How competitive am I in today's market to be a Police Officer?

[Taylor814ce]

Hi,

with reference to current economic conditions and number of qualified applicants, I am very curious to what my odds are in becoming a Police Officer. I am looking to stay within Northern California.

Age and Education:
-I am 36 years young.
-I have B.S. and Master's degree. Both irrelevant to Law Enforcement. 2.7 and 2.6 GPA respectively.

Credit:
I have "good" credit overall but not perfect. Probably 700 credit score.
I have a student loan I am paying each month. Still have 15 years to go.
I have 1 credit card which I pay off each month. No bankruptcy.
***I was late several times in making car payments last year. It was actually my brother who I signed for. Never the less, it's under my name and my credit. The car is now fully paid off.

Tickets:
#1: Exhibition of Speed (1994)
#2: Speeding (1995)
#3: Speeding (1999)
#4: Stop Sign (2000)
#5: Speeding (2002)

I am very concerned about the quantity of the tickets. However I am hoping I still have a chance as the last ticket I recieved was 12 years ago.

Record:
1 arrest? In 1994, I was in a local arcade playing games. Police walked in and found a small pouch of marijuana near where I was. I was questioned. It was not mine and that is what I told the officer. I was still taken into police station where I was finger printed and released. Never handcuffed and I walked out the department by my self. I was 16 years old.

Here is the interesting thing about this incident. I went back around 10 years ago and asked the record clerk if I have a record for the incident mentioned above. The lady said Yes.
I went to the same police department last year as I wanted to get some sort of report or record to reference for the job I was applying. The record lady said there was nothing on me. I never sealed or took any legal actions to get this off my record. I simply don't know why the same department can not find this info anymore. Any idea???

Anyhow, this is the only record I have and that was 20 years ago.


With above said, what do you think my chances are?

Thank you very much!

[GoldBadge]

I don't see any problems. Your tickets were over 10 years ago, as was your juvenile arrest.

The master's degree is a plus, regardless of the major.

[Lady Blue]

Based on what you have said I dont see any major issues. It has been a decade since your last traffic issue. My biggest piece of advice is to disclose the juvenile incident because it WILL turn up in your background investigation even if the current record clerk did not find it.

[Michigan]

I see nothing that will be an instant DQ for you.

Your chances and "competitiveness" have more to do with your competition then you though. These days, competition is brutal and in that sense I'd say you have a difficult, but not impossible hill to climb. Good luck!

[USMARINE]

Looks good to me. I'm not sure I would've signed a car note for someone else, but then again, I don't have a brother. Good luck.

[Iowa #1603]

Based on what you have said I dont see any major issues. It has been a decade since your last traffic issue. My biggest piece of advice is to disclose the juvenile incident because it WILL turn up in your background investigation even if the current record clerk did not find it.

I don't have anything to add that hasn't been said already.

Read the above post carefully and take to heart the part about disclosing EVERYTHING you can think of that MIGHT be detrimental.

There is NOTHING a background investigator dislikes more than to have something come up that they didn't already know about

[just joe]

I concur with my colleagues.

[eagleI]

Regarding your arrest report, it sounds like the agency held onto records for 10 years, but purged them after 20 (or less). It was a minor violation and not necessary to hold onto the report or record of contact.

[SmallCityCop]

I wouldn't hire you, you seem to lack a sense of entitlement.

j/k, I see no issues!

Good luck!!

[PhilipCal]

As usual, it's difficult to add to the thoughts of my colleagues. I believe your original question was how you stacked up as a candidate. I'd put you in the above average category, but not outstanding.

I see no instant DQ's in your history, although the credit, and traffic issues may be a reason for an agency to Non-Select you. A Non-Select by the way, is worlds apart from a DQ.

Should you apply? Absolutely. The key to your success will be in how well you test. Additionally, full and complete disclosure of the issues you brought to our attention is a must.

[GoldBadge]

As usual, it's difficult to add to the thoughts of my colleagues. I believe your original question was how you stacked up as a candidate. I'd put you in the above average category, but not outstanding.

I see no instant DQ's in your history, although the credit, and traffic issues may be a reason for an agency to Non-Select you. A Non-Select by the way, is worlds apart from a DQ.

Should you apply? Absolutely. The key to your success will be in how well you test. Additionally, full and complete disclosure of the issues you brought to our attention is a must.

Hi,

with reference to current economic conditions and number of qualified applicants, I am very curious to what my odds are in becoming a Police Officer. I am looking to stay within Northern California.

Age and Education:
-I am 36 years young.
-I have B.S. and Master's degree. Both irrelevant to Law Enforcement. 2.7 and 2.6 GPA respectively.

Credit:
I have "good" credit overall but not perfect. Probably 700 credit score.
I have a student loan I am paying each month. Still have 15 years to go.
I have 1 credit card which I pay off each month. No bankruptcy.
***I was late several times in making car payments last year. It was actually my brother who I signed for. Never the less, it's under my name and my credit. The car is now fully paid off.

Tickets:
#1: Exhibition of Speed (1994)
#2: Speeding (1995)
#3: Speeding (1999)
#4: Stop Sign (2000)
#5: Speeding (2002)

I am very concerned about the quantity of the tickets. However I am hoping I still have a chance as the last ticket I recieved was 12 years ago.

Record:
1 arrest? In 1994, I was in a local arcade playing games. Police walked in and found a small pouch of marijuana near where I was. I was questioned. It was not mine and that is what I told the officer. I was still taken into police station where I was finger printed and released. Never handcuffed and I walked out the department by my self. I was 16 years old.

Here is the interesting thing about this incident. I went back around 10 years ago and asked the record clerk if I have a record for the incident mentioned above. The lady said Yes.
I went to the same police department last year as I wanted to get some sort of report or record to reference for the job I was applying. The record lady said there was nothing on me. I never sealed or took any legal actions to get this off my record. I simply don't know why the same department can not find this info anymore. Any idea???

Anyhow, this is the only record I have and that was 20 years ago.


With above said, what do you think my chances are?

Thank you very much!

What's your work experience? That'll be a big factor in your competitiveness.

[BikeCop501]

Also your physical fitness... make sure you can pass the PAT if they require one.

[sgt jon]

Beyond what my esteemed follow posters already said, there are a few more items to touch on:

Drug use- what, when and how much. Agencies tend to make clear what the cutoff is in their disqualification information.

Mental health- any involuntary commitments, treatments, etc. Some issues are disqualifying and are usually posted as noted above.

References- do you know at-least four people who can provide honest assessments regarding your suitability?

There are a few other things that we could touch on, but you can cull through the forums and see some of the most frequent issues that come up.

[RGDS]

What is your work experience?

When you say Northern California, do you mean Reddiing/Chico/Jefferson or SF Bay Area and north?

[ChiTownDet]

Depends on where you want to work. Illinois, you're out , as you're over 35 yo. Sheriff's Dept's may hire over 35 yo. Chicago is 40 yo.