Expert: Chris Wagoner - 9/4/2008

Question
Hello, i dont want to take to much of your time, i just have a question that i think has affect on me getting a law enforcement job.Im 26 yrs old and live in Boston,Massachuisetts,i have a good background in the Security field and i have special officer training. Quite some time ago i was arrested 3 times, 1. I was arrested for A&B which i got a continuance without a finding.2. I was arrested once again for A&B but that was quickly dismissed.3. I was arrested for driving under a suspended license which was also dismissed.Ive been trying to obtain a law enforement job,a Correction Officer one at that.Basically any law enforcement job will do just to get my foot in the door.Ive also been held in a county jail for a week cause i didnt have the money to pay my probation fines, i was released and my time that i spent in county jail waived my probation fees.I would say im good friends with my probation officer so maybe i could ask him for a reference but then the employer would say how does he know the probation officer? encouraging them to dig deeper into my backround.Ive always wanted to have a career in law enforcement and it seems its impossible to get hired, its my dream to be in law enforcement and im getting to the point where im very discouraged and i dont want to give up hope but it seems its coming to that.These arrests happened at least 6 years ago and the driving under a suspended license arrest was 2 years ago. Could you tell me if my backround would disqualify me from any law enforcement jobs? Is there any helpful suggestions that you could give me? A response would be grateful. Thank you.

Answer
Hi Anthony,

I am sorry, but from what you have describe to me here in your question, I do not know of any law enforcement agency that would hire you. Let me explain why and that may help.

If you were the head of a police agency, and you hired a person that had been arrested for Assault and Battery twice and a poor driving record. You are opening your agency to the possibility of civil lawsuits. While it may not be the case, any attorney that would try and sue the police department for actions that you may take, could use those arrest against the department. He could sue them for what is called negligent hiring. Saying that you should not have been hired as you have demonstrated a propensity for anger and violence (not that you really do have one, just that your arrest record can be used to try and show that). Your driving record is another issue, what liability would the police department be taking on if they give you a police unit and allow you to drive contrary to the laws if needed in an emergency? If you got in an accident and the department was sued, what would it look like if they hired you with a bad driving record? It would not look good.

I am sorry but with your background, you do not have much of a chance of being hired because of the liability you would be to the department that hired you. While you may be the nicest person around, your background makes it look otherwise and thats what they have to defend in court.

Be well Anthony, and good luck...