Careers: Police/Quitting mistake

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Expert: - 2/3/2009


Question
I am 23 years old and recently graduated college.  I have always known I wanted to work in law enforcement.  Last summer I was hired by a police department in North Carolina.  But at the time of my hiring I was only two months away from getting married.  I thought I could take on both tasks at the same time, the academy and first year of marriage.  After a week at the academy I realized that I could not possibly devote time to the wedding and do my best in the academy at the same time.  After a week I told the training staff my decision to back out due to conflicting schedules.  I now realize that this was the biggest mistake I have ever made.  Is it possible for me to be hired by another police agency in the future, or have I tarnished my reputation by quitting.  Thank you for your time.

Answer
Nick,

At least you realize that dropping out of the academy was a mistake.  I get a lot of questions from people who think that applying for a job in law enforcement is like applying for a job in retail.  I've seen statistics that less than 10% of people who get beyond the application stage are actually hired.

Answering your question is difficult because there are over a thousand police departments in the country and all have different hiring standards.

I am assuming that you don't intend to try to get hired by the same department?  If not then you are going to have to deal with the question that will read something like this, "have you ever applied for another police department, or have you ever been dismissed by another department".  You are going to have to answer "yes" but with an adequate response you might not have any trouble.  You are older now so that might be to your advantage.  But to give you a "yes" or "no" answer is impossible.

Careers: Police

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Jack Toomey

Expertise

U.S.: I am an expert in this category for the purpose of giving young people an idea what the hiring process involves for the position of police officer. I am getting a flood of questions from young people who are being influenced by unrealistic television shows. I'd ask you to consider that when you watch police shows on television that they are NOT realistic and most of what you see does not happen in real life. Please do not ask me about potential jail sentences that you, your friends, or family might receive in court. There is no way for me to know that. I am NOT a probation officer so I cannot answer questions about probation and parole matters. I am a retired police officer with 26 years experience.I worked in a variety of assignments including investigations, homicide, sex crimes, runaway investigations, missing persons, and fraud.I also dealt with the general public during that time giving a wide range of advice on matters such as domestic disputes, problem solving, teenage problems, civil/criminal matters, and dealing with the mentally ill. I am available to give sound and reasonable advice which can solve most problems. Please do not ask me to do homework questions or online interviews. Young people should not rely on the Internet for interviews. Local police officers are normally very agreeable to assist students with interviews and surveys.

Experience

Worked as a police officer/detective for 26 years.

Graduate of the University of Maryland.B.S. in Law Enforcement.Attended numerous schools and training courses involving investigations, interviewing, interrogations, crime detection, domestic violence, and others. Recognized in court as an expert witness.

Received numerous awards during my police career for expert investigations. Handled the most sensitive and confidential investigations. In 1999 I won an award for my work with high school students while working in my new career in a large suburban high school.

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