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Department standards and policy

6/16/2007 12:25 AM
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 13

Department standards and policy

Recently I had applied at my county's sheriff office for their volunteer program. I was upfront and honest with everyone I had talked to about my criminal background. Through my research, officers (city, county, and state officers) I spoke to, and the individuals involved in the application process I had the understanding that nothing in my criminal history was severe enough to prevent me from joining. I got through my interview, background interview, and polygraph testing in less time than I was told it would take. Three days after my polygraph I recieved an e-mail saying that they could not offer me a firm employment contract. A few days later I recieved an e-mail from the background investigator telling me that: "Unfortunately, after a review of all information available to us it was decided to not continue your pre-employment/volunteer application process. You are welcome to apply for other employment positions with the sheriff's office, however, the pre-employment screening and background investigation process is the same and you probably will not be successful. Good luck in your future endeavors." So I talked to an ISP supervisor I knew and he told me to ask why I was denied and to find out what I needed to work on and not to give up. So I e-mailed the background investigator and got: "It is our policy to not provide specific information regarding background information to unsuccessful applicants, so, sorry I cannot provide any additional information." After that e-mail I was not sure if I wanted to scream or cry. My employer was not that sympathetic at first, he feels I should just marry an officer and "live vicariously through him" so I can stay at my current job, but he later offered to write a letter of recommendation if I needed one. But the "so, sorry" part of the e-mail made me think of a valley girl and the fact they couldn't tell me why I was denied was unnerving. Well, once again, I talked to an ISP who told me to continue to try and if I'm denied at all departments then there is something there that is an issue.

I am still going through my bachelor's program for my Criminal Justice degree and I do have every intention of applying everywhere I can. I started out wanting to be a reserve, then wanted to be a full-time officer, then I wanted to be a state trooper, now I just want to assist anyway I can. So I am just curious as to if anyone here can tell me if they know why departments do not say why someone did not qualify, and an opinion on what I should do from here. That part of the background investigator's e-mail saying I can apply for other positions but will probably not be sucessful is a real buzz kill!

Have a safe and wonderful day!

Peace, Love, and God Bless

Amber D. Curtis
REPLY 1  -  4  of  4
6/16/2007 8:59 AM #1
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 380

RE: Department standards and policy

Each department sets their own standards for hiring, within the minimum standards set by the state. Most departments do not reveal the exact results of the background when you ask, because of the desire to avoid lawsuits.

You might check with the local laws for open records requests and see how they apply. In Texas, after the position is filled, all records are governed by our open records laws. For on-going positions like a volunteer slot, you could get the records as soon as you were turned down.

I can give you some guidelines that might help explain why the department did not hire you. In most cases, any felony record - either conviction or deferred adjudication - will forever keep you off the department. Higher level misdemeanors (in Texas, what we call Class A) are also forever bars. medium level misdemeanors (Class B) are ten year bars. That part is state law. Many departments are a little stricter and bar all class B convictions too. Of course, anything that could keep you from a weapon, even a class C misdemeanor with family violence is also a bar.

It is also possible that it is not a criminal history issue. Those rules are usually preset and they would tell you in advance. It might be a credit issue if you have had bad credit. Of course, federal law requires them to tell you if they used a credit check as part of the decision, along with which credit bureau had the information, so you could fix your credit record if it is wrong.

And it could be a bad reference check or something like that. In cases like this, it is a judgment call by the department and the next department might hire you with no problems.

I would advise reviewing your personal background, especially against the state laws for minimum qualifications. Then checking things like your credit record and job history. And then, keep pushing for your goal with other departments. Many of us were turned down by one or more departments before getting on with another one.
6/16/2007 1:15 PM #2
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 13

RE: Department standards and policy

I checked all the disqualifications and minimum requirements for the position. There standards were 5 years for misdemeanors and no felonies. I do not have felonies, a misdemeanor in my juvenille record and a gross misdemeanor in my adult record that occured in 2002. When I spoke with the volunteer coordinator before applying I informed her fully of these charges and her, as well as the background investigator, said that they did not look like something that would prevent me from the position. Also, the comment you made about references reminded me, they never contacted any of my references. I was thinking it might have been my misdemeanors, but I am uncertain as to why they would have had me continue through the entire process if it was an issue.
At first I thought the individual's e-mail was saying I'd be unsuccessful at any department, but after reading it again it looks like only within that department he finds I would be unsuccessful. So I'll keep trying.
Steve, how does the "open records law" work? I have all the paper work from my court cases and what I was charged with. The thing I'm curious about with the open records law is that I am applying in Idaho, my criminal cases were all in Minnesota, will that affect obtaining information? I appreciate your response!
Have a safe and wonderful day!

Peace, Love, and God Bless
Amber D. Curtis
6/16/2007 11:17 PM #3
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 380

RE: Department standards and policy

Each state has their own laws on open records. This includes what the procedures are and what is covered or not covered. You would need to check with a lawyer or legal aid society up there in your area to find out about your laws. It is one thing for me to try to look up criminal laws for other states, but civil laws like this are a very complicated mess.

There will be problems when comparing crimes between states. For example, if one law says the act is a felony but the other says it is a misdemeanor, there is no way to tell how a department would look at it. I don't know what a gross misdemeanor is, but I assume it is like our class A, which is just below a felony. If you were to apply here, the state law would say to look at what the incident is closest to in Texas and for us to use that as a basis.

And of course, it is much harder to get some information across state lines, but most criminal records will still show up. I have seen a lot of rap sheets that I could not tell if there was a conviction or not, but the arrest might be enough for that sheriff.
6/17/2007 1:44 PM #4
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 13

RE: Department standards and policy

Thank you Steve, that was very informative, I truly appreciate it.
Have a safe and wonderful day!

Peace, Love, and God Bless
Amber D. Curtis
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