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Expert: - 10/6/2007


Question
Commander Wagoner,

I will be moving to Florida in the near future and wish to get into law enforcement.  I have been checking out various police depts' websites and I am finding that they are very strict on prior drug use - which is understandable - but it seems they don't have any tolerance for it whatsoever - even if it was years and years ago.  Would you say this is true with all depts in Florida or has it just been with the depts I have been looking at.  I am asking this question because I am 24 years old and have tried mushrooms twice back in 1999, 8 years ago, and smoked marijuana 20-30 times when I was a juvenile, last time being in 2001.  From your experience, will this be an automatic DQ at most pd's in Florida for me?

Thank you for your time!

Answer
Hi Adrian,

Well I am glad you deciding to come to the great state of Florida! And I am even happier you are looking in to law enforcement as a career.

Your drug use as you described it is not a definite DQ in Florida. But it is going to make it harder to get hired. It is up to the individual department as to what and when they DQ you for. I would keep searching around and see if there is some department you are interested in that would accept that type of drug use and that long ago.

The real DQ'er of the two is the shrooms. Since they are a felony to have in your possession that makes that the more serious of the two. But by being honest during the hiring process you may be able to show the department that you really are sorry for it and have grown up since then and are not a risk for drug use now. Its up to you to convince them of that. Your chance to do that is in the interview (oral board) process.

Here is the qualifications page for Gainesville Police Department (one of the Departments I train officers for) http://www.gainesvillepd.org/eligibility.htm you will notice it says " Use, possession, or cultivation of any illegal controlled substance in current lifestyle." 8 years ago and not in your current lifestyle seems like you would not be disqualified.

SO there are departments out there.

Also you need to know that in Florida you do not have to be hired by a police department to go to the police academy. We also have open enrollment in Florida where you apply to the academy, go through, and then apply to police departments. This way you are more marketable since they do not have to pay you to go to the academy or pay for you academy schooling. For more information on this go here:http://www.policecareers.org/

If after all that you still have any questions, feel free to ask me anything you are not clear on.

Good luck! and I hope it works out for you.

Stay Safe!

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Chris Wagoner

Expertise

I have been a police officer for 30+ years! I am the Police Academy Commander at the Santa Fe College, Institute of Public Safety in Gainesville Florida It is a full service Law Enforcement and Corrections training facility. I can answer most questions concerning law enforcement procedures, law enforcement training and general questions about law enforcment. I can also answer questions about becoming a law enfocement officer. I have a booklet and web page I have written that answers many questions about how to become a police officer called "So you want to be a cop (police Officer) in Florida?", which is free, Google it.. All you have to do is ask. I teach the following subjects: RADAR/LASER, Law Enforcement Driving, Law Enforcement Firearms and Patrol Techniques, Officer Safety, WMD's for Patrol Officers, Application of Law, Communications skills, Dealing with the Mentally and physically handicapped, and many more subjects. I have worked as a subject matter expert for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and helped to write the police curriculum for the State of Florida. I like answering questions about how to become a police officer, and questions about why did an officer do this or that type questions. I also like answering any questions you may have about police work in general. I do not mind helping with homework questions or trying to answer your questions about legal subjects that I have knowledge of. You will never know the answer until you ask! If you do ask a question, PLEASE take the time to at least rate the answer. I do not get paid to answer these questions and do it on my own time. If you ask, please rate it when I answer. Thanks!!! If its a question about becoming a police officer, it may be answered here: http://sites.google.com/site/flaleohelp/ My "hobby" website - http://www.youtube.com/user/3rdID8487 Military Videos on YouTube and Facebook!!

Experience

I am a 30+ year veteran police officer, I am currently the Police Academy Commander of an Academy in North FLorida. I have been training police officers since 1993 and have trained them in all aspects of law enforcement, including firearms, Driving and legal subjects including patrol techniques and others and training all over the world. I have trained over 5000 officers worldwide in the last 16 years of training.

Publications
I am a published author in Accident Investigation from the University of North Florida, Institute of Police Technology and Management. Also have written and published on the Internet, "So You Want to be a Cop (Police Officer) in Florida?" you can Google it..

Education/Credentials
I have 2 degrees, in Criminal Justice.

Awards and Honors
Phi Theta Kappa, plus 50+ Departmental Awards over the years. FBI Directors award for assisting in a Nationwide investigation into Child pornography.

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