Would I be DQ'ed?

[golbez84]

Hello,

I am interested in potentially joining the NYPD however I'm a bit nervous that I would be disqualified and wonder if I should even bother pursuing this as a career.

I'm 27 years old with a bachelor's degree from NJIT. However the following issues might get me disqualified:

-Have tried marijuana 2 or 3 times when I was younger.

-2 drinking in public tickets (4/5 years ago).

-4 speeding tickets (most recent 3 years ago).

-most recent ticket was for passing between train cars on subway. Otherwise haven't had any issues in a few years.

The thing that concerns me most is the fact that I've tried marijuana and one of my two drinking in public tickets was a gross misunderstanding that is still extremely embarrassing. After a night of drinking with a friend we were walking home when he decided to kick over a garbage can. The police arrested the both of us and kept us overnight before letting us go with three tickets: misdemeanor causing a public inconvenience, littering, and throwing a bottle out of a moving vehicle (dismissed in court because we were on foot not driving - not sure why we were given this ticket). The other two tickets were rolled up and lowered to a city ordinance drinking in public rather than a misdemeanor.

This whole incident looks worse due to the fact that I got my other drinking in public only a few months later because I didn't pay attention to the fact that you couldn't tailgate in the parking lot of the PNC Bank Arts Center.

Most of my issues have occurred in NJ, with my only NY tickets being one of the four speeding tickets, which I got when I was 17 and first driving. The other being the ticket I just recently got for passing between cars on the subway.

I've been told that these things shouldn't be a big deal but I'm concerned that I may be viewed as a problem anyway. I'd like to hear from people involved with this as to whether or not I even stand a chance.

The one other thing that may be held against me is that I once began going through the process of joining the police academy but dropped before the physical exams. I just didn't show up to the rest of the sign up process. This was in 2001 or so.

Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time viewing this!

[golbez84]

Does no one have any insight whatsoever?

Seriously considering this as a career and would appreciate some advice...

[Kimble]

Does no one have any insight whatsoever?

Seriously considering this as a career and would appreciate some advice...

I could provide insight as to how my agency (or any of the other 2 agencies I've worked for) would view you as an applicant, but I am not employed with - nor have I ever worked for - NYPD. Since you asked about one specific department's hiring process, really only those who work there or have worked there are qualified to answer.

Have you actually contacted NYPD's recruitment office to ask and get the answer straight from the horse's mouth?