"Colorful" past, but changed man. Should I apply?

[ryanmont]

I've been browsing the forum here for a couple of weeks, and I have to say I'm very impressed with the level of professionalism I've seen so far from officers. It makes my desire to become one of CA's finest that much stronger.

That being said, I need some advice. Without typing out my life story, here's the somewhat condensed version:

30 years old, never been in any trouble with the law other than when I was a kid (nothing serious / no convictions, etc.). I changed jobs a lot, moved a lot, basically because I was never really happy with what I was doing, I was young, and nobody really counted on me for support. At one of those jobs, I bought some stuff for myself on a company account. I fessed up to it, paid the company back, but nevertheless (deservingly) was let go. I've got pretty bad credit that I earned for myself during my 20's, but have been working my way out of it for several years. I now have a wife and 2 kids, and am not even a shadow of the person I used to be. I realized the direction I was headed did not reflect how I was raised, and was not a direction I wanted to go anymore. So, I decided that I was going to change that direction, and I have. That decision forced me to do a lot of things, and one of them was to decide what to do professionally with the rest of my life. I've always had a flair for law enforecement, but never had the cajones to actually do anything about it. I can't think of a finer organization to join and I'd love to give it a shot.

That being said, I guess my question is this: Is it worth my effort? I'd love to show that I'm a changed man, and have moved in a positive direction. Have I made my life perfect since that direction change? No, but I continue to do my best daily, and if there's a chance I can make it with the CHP, I don't care how many times I have to apply, I'll do it until I succeed.....If it's possible.

Thanks.

[undertow999]

First off, Welcome to the forum. There is so much information on this forum that you will find valuable, and the people on here are very helpful. That being said, this question has been asked several time before, but just will different circumstances. But what the heck, I will still give my opinion :biggrin: :biggrin: .

As many people have said on this forum, the CHP does not expect every applicant to be perfect. In fact I would think they would be more suspicious of someone who was too perfect. That being said, the department realizes that you are human, and you will make mistakes. What they look for is how you learned from those mistakes, and what you are doing now about them. From what you wrote, it seems as though you have learned from your mistakes, and have been getting your life back in the right direction.

As long as what you are telling us in this forum is the truth, my opinion is that even though you may have done some bad things previously, it appears as though you have changed. One question though is how long ago did you buy the stuff w/ company money? The amount of time that has passed since a specific incident may also be a factor. Do I think you will be immediately DQ'd? No. But you will have to explain all of this, very thoroughly and honestly to the QAP Panel and you?re BI.

If this job is something that you want bad enough, you can get it. The road for you may be a little harder, but if you want it bad enough you can get it. Just make sure that you tell the department every single little detail about all of your situations because they WILL find out everything. Just be honest with everything, and show them how you have changed.

Reminder: I am not an officer with the CHP, so all the above information is just my uneducated opinion and officers on this board will correct any mistakes I may have made. :smile:

[23112]

ryanmont,

Without knowing all the details, I think you should give it a shot. I'd bet most of the officers on this board have some skeletons in their closets that they're not too proud of. As you go through the process remember to:

1. Disclose everything
2. Acknowledge that what you did was wrong without trying to justify your actions
3. Share what you've learned from the experience(s)
4. Explain why you would never do something like that again (i.e., why you can be trusted to not repeat your actions)

You might want to try calling a background investigator in your area and asking them if they think you should re-apply. I did that after getting DQ'ed once and reapplying a few years later--now I'm an officer.

Let us know what you decide!

[WinnieI05]

At my written test I'll never forger these words by the officer who proctored the test:

If I ask you when the last time you did cocaine and you say ten years ago...no problem, just be honest.
If I ask you when the last time you did cocaine and you look at your watch....we may have a problem!

I echo the last post, be honest, disclose it all.

WinnieI05

[ryanmont]

Thank you gentlemen. This takes a real load off. I've really wanted to try this for a while, I just requested my application.

[Mac]

The worst they can do is tell you "no". Nothing ventured, nothing gained - go for it!