Quick BG check question.

[locknkey]

I ran over this site and it looks pretty nice, a great place to read and find out about the LE community.

Anyway I will get down to the details, I've got a few questions about some niches in my background that will be coming up should I choose to pursue a career in law enforcement.

When I was 16, I thought it would be an ok idea to steal computer parts from my school to build my own. No problem right, they wont care it's just a school.
Well, of course it was a problem and they did care, long story short the moment I heard that police had been involved I realized my error, fessed up and dealt with the consequences. Which happened to be a deferred prosecution for a Theft 2, keep in mind I wasn't charged as an adult and I was 16 at the time.

When I was 18, I moved out of my grandmother's place and in with a friend from High School. Things turned sour after 4 months and another guy moving in. Stress got high, and it all boiled down to one night where my roommate kicked in my door, and action which I responded to in a violent way.
I could just say hey I defended myself, but honestly I was being immature, and handling my problem very much like the way two kids in high school would handle problems. I should have moved out, signed myself off the lease, and had that be the end of the story but that idea didn't once cross my mind.

This incident cost me an assault IV arrest but not charge after my call to the police department because I thought this guy would get arrested for kicking in my door, and me being justified in my actions would remain un-touched.
The whole ordeal was a disorderly conduct in the end, and I had to do some anger management. And this incident came in handy down the road as I evaded a similar situation by just moving out.

So I have two marks against me, neither of which help me.

I have smoked a little bit of pot and by little I mean 8-10 times.

It wasn't habitual, and every time I didn't enjoy it which can be said truthfully, but I wanted to see what all the hype was about, I could just blame it on my poor judgment and choice in friends because that's what attributed to it but I made the choice. I still don't see why people like it so much.

The 8-10 times happened from when I was 18 at some party to when I was 20 going to my first year of college.

I am 22 now, Finishing up my last 6 quarters until I transfer into a University to complete my Bachelor's degree. I'm currently involved in the community doing volunteer work because it's far better than playing video games all day.

I am not planning on having my BA until the age of 26, after which many of those bad marks on my past will be just that, things of the past.

I will also be attending and completing my local police department's citizen's academy, which I am looking forward to very much.

I'm hoping to get involved in a police reserves program when I transfer to University so that I can make sure this field of work is exactly what I want to do and to get any doubts I have out of the way now before I'm in a squad car for real.

The cold hard truth of my mistakes is right up there, I've learned from them.
In case anybody is wondering I don't enjoy drinking anymore, it makes people do stupid things and I've done enough stupid things already and don't need any help.

That's exactly what will show up on the BG report, and I'm curious to know what other LEOs may think of the situation.

In the end, regardless if you think I have a chance or not, I will give it my best and see what happens if it's the job for me if this is the path I choose to take. But it's also well out there, at least 4-5 years away so I have plenty of time to make sure it is.

[Citicop]

Welcome to the site.

I am not going to pull any punches here.

If you have been ordered by the court in the past to take Anger Management classes, then you will find it very hard or impossible to get hired.

Excessive Force instances are very bad press for police departments, and can cost them a lot of money.

If they hire you, and you get caught up in something like that, the Department is going to get raked over the coals because they KNEW you had anger problems before they hired you.

I see that as a risk of liability that most departments simply will not take with the number of other candidates they can choose from who do not have an incident like that in their pasts.

My advice to you is try if you want to, but have a STRONG backup career for when this one does not work out.

-Citicop.

[GoDirectly2Jail]

Many people realize too late that the actions they take as young adults can and do have far-reaching and permanent consequenses.

If you submitted an application to me, it would be ranked near the bottom of all the other hypothetical candidates based upon the items you've disclosed.

[Sgt. Slaughter]

I agree. It's a "seller's market" for LE jobs right now. There is a disproportionate number of qualified applicants to available jobs. More people than ever have college degrees, military combat experience or a combination of the two. As such, the employers can pick and choose whom they want.

A history of violence is a large stain on your record. Try and get hired on if you must, but I would recommend running your situation past a few police recruiters now if you don't believe what we tell you here.

[CelticSmackdown]

One other thing they will address is your 8-10 attempts at pot smoking. Smoking it once and saying you didn't like it is one thing...smoking it 8-10 times and saying you didn't enjoy it is a little hard to believe.

I just completed an academy and I can tell you that competition is incredibly stiff. We had alternates for our class that were outstanding individuals. If I were you, I would try to get on as a reserve (which you mentioned) and put about 5 more years of responsible life experience on your belt.

[locknkey]

One other thing they will address is your 8-10 attempts at pot smoking. Smoking it once and saying you didn't like it is one thing...smoking it 8-10 times and saying you didn't enjoy it is a little hard to believe.

I just completed an academy and I can tell you that competition is incredibly stiff. We had alternates for our class that were outstanding individuals. If I were you, I would try to get on as a reserve (which you mentioned) and put about 5 more years of responsible life experience on your belt.

Yeah, I do see how that looks strange. I don't want to come across as giving an avoiding answer, I just want to give the cold hard truth about it and not play around the edges of a word.

I will be trying the reserve program if there is one in the area after I transfer into a 4-year. Other than that career wise, I have been considering Probation Officer, Corrections, or even Becoming an EMT/Firefighter.
I haven't had a chance to explore the above mentioned but I will be in time.

If I cant become a LEO then I will find something I can become and enjoy/do good at. In all honesty, I just want a career that is helping people or making the world a better place. I don't think I could do it from a desk right now which is why I'm not considering getting into counseling or another office based job. Maybe as time goes by that will change.

And I have plenty of time, at least another 3-4 years of college to not only broaden my academic horizons but to also check out the different professional fields to figure out what I want to do the most.

I do completely understand the Assault IV deal, Like I said the charge was reduced but I also know that doesn't belittle the situation. I do feel that it was a mistake in my past, and something that I should be able to say that as an older adult I had learned a valuable lesson that night about not only how to handle situations but on how to make better roommate choices :P

I want to thank you guys for your input, and for being brutally honest. I respect that, if anyone else has some words I would love to know what they are.