before I retired. It became very frustrating due to the poor quality of applicants. 60% we dropped during the background, we lost as many on the spelling test.

The saddest part was almost all of them had a college degree and had graduated from an POST approved academy. Does not say much for the college OR the academy. :rolleyes:

[Stump]

Originally posted by bhanson
Is that good or bad?? :D My age is showing.

Bob, according to your profile, you are exactly 7 1/2 months older than me! You had better be joking!!!!

[bhanson]

Originally posted by Stump
Bob, according to your profile, you are exactly 7 1/2 months older than me! You had better be joking!!!!

Unfortunately, I'm not. <SIGH> For some reason my public profile shows the wrong DOB. When I got to edit it the date is correct. I am currently 57 and counting, otherwise I couldn't be retired! :p

[sw2copgirl]

Ah ha!! So it's not something I was doing wrong when I tried to key in my date of birth. Even though I put down the correct year, it always came up 1993. I am NOT 9 years old!! I finally removed it entirely.

P.S. And I was NOT able to edit it. I guess I'm too old. :( :D

[InSane1]

I got disqualified for putting "No Proof of insurance" When I got to court they gave me a fine of $50.00 for No insurance, the original ticket was for no proof.. BUT.. they got technical and said.. IT WAS NO INSURANCE. Rat Bastards.

Also, they brought up the fact that I was "arrested" (at age 13) for Disorderly conduct. I'm 30 now. Talk about looking for a reason not to hire ya. They never woulkd have known about the DOC if I hadn't told them, but yanno I figured 17 years of not getting arrested might have told them that I wasn't a Horn. Apparently not.

If they don't want you, they will find a reason to disqualify you. Just like if they really want you they will overlook petty crap like that. You will find your match. ;)

[George Maschke]

bhanson,

You write that you disqualified applicants for a failed polygraph test.

Note that the National Academy of Sciences has recently completed a comprehensive review of the scientific evidence on the polygraph and found that polygraph screening is completely invalid.

I'm a co-founder of AntiPolygraph.org, a non-profit, public interest website dedicated to exposing and ending polygraph waste, fraud, and abuse. Make no mistake: we are pro-law enforcement. Many of us involved in this effort are current or former members of the law enforcement, military, and/or intelligence communities. We simply believe that public employees and applicants deserve the same protections against unreliable lie detector testing that all other Americans enjoy under the 1988 Employee Polygraph Protection Act.

Many truthful applicants are falsely accused of deception in pre-employment polygraph tests and wrongly disqualified. See the following public statements for examples of the harm that reliance on this invalid technique is causing:

http://antipolygraph.org/statements.shtml

You should also be aware that liars can easily beat the polygraph through the use of simple countermeasures that polygraphers cannot detect. You'll find these countermeasures explained in detail in AntiPolygraph.org's free book, The Lie Behind the Lie Detector. This information has been made publicly available not to help liars beat the system, but to help the innocent to protect themselves against the random error associated with an invalid "test." Unfortunately, there is no way of making this information available to those who properly need it without also making it available to those seeking to get away with lying.

[bhanson]

Originally posted by George Maschke
bhanson,

You write that you disqualified applicants for a failed polygraph test.

I did and most departments that use them still do. I have been aware of the limitations and problems with the polygraph for many years. That is why courts won't accept the test as evidence in a trial. They are just another tool an investigator can use.

However, what applicants tell a polygraqph operator can be verified in a background investigation. The interviewer/operator is the key. The fear of the poly and the ability of the inviewer are what I rely on. It is amazing what is told to the interviewer in a polygraph. Priests don't get as many confessions. :D

[jetank]

Is the use of speed a 100% automatic DQ? It has been over 8 years since i did it.

[valycop]

Is the use of speed a 100% automatic DQ? It has been over 8 years since i did it.

I think I will be safe in saying that anything other than marijuana you'll find to be an automatic disqualifier. The best way to find out is to contact the agency you're interested in and ask.

[valycop]

Here's my two cents on this topic; I remember the days when the DC Police had a recruiting commercial on television. Back then in the late sixties and early seventies being a police officer was not a profession people were interested in. Now however, becoming a law enforcement officer is a sought after job and depending on the agency you might have thousands of applications. My point, agency administrators have the ability to be very selective on who they hire. Some would say they are being too picky or they're being petty about someone's background, well in the 21st century the qualifications have changed, the standards for the agencies across the country have changed and most importantly the civil liability laws have changed.