Expert: Chris Wagoner - 3/8/2011

Question
QUESTION: I would like to become a law enforcement professional.  I am 35 years old and it seems like I was 25 the last time I checked. As a young girl (17 yrs) I found myself on my own without any support or guidance. I lived on my own, had my own car and found myself working in an exciting career in the entertainment industry.  I made lots of money (for a twenty something) met lots of people and had a lot of experiences.  This all came to a screeching halt when my friend Tupac Shakur got shot and killed on a trip we took as a group to Las Vegas. That was many years ago in approximately 1996.  Because of my young age and the fact that I had lots of money to live off of, my house and car were paid off, I didn't continue working or educating myself.  Through the years I had many experiences with different dramas and scandals. I had an emotional breakdown,  went to behavior modification/rehab,  was homeless for 2 years, unemployed, estranged from my family and anyone who ever knew me except for about 3 people. All this said, I do not have a criminal record/history of any kind and I have been working for the county of Orange in California for over a year now. I have picked up my pieces and they are fitting together quite nicely. It doesn't seem like I am really missing any, they are just out of order.  So yes, I have experimented drugs, did have a drinking problem, run with a "bad" crowd, had people conspire against me and slander and libel my name. I do want to be a police officer because I think my life experiences can benefit a community. I feel that my high stress tolerance and coping skills come from my life experiences and I am what I am, but I am not a liar, cheat, drug addict or criminal.  Have I blown it though?  Thank you for you time.

ANSWER: Hi NB,

Sorry to hear about all your troubles but with your past you will not have much chance of getting into Law Enforcement. There are just to many applicants with clean records and not all the baggage you have to make you a viable applicant.

Sorry, wish the news was better. Might want to read this:
https://sites.google.com/site/flaleohelp/home/disqualifiers---be-honest-withyourself


Good luck in whatever you choose.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Mr. Wagoner.  I appreciate the time you took to answer my question.  I am a person who can definitely handle the truth and I do appreciate your honesty.  I can handle most anything as long as I know what I am dealing with.  So, thank you again.  I have another question. Do you think that I might be able to work in criminal justice in another area? Like maybe a counselor, probation officer, Dept. of corrections case manager, etc? Thank you again for you time sir.

Answer
Hi NB,

Good question and glad your open to honest answers! Speaks a lot about your character. I think you may be a very good applicant for Department of Corrections. They have tons of openings and you can make a really good career in that field. You have to be the type of person that can have good communication skills though and you seem to have that as evidenced by your ability to communicate here.

I would suggest looking at the State of Florida DOC employment page and maybe even looking at possibly working as a ME investigator or a SA investigator, even the Department of Juvenile Justice has a lot of openings. So there are a lot of other areas in CJ that you can work in if your willing to think outside the box, which I think you are.

Good for you!

Good luck and be well and stay safe...