What shows up in a background check for law enforcement

[Eazy123]

Ethnicity is one thing. My Uncle Roger ticked the wrong box in a police report once and now he's considered black in most states. Caused him all sorts of trouble

 

[IIIIIIII]

i work for a company that works for the government. i have a background check done on me every five years. they basically look at everything. your criminal record, where you have traveled, the background of your family, who you consider friends and if they can vouch for some of the things you have said. i get about a three-hour interview with a government official, and they interview a family member of yours to also confirm what you told them.

 

[IIIIIIII]

So I've always wanted to be a cop. Its my dream job. I even have a shitty criminal justice degree thats hardly worth the paper its printed on. Problem is I have taken more drugs than most people even know exist and have been rushed to the ER twice now from overdoses.

Those days are long past me, and I know some of you will laugh but I know I'd make a kick ass cop. Some smaller departments don't even bother with a polygraph, but I'm sure all do a background check. That shit would HAVE to show up right?

i have a dui from 05', and i thought that would affect my employment where i currently live. it does affect it, but they look at the entire whole of you as a person. if it's only one offense, and everything else seems kosher, they will look past it. a lot of it is also your personality. it's not just concrete facts. it's also kind of like a job interview. if you are interviewed by a government official, they are also seeing who you are as a person.

 

[IIIIIIII]

Buddy just tested for Metro, passed physical and psychological exams. Went in for the oral interview and they asked if he had ever done any drugs. He told them that many years ago he smoked some weed and has done a few cycles of steroids.

Disqualified permanently - told him he cannot test again, ever.

Perhaps being honest isn't in your best interest.

during my very first background check, they asked if i had every smoked marijuana. who the hell in san francisco hasn't? lol. anyway, i said no during the oral interview. an official interviewed a roommate of mine, who also smokes, and before it, i told him to NOT SAY A FUCKING WORD. hide the bong! i cleaned up my place and checked it twice to make sure there was no indication of marijuana residue.

 

[Swiftie]

Unless you were arrested/charged for drug charges, it won't show-up on your police record. However you will be asked about drug usage during your background. Most departments do polygraphs so if you lie about it, you're done. Yes, some waive drug use,but it's like trying marijuana once or twice as a young teen/adult. If you used hardcore drugs, no chance....Well maybe in Baltimore since they're desperate for cops....lol

 

[PRESIDENT TRUMP]

In Canada any and all law enforcement checks are conducted by the RCMP. Our version of the FBI. If you have any charges filed against you, whether they've been expunged or not they will show up. They ask for an incredibly detailed personal history report and up until last year most departments in ontario conducted partial interview with a polygraph. The requirements for large departments in Canada are much stricter than in the States. Need both a diploma (police foundations/protection security and investigation) as well as a university degree in Criminology. I knew lots of good students from both programs that have failed the initial screening process for smoking pot in high school.

 

[MaureenCretis]

I can think of no-one more suitable to work in law enforcement than someone who took enough illegal substances to end up in hospital, and who had their guns taken away from them.

 

[IloveTHIS]

Being honest really isn't an option. My only chance is a department that doesn't polygraph, and praying I somehow make it through a BG check

I can think of no-one more suitable to work in law enforcement than someone who took enough illegal substances to end up in hospital, and who had their guns taken away from them.

I mean, they gave me my guns back

 

[MaureenCretis]

I mean, they gave me my guns back

Fair point. Go get em, Officer.

 

[Jack Handy jr]

all your porn ip addresses

 

[weich]

Where the hell is a bowl of weed a felony ?

In Ohio there was a county that made possession of drug paraphernalia a felony. They did that because Ohio's marijuana laws are really relaxed. Possession of under 100 grams is a minor misdemeanor, the same as a low level speeding ticket. So the marijuana itself was a minor misdemeanor, but the bowl, rolling papers, or baggy was a felony.

It might have changed by now, but I had a buddy who ate felony charges this way around 2004/05.

 

[DrDune]

...not sure how serious OP is, but there's some really bad advice in here...Drugs in your past isn't an automatic disqualifier, but lying ALWAYS is. And most of these things all it takes is a phone call...they ask for a personal history document from you to see how honest you'll be. If you lie on it, (and they ask for every city you've lived in) I guarantee they call the PD from every town you've lived in, and if you've been taken to the hospital on two ODs and and a detective took your firearms, there's paperwork on you at that PD, just how it works. Most places I've worked ANY drugs within the last five years is probably an auto-disqualifier.

And perhaps that's a departmental decision that varies depending on where you're applying. My friend who was permanently disqualified was not taking a polygraph when he admitted to marijuana / steroids during his oral board interview. He has never been arrested, let alone for drug usage. I know the guy, and he legitimately does not smoke weed, and has not for many years, but was honest about his past usage (as infrequently as it even was). I happen to live in a city that has legalized marijuana, no less. It was an automatic and permanent disqualifier in his case for Las Vegas Metro, there are no two ways around it. They ended the interview immediately after that line of questioning, according to him.

YMMV, I suppose.

 

[TribalDrumz]

In Ohio there was a county that made possession of drug paraphernalia a felony. They did that because Ohio's marijuana laws are really relaxed. Possession of under 100 grams is a minor misdemeanor, the same as a low level speeding ticket. So the marijuana itself was a minor misdemeanor, but the bowl, rolling papers, or baggy was a felony.

It might have changed by now, but I had a buddy who ate felony charges this way around 2004/05.

I think I remember in Nevada cocaine was less of a crime than a little nug of weed... Glad some laws changed but it's still bs how screwed over some people get over just weed.

 

[weich]

I think I remember in Nevada cocaine was less of a crime than a little nug of weed... Glad some laws changed but it's still bs how screwed over some people get over just weed.

Yep, I moved to Colorado to enjoy the freedom and get a job in the industry. Unfortunately that move has temporarily cost me my 2nd amendment rights, but I still think it was worth it.

 

[plataoplombo]

Everything, even if its been expunged. Depending where you live, they may let you slide. In Baltimore they don't give a shit but then again its Baltimore.

 

[Higus]

Nothing unless they do an FBI background check. Then on mine it shows a controlled substance felony for literally a bowl of marijuana & I also have failure to pay child support when I was 19 & when I had zero kids lol that was all due to corruption from a hillbilly town

Ok, I gotta ask...what shows up in an FBI check?

 

[Drenalin]

Ok, I gotta ask...what shows up in an FBI check?

Literally everything. Every ticket shows up. Even speeding tickets & seat belt tickets show up. If you get a court continuance, that will show up & it will say why the case was continued. Also an FBI background check says what they think your weight & height is. They don’t go by what your ID says. Somehow they calculate that themselves.

There’s a police background check, a brief FBI background check & a complete FBI background check, like what the military does. It took the military 48 hours to do my full FBI background check

 

[FyrFytr998]

its kind of short sighted IMO. I dont touch the shit any more but I would be a fucking expert in the drug department. No criminal is sneaking ANYTHING drug wise past me. I'd be a useful tool.

Maybe, but as a candidate, you could be a potential liability should you ever fall from grace again. And departments are already too busy trying to police the cops they already employ to have to worry about a new cop.

Thanks to the litigious nature of society nowadays, Departments have to take every precaution to shield themselves from potential law suits. You could always opt for FF/EMT, less intensive background checks.

 

[The Doberman]

And perhaps that's a departmental decision that varies depending on where you're applying. My friend who was permanently disqualified was not taking a polygraph when he admitted to marijuana / steroids during his oral board interview. He has never been arrested, let alone for drug usage. I know the guy, and he legitimately does not smoke weed, and has not for many years, but was honest about his past usage (as infrequently as it even was). I happen to live in a city that has legalized marijuana, no less. It was an automatic and permanent disqualifier in his case for Las Vegas Metro, there are no two ways around it. They ended the interview immediately after that line of questioning, according to him.

YMMV, I suppose.

it is departmental, but if that's an auto-disqualifier for that department, there's no way to then lie around it either. In ANY hiring process you really have to ask yourself "if there's someone else with my qualifications or better, but DOESN'T have issues with ____, why would they hire me?" In cases of larger departments they often receive a lot more applicants and can be a lot more choosey, or even picky about stupid stuff in some cases. Every dept is a little different with hiring processes and some don't even resemble each other. Some have credit checks and its an auto-dq, some check it and don't really care, some don't even check it. Sometimes if you want to work in LE, and there's a hangup somewhere, the only option is to move elsewhere. Then after you are hired, some departments FTO programs are asinine as well, I know one department in my state that PRIDES itself on only 50% of hires making it through their FTO process and will literally go out of their way to fire people to keep that percentage. I don't even understand the line of thought there, other than making sure you spend your yearly training budget every year, because they pretty much have a standing 4 spots in the academy every class.

 

[Quequeg]

Not enough, too many of the wrong people still getting through.