Question on Personal History Statement

[trpr2b]

The thing you have to remember:

This line of work tends to be tough on people. It turns people to divorce, alcoholism, and nervous breakdowns all the time.

Therefore, if you are evaluating a possible candidate and he's drinking a twelve-pack or more a week, you have to consider that a problem. If the stress of the job gets to you and you turn to alcohol, how much are you going to be drinking then?

This is why I say that it is bad for you. If you had said you had a couple of beers per week, I would say that is fine. However, in your original statement doing the math, you've had up to 20 on some weeks.

Also, six beers probably puts you at anywhere between .08 and .12 BAC. This is legally drunk. By your own statement, you get drunk one or two times per week. Do you see where this might be a problem? Would you want to hire someone who gets drunk weekly?

While I realize you say that you are responsible, it is still a problematic pattern. I guarantee if you asked a doctor if getting drunk once or twice PER week is normal, they would tell you no.

So should I take this to mean that under no circumstances do you think I am suitable to be a police officer?

[AtlCop]

So should I take this to mean that under no circumstances do you think I am suitable to be a police officer?

I never said that.

However, I *do* think you need to examine your drinking habits. You need to step back and make sure that you don't have a drinking problem. If you do, you need to get help for that problem. If you don't, you still need to cut back on your alcohol intake.

[trpr2b]

I never said that.

However, I *do* think you need to examine your drinking habits. You need to step back and make sure that you don't have a drinking problem. If you do, you need to get help for that problem. If you don't, you still need to cut back on your alcohol intake.

ATL,

I didn't say that you did. I was basically asking you if that was indeed what you thought. I am POSITIVE that I do not. As in above previous post I will cut it back to 2-3 on the weekend.

Thanks,

TRPR2B

[gotthblues]

ATL,

I didn't say that you did. I was basically asking you if that was indeed what you thought. I am POSITIVE that I do not. As in above previous post I will cut it back to 2-3 on the weekend.

Thanks,

TRPR2B

you are missing the point,,,if you drink every single weekend, then you are showing a pattern,,,and like i said,,from a police perception,,that is bad,,,

[trpr2b]

you are missing the point,,,if you drink every single weekend, then you are showing a pattern,,,and like i said,,from a police perception,,that is bad,,,

You have got to be kidding me.

I'll agree that once a week is a pattern. But once every two weeks or once per month or once every other month are also patterns.

Listen, I may be way off base on this but I have a hard time seeing how 2-3 beers per week is going to disqualify me. And you know what, at this point it's not even about drinking beer. As I said earlier, I can do with it or I can do without it. It's the mere principle of the arguement at this point.

If you are sitting here telling me that an applicant that is 32 years old, married, well rounded, owns his own business, is in GREAT physical shape, has a clean background, is debt free other than his house payment, has given up all of his "toys" and is taking an 80% cut in salary to pursue his dream to become a police officer.....if you're telling me that guy is going to get passed up for a 21 year old kid who doesn't know his *** from a hole in the ground simply because the 21 year old is a non-drinker.....I've got to call BS on that one. I simply don't believe it.

When I did my ride a long a couple of months ago with the department that I have my application in with (about 250 officers, population of about 100,000) the LT I spoke with at the end of the shift was very approachable and asked me to apply with them and then gave me some pointers if you will about the application process. I.e., tell the truth, don't withhold information, when you talk to the review board wear a suit, keep your answers short and to the point and "when they ask you about sensitive questions like do you drink, answer them honestly. If you drink beer tell em you drink beer. Almost everyone in the department drinks beer. No one is going to have a problem if you say yeah I drink 1 or 2 or even 3 or 4 while I'm out. But if you say yeah I drink 5 or 6 and then drive they are gonna have a problem with that. And what you do in the privacy of your home is your business and nobody elses."

That is a quote. I guess every department is different and it's pretty hard for me to judge your character or you to judge mine from behind a computer screen but, I say again, I think you have to take all of the information in it's entirety or departments are going to be eliminating a lot of qualified applicants over a single "litmus test". Now eliminating for drug use I can see but drugs are illegal. The last time I checked beer is not.

Respectfully,

TRPR2B

[trooperden]

personal history

the more you respond to this forum the more it appears you really have issues.It appears you want to argue your position than accept the advice given to you, this does not shed a good light on you. You brought up the issue of your drinking and it appears you object to the answers being provided, I see this as a big issue, especially down the road. If I were on the screening committee I would not approve your application. Maybe you are too old to pursue this career, by being too set in your ways. I believe you would be a difficult officer to deal with and on a regular basis this is not good for the benefit of the squad nor the department. I have had several years of experience in dealing with many different types of people and my gut feeling at this time is not in your favor.

[gotthblues]

TRP2B-- not only are you missing the point,,but i think you missed a word or two in you post,,,you said that you would cut down on the weekends to drinking 2 or 3,,,you did not say you would cut down on a time to time baisis,,,time to time IS okay,,,no problems there,,,PLUS,,, if you do get hired somewhere,,,you wont have weekends off for quite sometime,,,,PLUS,,i dont know about other depts. but my former dept,,,policy said that there must be a minimum of SIX HOURS FOR EACH DRINK before you are allowed to operate a city vehicle. with this previous statement in mind,,,how do you think they would look at drinking on a regular basis,,,not just getting drunk,,,but drinking on a regular basis,,,crap man,,,look at the headlines for the past month,,how many articles are there about officers getting popped for dui,,,trust me,,,they are going to see that and they will give it some serious thought,,,ALSO,,you gotta remember, cops live in a glass house,,no its not fair, but thats just the way it is...a couple of drinks every no and again,,,role on,,,but if you drink every tuesday,,thursday,,friday, saturday,,,its gonna flag,,best of luck to you though.

[gotthblues]

the more you respond to this forum the more it appears you really have issues.It appears you want to argue your position than accept the advice given to you, this does not shed a good light on you. You brought up the issue of your drinking and it appears you object to the answers being provided, I see this as a big issue, especially down the road. If I were on the screening committee I would not approve your application. Maybe you are too old to pursue this career, by being too set in your ways. I believe you would be a difficult officer to deal with and on a regular basis this is not good for the benefit of the squad nor the department. I have had several years of experience in dealing with many different types of people and my gut feeling at this time is not in your favor.

i was leaning towards that too, but i wasnt gonna say it,,,,we had a mid 30s patrolman that was also a capt. in the national guard,,,he had a big prob. with taking orders, opinions, request, what ever from the brass,,,thats not a pretty thing,,,,big time *** chewin.

[Candace]

Does anyone know if the dept does a credit check? Does this become a factor in become an officer or not?

[gotthblues]

Does anyone know if the dept does a credit check? Does this become a factor in become an officer or not?

i havent seen one yet that doesnt,,,and yes it is a factor,,i personally havent seen someone get fired for not paying their debts off, but i have seen some that didnt get hired because of poor credit,,is that fair,,probly not,,but thats the way it is.

[Candace]

Thanks for the info! :-)

[gotthblues]

Thanks for the info! :-)

you betch ya.