Is there any career in law enforcement I can pursue with a criminal background?

[vbsurfer85]

Successfully anyways. 3 charges of petty larceny when had just turned 18. They story is long and complex; however, I was just in the wrong place at the time. Am I wasting my time? I just want to be a public servant.

[Kimble]

Successfully anyways. 3 charges of petty larceny when had just turned 18. They story is long and complex; however, I was just in the wrong place at the time. Am I wasting my time? I just want to be a public servant.

You can pursue any job you wish, whether you have a realistic shot or not may be another thing (and since the details provided are scarce and you seem to want to dodge personal responsibility for your 3 criminal charges, they're probably not going to be very good). But, if you have the time to make yourself available to apply and find out, it's your right to do so (just realize agencies also have the right to hire who they deem best qualified, to include disqualifying folks with serious, recent or lengthy criminal histories).

[vbsurfer85]

You can pursue any job you wish, whether you have a realistic shot or not may be another thing (and since the details provided are scarce and you seem to want to dodge personal responsibility for your 3 criminal charges, they're probably not going to be very good). But, if you have the time to make yourself available to apply and find out, it's your right to do so (just realize no one has a right to a job).

And that is why i said successfully pursue a carrerr in law enforcement. And I am not dodging personal responsibility as you have indicated. I just did not want to bore you with a long story. A juvenile friend and myself took some things that didn't belong to us, I pawned the items as I had just turned 18 at the time. I essentially took the fall due to his age; however, I completed a community corrections program, paid $8,000 in restitution, have worked the same successful job (real estate appraiser) for 6 years, received an excellent character letter from the victim (school administrator) and have never had any brushes with the law since. It was nearly 7 years ago.

[mcsap]

The passage of time is always GOOD but it does not erase all. The MORE you do to prove your change of life , the better. Volunteer work , military service etc.

A good work history is nice and we hope that you havn't continued your life of crime but what have you gone out and done to reaffirm that you had a life changing experience ?

[vbsurfer85]

The passage of time is always GOOD but it does not erase all. The MORE you do to prove your change of life , the better. Volunteer work , military service etc.

A good work history is nice and we hope that you havn't continued your life of crime but what have you gone out and done to reaffirm that you had a life changing experience ?

Thank you for your advice and input. I have volunteered at a Children's Hospital, support local military events and involve myself in many community activities. It is just discouraging when I look at an application and the first thing it saids is "any crime involving moral turpitude is an automatic disqualifier".

[Kimble]

And I am not dodging personal responsibility as you have indicated. I just did not want to bore you with a long story.

Actually, a comment like "I was just in the wrong place at the time" to describe how you received 3 criminal charges is precisely what dodging personal responsibility is. Being in the wrong place can get you mugged (i.e. the victim of a crime), not result in you committing a crime. A conscious decision to engage in an illegal activity does that, and if you can't accept personal responsibility for what you've done you're going to have an even more difficult time finding employment in LE, that's just the way it is.