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Careers: Police/Police Background check for an International applicant

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Expert: - 2/8/2011


Question
Hi I have a short question, I completely understand what the background check entails but I am not sure how it works for an International applicant.

I live in the USA and I am not yet a US citizen but I am a green card holder and I have found that the Colorado Springs PD accept resident aliens. I have downloaded the application and transcribed my school credits over but the one area I am concerned about is the background check. Will they extend to international? Since being in the USA I have been a model citizen, I have good credit, pay my bills on time and a steady job and I am married and have a stable home life but when I was in the UK my credit was not very good, I moved around a bit also. I have never been arrested or convicted of a crime but my UK credit report does scare me.

I guess my question is will they extend the background investigation to the UK or only in the USA?

Answer
Leon,

I really have no idea what the Colorado Springs police department is going to do since there are thousands of departments and each has its own hiring standards and procedures.

I can tell you that since you come from a country where records are readily available that they very well could request that the British authorities run a check on you.  They surely would have them run a criminal check.

You seem to have a good handle on what red flags that police departments look for.  In this economy with thousands of applicants had you run up that bad credit history in the US and moved frequently that surely would not have helped your chances.

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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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