Background/Drug Use/Psych Concerns

[Lola]

Instead of writing a long, drawn out autobiography, I am just going to state the facts.

Facts:

I am a 25 year old woman.

I intend on going to school for criminal justice and/or forensic psychology.
My ultimate goal is to be a homicide detective.

I have been diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder; I have been on anti-depressants although currently not on them. I have only been prescribed anti-depressants once as an adult.

During my teenage years I was institutionalized because of the problems above but never as an adult. Besides one meeting with a psychologist, I have not received any therapy as an adult.

During my teenage years I occasionally smoked marijuana and occasionally consumed painkillers/anti-anxiety medication that I was not prescribed. I have had past issues with alcohol but currently do not. I have never consumed any "hardcore" drugs and have never sold drugs. I have never done illegal drugs as an adult.

I have never been arrested.

I am in debt and my credit is poor; by the time I apply I will have rectified many of the debts on my credit report but the debt history will still be available. I was sued for an unpaid credit card which I did pay off after being sued. I have owed federal taxes which went in to collections.

I am married to an immigrant who has a long criminal history (misdemeanors, no felonies) and was in deportation proceedings which is now rectified and he is a permanent resident.

Questions:

1.) Does my husband's criminal history pass judgement on my background although I have no criminal history of my own?

2.) Does being technically depressive/bipolar disqualify me psychologically? I usually see the glass half empty rather than half full and would more than likely answer questions accordingly.

3.) How seriously do they consider your financial background as a personality factor?

4.) Is my past drug use acceptable considering the time between then and now (5+ years) and the types of drugs I have consumed?

5.) On the written psychological exam do they ask any sort of mindfuck questions like "Do you think child molesters/rapists/murders deserve to die?" - questions where if you answer honestly, you'll look bat**** crazy automatically?

6.) Is there any other red flag within the facts I have written?


Thank you to all who reply in advance, as it has always been my dream to be a police officer (and eventually a detective) and I am very passionate about becoming one. It would break my heart to go to school for criminal justice only to find that I cannot pass certain exams due to things I cannot help (depression), cannot change (past drug use) or poor decisions which I have fixed (credit).

[retdetsgt]

1. Yes, it will have some effect.

2. A psychologist will have to make that determination, but it's not helpful. The job is full of stress that can trigger depression in people coming on without any problems.

3. Financial is taken very seriously. It's an indicator of maturity. IF it's because of a one time, unforeseen event such as a medical situation, that will be taken into account. If it's because you bought more on credit than you could afford to pay, then it's a killer. In fact, it's a killer if you have a one time event and you are already up to your ears in debt that you can't pay.

4. Again, the drug use might be overlooked if you had no other problems, but to be brutally honest, I don't think you have much of a chance.

Husband with criminal record, past (and possibly present) psychological issues, bad financial decisions and past drug use is going to take you out of the running. One would be a hurdle, four are a brick wall. There are too many applicants with none of those issues available, much less four. Sorry.

[Kimble]

Instead of writing a long, drawn out autobiography, I am just going to state the facts.

Facts:

I am a 25 year old woman.

I intend on going to school for criminal justice and/or forensic psychology.
My ultimate goal is to be a homicide detective.

I have been diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder; I have been on anti-depressants although currently not on them. I have only been prescribed anti-depressants once as an adult.

During my teenage years I was institutionalized because of the problems above but never as an adult. Besides one meeting with a psychologist, I have not received any therapy as an adult.

During my teenage years I occasionally smoked marijuana and occasionally consumed painkillers/anti-anxiety medication that I was not prescribed. I have had past issues with alcohol but currently do not. I have never consumed any "hardcore" drugs and have never sold drugs. I have never done illegal drugs as an adult.

I have never been arrested.

I am in debt and my credit is poor; by the time I apply I will have rectified many of the debts on my credit report but the debt history will still be available. I was sued for an unpaid credit card which I did pay off after being sued. I have owed federal taxes which went in to collections.

I am married to an immigrant who has a long criminal history (misdemeanors, no felonies) and was in deportation proceedings which is now rectified and he is a permanent resident.

Questions:

1.) Does my husband's criminal history pass judgement on my background although I have no criminal history of my own?

2.) Does being technically depressive/bipolar disqualify me psychologically? I usually see the glass half empty rather than half full and would more than likely answer questions accordingly.

3.) How seriously do they consider your financial background as a personality factor?

4.) Is my past drug use acceptable considering the time between then and now (5+ years) and the types of drugs I have consumed?

5.) On the written psychological exam do they ask any sort of mindfuck questions like "Do you think child molesters/rapists/murders deserve to die?" - questions where if you answer honestly, you'll look bat**** crazy automatically?

6.) Is there any other red flag within the facts I have written?


Thank you to all who reply in advance, as it has always been my dream to be a police officer (and eventually a detective) and I am very passionate about becoming one. It would break my heart to go to school for criminal justice only to find that I cannot pass certain exams due to things I cannot help (depression), cannot change (past drug use) or poor decisions which I have fixed (credit).

I worte up a long response that for some reason was deleted when I hit "submit," but retdetsgt says above pretty much everything I was going to say. You have several serious hurdles to overcome in your background (drugs, bipolar disorder, poor credit and marriage to someone you admit has a lengthy criminal history) which any one could be a disqualification in and of themselves. The fact you have all of these will make gaining employment in LE very difficult, that's not a judgment call against you, just the fact of how selective and competitive this career field is (especially in these poor economic times with fewer jobs and more qualified applicants applying for them).

My suggestion is to major in something else like business, IT, nursing, or anything that can get you a job in a field that is regularly hiring. Apply for police jobs when you graduate and give it a shot, if it doesn't work out you'll have an education that will help you gain employment in another field with less restrictions on background issues.

Retdetsgt didn't touch on question #5, and while I've never taken a psych test that asked questions that were anything like you ask, the fact you ask that seems very odd. That doesn't come across as a question you'd expect from a mature applicant. Maybe that's not how you meant it, and if so no worries, but it definitely comes across very... well, odd.

[Lola]

For the "if they ask interesting questions on the exam" question, I was actually reminded of a Law & Order: SVU episode where they thought one of the main characters was unstable because he answered yes to a question very similar to the example I gave. I realize cop-drama shows are almost purely fictionalized but I figured it might be possible they would ask something like that since police officers are suppose to catch "bad guys", what do those potential officers think we should do with them? You see where I'm going with this? It would be incredibly hard to answer something like that so I was wondering if they through you major curveballs with the exam.

As for me being unqualified, I figured as much, but I thought I would ask. I can understand why they would want a poster child of perfection as an officer but I think that people with a little bit of a nitty-gritty past could be a benefit as well. Some might be able to understand perps of a certain kind a little better and know how to handle them. Alas, what can you do? I appreciate the very honest answers - I knew I would get them given the other responses I've read on this forum and kudos for that

[retdetsgt]

There were no trick questions on mine. It was a standard MMPI plus a couple of others that I couldn't identify. They basically want to get a handle on your personality type and see if you have any underlying issues that could cause problems later on. They don't need trick questions to learn that about you.

And they don't want a poster child of perfection as a cop. I had a MIP beer as a teenager and was a bit of discipline problem in high school. But afterwards, I went in the Army and built up a pretty good resume and didn't have any more problems. I was more or less debt free, had no one in my immediate life who had a criminal record and had no psychological issues when I was hired. Along with my teenage background, if I had any of those problems I would have been rejected.

As far as a nitty gritty past, too often that past is an indicator of future problems that police departments want to avoid.

[Kimble]

As for me being unqualified, I figured as much, but I thought I would ask. I can understand why they would want a poster child of perfection as an officer but I think that people with a little bit of a nitty-gritty past could be a benefit as well. Some might be able to understand perps of a certain kind a little better and know how to handle them. Alas, what can you do? I appreciate the very honest answers - I knew I would get them given the other responses I've read on this forum and kudos for that

To be perfectly honest, you seem to be taking the what was advised based on the questions you asked and reinterpreting what was said. No one said you have to be a "poster child perfection," that's just silly. Many folks are hired as cops who were less than perfect, some even having committed minor crimes in their adolescence. It happens, and small issues that don't show a pattern of criminal or morally questionable behavior can be forgiven and overlooked. Sometimes more serious offenses, when in the distant past and there's been a recent history of responsible living, can also be overlooked. However, you name some pretty serious, pretty recent (in some cases current) issues that are going to be significant hurdles to overcome.

As I said above, apply if you wish and give it your best shot, but I would strongly advise getting an education in another field so that you have a Plan B should law enforcement not be in the cards. That's not a judgment against you or a statement that only "perfect" people can be cops, that's simply sharing advice (which you asked for) based on the experience I've had in this field and having worked with 3 different LE agencies.

[retdetsgt]

Not trying to hammer you, Lola, but one obstacle you can't do anything about is the bipolar issue. That will be determined by a psychologist. No one here can really address that. He/she will make the decision as to whether or not you are suitable.

The debt thing would be a big one at my old department. Bad credit is generally based on bad judgment and low maturity and we can't afford to hire anyone with either. That's a no brainer. Even if you get it cleared up, I've seen people rejected solely on a bad credit history.

The husband, I dunno. His record isn't helpful and you can bet that any background investigator is going to look at him pretty hard. That includes talking to a lot of people who know him and looking at his record and what all the convictions are for. Associating with criminals is a no no, but again it depends on the seriousness of the charges. I have some felons in my family, but I wasn't associating with them when I was hired nor did I afterwards.

It also depends on how long you smoked dope and how much problem your alcohol use caused. Generally speaking, most departments will forgive some experimentation, but that means two or three times, not any continual use.

Again, Lola it's the totality of your background that will create problems for you coming into LE. Kimble is right on when he suggest to major in something other than criminal justice (which has zero advantage in being hired) and get something else to fall back on. Try and see what happens in a few years, but don't get your hopes up. The field is too competitive and you may not get passed turning in the application. Do well in school and hang in there. Everything happens for a reason and it's not important we know what the reason is.

[mcsap]

ANY mental health issues are of GREAT concern to the LE community. How do we know if a person is really " over " those issues ?

There are plenty of applicants who have little to no background such as yourself and whay should we hire you over them ?

And we cna teach anyone the " nitty gritty " but we can't excuse " nitty gritty " behaviour. Others have come on here and posted how a former drug dealer, bank robber, burglar etc would make a good cop because they know how these people operate. On TV it works great. in real life it is rare that you cna rely on such people and if they had to testify , they would be " murdered " in cross examination.

Apply if that is your desire but don't expect that you are a prime candidate.

[MikeG]

It would break my heart to go to school for criminal justice only to find that I cannot pass certain exams due to things I cannot help (depression), cannot change (past drug use) or poor decisions which I have fixed (credit).

I'm not a LEO and can't speak for what they would say. The statement above sounds like something you would repeat in an oral board regarding questions about your obstacles. it's a genuinely honest answer about your own perception of your history and I applaud your honesty but I completely disagree with almost all of it.

Depression/bipolar is treatable. I hope you are off you medication because a medical professional told you to stop and not because your own mind is saying you are better off. A lot bipolar individuals stop taking their meds and think they are better but it only makes them worse.

Past drug use is a choice you made. Claiming you shouldn't be judged on it because it's in the past flies in the face of the entire theory of justice. All crime is in the past. Imagine defendant "It would break my heart to go to prison due to facts I can't change (past murder)." It highlights that you are unwilling to take responsibility and it puts your passion in perspective. I would be more impressed if you humbly said you realize that a DQ for drug use is legitimate and you are willing to accept those consequences (and that's why you didn't major in CJ).

When did you realize your husband was a criminal? While dating? If I were hiring for LEO, I would definitely want to know when you knew he was a criminal and why you continued to associate with him. It's one thing to marry someone who is later convicted. Vows to God take precedence and staying married after a conviction (assuming you were uninvolved) would be totally different than you pursuing a relationship with someone you discover is a criminal before you have made that commitment. That's a character weakness. Police come into contact with criminals and if you are unable to put your personal and selfish desires aside in order to maintain your own integrity and character, I think that's problematic.

Your credit problems need more explanation. If you wrote bad checks or borrowed money to pay off other borrowed money or lived beyond your means, I would consider that a form of fraud perpetuated on the creditor. If your bad credit is because you lost your job and could no longer pay your existing debt and never took action to deceive your creditors, I think that's completely different. Bernie Madoff did the former but on a much larger scale. I know officers that have lost their homes due to the market and poor financing decisions that put them upside down in a mortgage while their overtime evaporated. Their credit sucks but they were honest and worked within the system to do what they needed to do. They kept their jobs.

All psych questions are intended to answered honestly. The tests are geared to detect deception just as much as they are designed to detect personality issues. If your answers make you look crazy, it's a DQ. If the answers indicate you didn't answer honestly, it's also a DQ. Take your pick. I think personally, I'd rather have a record that I answered honestly every time. Dishonesty reputations have more sticking power.

Were you institutionalized because you committed violent domestic acts as a teenager? I'm not sure how juvenile plays into it, but DV for any reason is probably going to be explored very intensely.

Again, I'm not a LEO but I would have a backup plan if I were you. I think it would show a lot of maturity and responsibility to be humble about it and understand it and express that to your future employer.