Expert: Jason Grabill - 12/15/2003

Question
I am pursuing my dream of law enforcement by enrolling in college. I am going to major in criminal justice. I plan to take a break and attend the police academy after one semester and hopefully get a job with a department. But, I believe that my past history is going to cause me a problem. My credit is bad and I got a DWI back in Jan. 1999. But I can honestly say I am a different person now. Should I reconsider my law enforcement career, or is there any way I will be able to get past this so I can continue to pursue my career in law enforcement? Thank you for your time.
David Quada Jr.  
Jefferson Texas

Answer
David:

  I assume in Texas you can go to the Police academy without belonging to a police department.  (In Maryland, you can't pay your own way thru, PD has to send you).

  The general rule for DWI/DUI/Driving While Suspended convictions is 10 years.  In other words, you need 10 years 'good time' after getting one of those before any PD around here will look at you.  Now, things may be different down in Texas, you'll have to check with your local police departments (this can sometimes be done on line) to see what the qualifications are for things like that.

  Bad credit is not a show stopper.  If you are taking steps to repair it, or you can show a good reason why your credit is bad, it is not much of a problem....unless you have repossessions (cars, property) or bounced checks that you haven't made good.  You'll need at least 5 years after one of those, with good credit, for most PD's up here to look at you;  we just rejected a guy for bad credit, felt sorry for him, his wife failed to pay his house note, and he got foreclosed, it was on his credit report, along with a bunch of other stuff;  bosses felt it showed he was irresponsible.  (There was a continued pattern of doing this over several years).

  There is nothing wrong with continuing with what you want to do.  I would, however, encourage you to get a degree in something other than Criminal Justice, simply because that type of degree limits you in career choices further down the road.  If you can do Business Administration, that is a good one, as you can take that anyplace, and those principles don't get 'stale', generally, like some other majors might.

  Good luck, and keep trying.  Check into what Texas does and does not allow, and time periods.

    Jason