Advice needed

[David7443]

Hey everyone, thank you for taking the time to read this post. I've been reading
the forums on this website for a few days now. I see a lot of experienced officers
giving good insight to questions so I figured i'd start here. I'm currently working
corrections and was considering doing the crossover to law enforcement. My question
is with my background would it be a difficult transition to get on with a LE agency?

Background - the not so hot.

As a teenager I made mistakes. I was arrested with a friend at the age of 16 where
I took two CD's from a local store without paying. I was charged with retail
theft/misdemeanor. This was the only time I had done something like this and
at the time didn't want to participate in the theft but did it anyway. trivial but
wanted to add that as a side note. at the age of 15 I experimented with marijuana
2-3 times (didn't care for it). When I was 21 I ended up filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy.
having excellent credit I financed a lot of money to expand my business which was
going great. The economy took a turn for the worse and business dropped substantially
to the point I couldn't keep up with payments.

Background - the good.

Going on 31 years of age my credit is in great standing aside from the bankruptcy.
No late payments on any accounts, debt of only 300-400 dollars between credit card
accounts with total credit limit of 18k, bankruptcy coming off my record shortly,
and vehicles payed off HooRah! Good work history; only been employed by two companies/
agencies in 13 years. One being DOC 4 years, love the comradery, with excellent evals.
Good driving record. Some college, currently working on my AS. Run track often so i'm
in great physical condition.

Looking at the summary of events with my not so stellar youth past are the odds out
of my favor for going road? Any advice or suggestions to make my credentials better would be greatly appreciated.

[Sgt. Slaughter]

Looks good to me. Most applicants aren't perfect.

Get after it!

[retdetsgt]

Doesn't sound all that bad to me. The theft was as a kid and the bankruptcy was business related and 10 years ago. If there haven't been any problems since and your credit has recovered, I don't see a problem.

[Kimble]

Not much to advise, other than to apply and give it a shot. A juvenile arrest for petty shoplifting probably won't be a killer due to the time that's lapsed since then, and your bankruptcy was well over the 7 year blemish mark. Trying pot a couple times as a teenager is somewhat common, also likely overlooked with the time that has lapsed. Looks like you've shown responsibility and maturity by having only 2 jobs in 13 years.

Actually, compared to a lot of what we see on here from folks with much more serious criminal pasts, your background is fairly refreshing. Just keep in mind that the job market out there is tight, lots of returning vets, former LEO's who have been laid off from other depts, etc. competing for LE jobs. Apply and give it your best shot, but keep yourself gainfully employed to pay the bills in case a police job doesn't come immediately.