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Careers: Police/Will bad credit affect me becoming a police officer?

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Expert: - 7/7/2010


Question
Growing up I have always had problems with good credit, early on it was I did not have enough credit and now at the age of 30, I have horrible credit. I have been married for 8 years and I have a daughter that is 12, she used to get sick a lot, but now she is fine, then my wife has had 3 surgeries and is in pain every day.  And here recently I had to have 2 foot surgeries but I was off for 3 months and then lead to Best Buy finding a reason to lay me off. And before Best Buy I was a manager at Circuit City and when they went under I lost a lot of money. I have had to give my house back to the bank, and I am having troubles keeping up with my car payments, also some credit cards and small loans I have defaulted on But in efforts to find a better life for me and my family I enrolled in school, I am working on my criminal justice degree. All A’s and B’s so far (High B’s).  I want to be a probation officer when I graduate, but also become a police officer after 2 years of school so I will be able to see both sides of the fence. I am looking at filing bankruptcy just to wipe my credit clean, but will a bankruptcy prevent me from becoming a police officer or even a probation officer?

Thank you in advance
Beau

Answer
Beau,

Every police department has its own hiring standards so I can't say for sure what each department would do.  I can tell you that police departments have found that a bad credit history is a good predictor for an officer who will not be successful.  I can also tell you that from what you have told me that you would not be considered for my department.

Possibly a probation officer position would be a better choice.

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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