Interested In Joining The Police Force After I Get Out Of The Military

[Infantryarmy09]

Hello, thank you for taking your time to look at my post. I am interested in joining the police force when i get out of the military in about 3 years, so i am looking into college education right now. But i do have some problems one is with my criminal record i have 3 misdemeanor's that were dismissed in court around 2004, the problem with these charges are they are hand gun charges, now they were dismissed so I'm not sure if they will get in the way or not. Second i don't have good credit at all i have alot of things on my credit reports that i did before i joined the military and grew up most of them are just unpaid utility bills or cell phones that went bad or other small things like that. Third would be i never really got good grades in HS i don't know if that's looked at or not but just curious about it. Fourth is i have been diagnosed with some mental if you would like to say disorders in my life before all of which were at a young age in which those are ADHD, PTSD I'm not sure if those would rule me out or not. Now the reason i am asking all these questions is i wouldn't want to spend 2 years of schooling and get turned down in the hiring process. So if any officers on here have any advise for me i would be much appreciated if i could get it. Again thank you for your time in reading my post have a great day.

[Sgt. Slaughter]

We're actually supposed to call it "the service" now. Official vocab guidelines state that "force" is too aggressive.

You misdemeanor gun charges will depend on what they specifically were and the circumstances surrounding them will be thoroughly investigated during your background. Pay off all your bills and have that reflected in your credit report by the collection agencies. HS grades no one cares about, so long as you've graduated. Mental health issues will depend upon their severity.

[Infantryarmy09]

With the gun charges they involved a pellet gun aka CO2 gun, The charges if i remember right are reckless discharge of a handgun, damange to personal property, and im not sure what the last one was. And the bills can be easily paid off within the next three years before i would apply to be in the service, but with that and getting the credit report agency to change that will it still look bad on my part that they were deliquent for so long. Thank you for all of your help in answering my questions. Also if you could give me this advice do you think it would be a good idea to start to get my degree now so i have it and then work with my bills and everything over the next 3 years. And would it help my situation of i were to get the gun charges removed from my report. Again thank your for your time

[Creeker]

I have to say that I am surprised that they allowed you entry into the military with PTSD prior to the service.

Remember that a CRJ degree does not in any way guarentee a LE job. You can have a degree in underwater basktweaving and have the same preference for hiring as anyone else in your same situation. Some of us believe it is better to NOT have a CRJ degree, so that if an applicant were to discover that LE is not their bag, or if they were to become injured and unable to continue to serve, the applicant would then have a fall-back career goal and opportunities, rather than the necessity of beginning all over again.

As to your specific drawbacks that you may have at that time in the future, it may be helpful if you were to speak to the Agency that you think you'd like to work for when the time for schooling comes around.

Something to consider.

[Infantryarmy09]

With the PTSD i was disnogsed when i was 6 so i really never knew i had it until i was around 18 when i got taken off med's for ADHD and i was asked if it brothered me. Also with the degree why i want to start it now is because i dont want to be able to get past all of these things with my credit and criminal charges and everything then be told by the police agency that i need to come back with a degree because with my state as far as i know you must have a degree to be consdiered for a job.

[Joeyd6]

First, thank you for your service. Second, Don't take what I am saying personally. You asked a questiona and want an answer. Unfortunatley I am a cold, heartless SOB with no regard for others feelings according to my wifes friends. So if you see that coming out, I apologize. I am just going to tell you straight out how it is in my experience and in my opinion so you don't get your hopes up or waste your time. In NY State, you would not quailfy for any agency with three arrests for weapons. Add in the mental health history and your chances of passing a psychological are slim to none. Finally the credit issues show a lack of maturity and a hisitory of poor decision making and will DQ you for any security clearance in the federal LE arena.

If you get a degree, do so in some area that you like and can use to get a non-LE job. Very few LE agencies care what your degree is in, they just want the degree. Thus, you can still get a great job in a career field you enjoy and be happy in case the LEO thing does not work out.

[Infantryarmy09]

Cold heartless not at all just to say first you just tell it how it is. And your welcome for my service and it wasnt three different arrests it was one and i got charged with three mis. instead of one felony, i dont know if that changes anything, along with the psychological thing i believe i could pass that as far as i have seen it i have not had any problems like that ever in my life to deal with PTSD or anything that i have been told that i have well at least in my young teen to adult life anyway. And with the credit the most intersting thing with that is i do have bad credit but i have a secret security clearance with the army right now just got it updated 3 months ago and i still have it, Also not sure if that makes my standing any better. And with the degree it says for my state anyway not sure how different it is for NY i need 60 college credit hours, so the thing is i could go get a degree in auto mechianc which is my current job in the military and use that degree to try and become a LEO did i understand that right. Thanks for your posts and your time have a great day

[Creeker]

As Joey ... and I ... said, you could have a degree in Underwater Basketweaving and still get a job as a LEO.

A CRJ Degree, outside of a very select few jobs, has a very narrow opportunity path as opposed to say a Business Management or Marketing degree.

[Infantryarmy09]

ok i understand now i didnt understand you when you said underwater basketweaving. But thank you for all of your time a i will just see what i can do after i get a degree