Careers: Police/dd-214 effects

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Expert: Eric Potts - 3/20/2009


Question
I went through most of Marine Corps boot camp, over 2 years ago, I ended up getting an admin seperation, failure to adapt, will this affect my chances of being in law enforcement?  Also, when I apply for employment as an officer will I need to include my dd-214? I'm currently getting my associates degree in criminal justice, I have a 4.0 gpa, I'm in excellant physical condition, I have a spotless background, and I think that the admin seperation is the only thing that would ruin my chances of being a police officer.  Thank you!

Answer
Josie,

Unfortunately it will greatly effect your chances. Anything less than an Honorable Discharge will. You absolutely need to produce a copy of your DD-Form 214, and any attempt to omit your service time will be found during your background.

I'm not telling you that you can't be hired, I'm telling you that you will need to work a lot harder to do so.

Good Luck.

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Eric Potts

Expertise

I am a Veteran of The United States Army where I served as a Military Police Officer for 6 years and have been a Municipal Police Officer for 20 years. I am a certified Arson Investigator, as well as a certified Community Police Officer. I am a DARE teacher in the local schools. I am a Defensive Driving Instructor and worked for years as a Detective specializing in White Collar Crime. I'm qualified to answer general law enforcement questions, general procedure questions (all departments have different rules and regulations. I can answer questions about how to become a law enforcement officer, and questions that might help someone understand why an officer acted a certain way. I am also a Police Suicide Awareness trainer and a member of the NJ Critical Incident Response Team. PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME ANY QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO SWAT-I AM NOT QUALIFIED TO ANSWER THEM AND WILL REJECT THOSE QUESTIONS.

Experience

I have 27 years total Law Enforcement experience in a wide range of areas. I have worked as a Detective and a Patrolman and have made well over 2,000 arrests in my career.

Education/Credentials
Graduated from the United States Army Military Police School Basic Law Enforcement Training Arson Investigators School DARE Officer Training Interview and Interrogation School Police Suicide and Awareness Trainer

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