Applied to PD, just found out I have a warrant....screwed?

[giraffe]

I'm the ap process, did great on written/physical, have oral interview next week, then BI.....

I was trying to think of things that would go in my background packet last night, when I was trying to remember all of my speeding tickets I thought of one that I never paid..... I called the county where I got it (in another state) and sure enough, they have a warrant for failure to pay/failure to appear....it was in 2003! I think I got one notice about it after the infraction and then forgot about it, the issue has never come up anywhere else, even when I went to apply for a DL when I moved to a new state in 2005.

Best case scenario: I pay it tomorrow and clear it up....

But is this a no-brainer, am I still screwed b/c I let it go until now?

Or is this another one of those "crystal ball" questions? If it is, I will shut up and chill out.

(P.s. this is the only thing I am really really worried about, only 2 moving violations in the past 5 years that I can remember, last ticket was in 2005....)

[webjeep]

Get it taken care of immediately and the minute you meet with your BI bring it up and ask them. It is going to hurt, but only your BI can tell you how badly. I remember when I was in the Corps still and went to test in Fairfax. They required photo ID for the test as most places. The funny thing was that during the test they came in and took out about a dozen different people. Later found out they had warrants.

[gringoscott]

Call your BI ASAP. And get the warrant fixed just as quick. Good luck.

[giraffe]

Thanks for the responses! I'll follow that advice.

[CCBlueMan]

D'OH! That sucks! Good luck, I hope things work out for you.

[giraffe]

By the way, I haven't even gotten my BI packet so there is no one for me to contact yet. I still have to do my oral interview and they will send out the BI packs to whoever passes the oral. Last night my friend told me that as long as I clear up the warrant, it will just show up on my background as a ticket that was paid, the warrant itself will disappear and not be on my record, IOW, anyone checking my background won't see a warrant at any time in my history, just a ticket. Anyone know if this is true?

[maz]

So basically you are asking if its true because if it is true you'll never bring it up and lie to your BI right?

[giraffe]

I guess I don't understand this whole process. I just asked a question and I'm practically being accused of being a liar. I have never experienced anything like this before. If the BI doesn't show that I had warrants, why would I come out and say "Oh by the way I cleared up those tickets but only after I got warrants!!!" Just how much information am I supposed to volunteer???? I have never gone for a job before and said, "By the way, Mr. Interviewer, you will probably never find this out on your own, but let me tell you anyway just to make myself look as bad as possible....I didn't get along that well with my ex-boss, I was a good worker but we often had a difference of opinion. " (Just an example)....

Maybe I'm not cut out for this, it feels like Judgment Day..... no, I'm not planning on lying but I'm not planning on telling every dark or not-so-dark secret just for the heck of it. I'm applying for a job, a lot of people on these boards make it seem like the hiring process is a WITCH HUNT.

[giraffe]

And yes, I would like to know if the warrants are going to show up or not b/c it would put my mind at ease. I almost QUIT yesterday b/c a lot of folks on these police forums have me convinced that I'm a bad person and not good enough to be a cop b/c of a few mistakes in my life...... even though I think I will make a DAMN good cop and everyone I know agrees.

[fabolous084]

And yes, I would like to know if the warrants are going to show up or not b/c it would put my mind at ease. I almost QUIT yesterday b/c a lot of folks on these police forums have me convinced that I'm a bad person and not good enough to be a cop b/c of a few mistakes in my life...... even though I think I will make a DAMN good cop and everyone I know agrees.

Your cracking now I wonder how your gonna deal with real stress lol.....

[04SteveR6]

And yes, I would like to know if the warrants are going to show up or not b/c it would put my mind at ease. I almost QUIT yesterday b/c a lot of folks on these police forums have me convinced that I'm a bad person and not good enough to be a cop b/c of a few mistakes in my life...... even though I think I will make a DAMN good cop and everyone I know agrees.

To be honest, yeah they will know if you ever had a warrent for your arrest. Take care of it and move on. Secondly, If you decide you want to quit because of anyone on this site then i don't want you as my partner no offense. Nobody on this site will ever stop me from achieving my dream so what makes you different from me? Persistence! I can show that for everything i did wrong in life i corrected and made myself the ideal person. Can you do that? Then you might just make it.

[tatersalad]

I guess I don't understand this whole process. I just asked a question and I'm practically being accused of being a liar. I have never experienced anything like this before. If the BI doesn't show that I had warrants, why would I come out and say "Oh by the way I cleared up those tickets but only after I got warrants!!!" Just how much information am I supposed to volunteer???? I have never gone for a job before and said, "By the way, Mr. Interviewer, you will probably never find this out on your own, but let me tell you anyway just to make myself look as bad as possible....I didn't get along that well with my ex-boss, I was a good worker but we often had a difference of opinion. " (Just an example)....

Maybe I'm not cut out for this, it feels like Judgment Day..... no, I'm not planning on lying but I'm not planning on telling every dark or not-so-dark secret just for the heck of it. I'm applying for a job, a lot of people on these boards make it seem like the hiring process is a WITCH HUNT.

What's not to understand? They want you to be truthful with your background. You don't have to volunteer any information that's not asked of you. If they ask you if you have a warrant, tell them that you have because they WILL find out. This one's a no brainer. There's a record of it! I'm not saying that you shouldn't disclose something without a paper record of it though. You should disclose everything that they ask you. For example, let's say someone has never been arrested. If they ask that person if they have ever been arrested they should just say "No." You don't say, "Well, there were a few times that I should have been locked up." That would be too much information. Let's say the deparment has a limit of 15 lifetime uses of marijuana (which they do around Phoenix). If they ask you if you have smoked marijuana 15 or more times and you haven't, you just say "No." You don't say, "Well, I smoked 14 times." Get my point?

If you answer all the questions that they ask of you truthfully and to the best of your knowledge you will be fine as long as your background meets the requirements of the department. Different agencies have different requirements, and you might fit in with some and not others. If you are caught trying to be deceptive you will ruin your chances of ever being hired in Law Enforcement. If you feel this interrogation is bad, just wait for your interview with your BI. I told them things that I have never told anyone else. After my first BI interview, I was pretty drained. If you try to be deceptive and they catch you, you are screwed. If they don't flat out catch you, the poly will weed you out. Maybe you're not cut out for this. Not all are. I'm not trying to be discouraging, but I'm being informative and trying to tell it how it is. Good luck with the process and I hope you do what's right.

[giraffe]

Thanks Tater, that makes perfect sense. That answered my questions. I DO think I can do this, I think I just need to get my mind off of it for a couple of days and relax. And yes, I do intend to be truthful 100%, my best friend told me last night that no matter what, tell the truth, and let the chips fall where they may. I really took that to heart.