Expert: William Payne - 12/14/2007

Question
Hi, my name is Chris and I’ve wanted to be a police officer my whole life; however when I was a teen I made some childish mistakes. I was arrested for criminal property damage two times and mob action once. All three charges were dropped in court. I also acquired many traffic tickets and was convicted on driving on a revoked license two times. I also have had some city citations for underage drinking and other minor offenses. There are many police reports on my record as well. All these offenses happened when I was the age of 18 or younger (with the exception of mob action when I was 19, a few traffic tickets when I was 20 and 21, and a drinking ticket). They were all childish acts and I have since matured and learned from my mistakes.

I am now 22 years old and have had no trouble with the law since. I am in the Air Force and will be getting out when I'm 24. I also am going to school and will have my Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice before I separate from the military. I also do community service work and a portion of all my paychecks go to charities to aid children in need. When I move to California for the Air Force I plan on volunteering with a police dept. and working every weekend if possible.

All my actions in the past were all due to immaturity and influence. I never intended to harm anyone ever and have no criminal convictions. I plan on getting the criminal damages and mob action expunged. Is there anything else that I could do that would help? Will I still have a chance in a police career or do you think I should look into something else? Thanks for your time I appreciate it.


Answer
Christopher,

Thanks for the question.

Definitely get the past arrests expunged. You still can have a chance in law enforcement. Your current job and some extra curricular activities show that you are starting to mature and move forward with your life.

See if you can volunteer at a local police agency to get your feet in the door and start getting some work experience in that field, something like a Reserve Police Officer course can help you with that as well. Check the college you are attending and see if they have any programs like that or if one of the local community colleges in your area offers one.

The biggest challenge is stay on the straight and narrow (you seem to be doing that  now).

Good luck and best wishes!