Can I be barred from a job in law enforcement for having a mental illness?
Gabe, i am very surprised about this. No one can be barred from a job since its against the Americans With Disabilities Act. A cop is a job after all. http://www.ada.gov/ To the former "Deputy"- Is a quadriplegic qualified to be a cop? No. Is a person who can't speak qualified to be a telemarketer? No. Is a person with no arms qualified to be a boxer? No. Does the ADA protect these individuals?No. Why? Because they're not qualified. As stated in here- http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/disabilit... As you can see from this police website of San Fransisco Police department. Mental illness isn't a DQer. http://www.sfpdcareers.com/join.html#med...
Law Enforcement career with a Biology degree?
I have a Biology degree and worked 32 years in law enforcement as a commissioned officer. There are things that brought it in to fine focus. I ended my career being the lead latent print examiner, crime scene technician, and evidence processing technician for my department. It took a while for the department to start utilizing my education, but once it did, they found out what the benefits were. I would advise you to supplement your education with a minor in a field that would allow you to qualify for work in another field. Business and accounting or related fields are good. They give you a base for advancement if you do get hired. It is essential that you are able to read and write well. Reports are the bread and butter of police work. You might be interested in looking at the National Academy of Sciences recent report. It has a lot about the future of forensics.
What are some possible law enforcement jobs for someone with a CS degree?
A computer science degree is probably as good as any in competing for a law enforcement job, but don't expect that you will spend your career investigating computer crimes. In the FBI and anywhere else, you still complete the same basic training and spend some substantial time as a street officer (or agent, in the case of the FBI). Only once you have established yourself as a competent officer/agent will you have a shot to move into a computer crime specialty, and even then there is no guarantee. It isn't like TV, where the geeky field agent deals with computers, computers and nothing but computers. Most computer forensic specialists in law enforcement gain their skills during their careers, not before. The techniques involved in forensic recovery of evidence and software engineering are related, but different. As an example, my agency hired a new officer who was a certified public accountant. You would think he would go straight to fraud and financial crime investigation, but he spent about five years as a uniformed patrol officer before he got a slot in detectives. He did work fraud for a while, but eventually rotated back to patrol (as was the policy there--being a detective was a 2-3 year rotating assignment) and promoted to sergeant. Supervisors were not directly involved in investigations or first response to incidents. This is not uncommon in law enforcement.
Can i work in law enforcement if I have a misdemeanor?
It will depend on your state licensing requirements, and then on the department. Some departments won't touch you with a theft charge as it is viewed as a character issue. At my agency, in Texas, we will take someone with a class B misdemeanor, if it's been more than 10 years since the offense. A "B" misdemeanor is the second lowest offense in Texas. A petty theft here would probably be equal to a class C, and you would be eligible. It is competitive here and you could be passed over in favor of a candidate with no record. If you make it to an oral review board be prepared to take some hard questions on your charge. Take responsibility for your actions. Let them know that You know you made a serious mistake, and a serious lapse in judgment, and assure them that even though you can't promise you won't make mistakes you have learned from the past and would never embarrass the department. IF you make it to the oral review board then you have a solid chance of winning a spot in the academy-they wouldn't waste time with you at that point if you were already disqualified. Good Luck!
Can i still work in law enforcement with an underage drinking conviction?
In Texas (since I don't know where you are, I'm using my home state), these are the disqualifications for the police department, I would assume they would be almost the same for most legal departments, but I may be wrong. Applicants cannot have any of the following: * Two or more traffic violation conviction(s) within twelve months preceeding the date of application. * Is prohibited by state of federal law from operating a motor vehicle. * Is currently under indictment for any criminal offense. * Has a conviction of a misdemeanor offense above the grade of Class "C" within the last ten years. * Has a conviction of any offense above the grade of a Class B Misdemeanor or any crime involving moral turpitude. * Has ever been on court-ordered community supervision or probation for any criminal offense above the grade of Class B misdemeanor. * Has been on court-ordered community supervision of probation for a Class B misdemeanor within the last ten years from the date of the court order. * Is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition. * Has been convicted of a crime involving family violence. * Was discharged from any military service under less than Honorable conditions. including, specifically; General (under Honorable conditions), other than Honorable, bad conduct, dishonorable, or any other characterization of service indicating bad character.*
Can law enforcement officers still deputize citizens in urgent or emergency situations?
IIn Illinois it's not so much a formal “deputization” ceremony. However, if a peace officer looks at you and says, “help me arrest this guy,” and you are over 18, then you are essentially “deputized” instantly, and you are free from civil liability for any “reasonable conduct.” See 725 ILCS 5/107-8This is a bit over dramatic, as you already had all those same “cop powers” to make an arrest anyway. See 720 ILCS 5/7-6Now, in the realm of laws which would almost never be enforced, it's also illegal to fail to try to help that officer when he summons you to help with an arrest. So, not only can you be deputized, but you are compelled by law to accept that deputization and help the officer:720 ILCS 5/31-8Sec. 31-8.Refusing to aid an officer.Whoever upon command refuses or knowingly fails reasonably to aid a person known by him to be a peace officer in:(a) Apprehending a person whom the officer is authorized to apprehend; or(b) Preventing the commission by another of any offense, commits a petty offense.A petty offense is like a speeding ticket - a fine not to exceed $1,000 and no jail time possible.Again, this isn't a likely scenario. I don't have any personal experience with any cop I know charging someone under that law. Yes, there are about a thousand defenses which spring to mind, starting with “I'm too frail and infirm to help arrest someone” or “How could I have known whether the the officer was authorized to apprehend that person?”In light of the question which was asked, though, I thought it was worth mentioning this little-known and little-used aspect of the law.
Can law enforcement track someone by their mobile device when it is off?
The question is 'is it really off'... for phones that have no option for pulling the batter, the 'off' switch may just be putting the phone in 'dormant' mode, and could allow for an external 'wakeup' packet to arrive, or the device could periodically come out of 'dormant' mode to check on status of cell connectivity.This sort of thing is seen as a 'convenience' to most users, so they don't have to wait long for the phone to connect to the network, or they receive text messages during the dormant period, and then on 'waking up', the messages are ready to be read.If the device is in fact 'off', that is no power to circuits, it is not 'traceable' by its own activities, or nonactivities.If there is an RFID chip installed, either by surreptitious means, or because that's a 'feature', then it could be tracked by RFID means.If one worries about these sorts of things, there are now a number of products out that essentially form a 'Faraday Cage' which prevents RF signals from emanating to the world at large. Of course, for the very paranoid, one would have to have accesss to a lab one had confidence in, to determine if the product delivered actually did in fact block emanations from the phone...For those who are into Home/DIY projects that involve Tin Foil... this is will add to your pleasure.
Can you become a police officer if you have a misdemeanor on your record?
Maybe. It depends on what the misdemeanor is, how recent it was, and the circumstances of the incident. If the offense is for domestic violence or some sex offense, you're done. Don't even try. If it's for a violent offense, such as assault and/or battery, you will need around ten years (this varies) of very clean living between the offense and your application. You will need to show that you realized your mistake and have the ability to conduct an honorable, law-abiding life. If the offense is a "moral turpitude" crime, such as shoplifting or embezzlement, you may be disqualified. This is a "maybe" situation, and while one agency might accept you, another one wouldn't. Once again, you'll need to show you can lead a law-abiding life for a good stretch of time. A DUI can be disqualifying for ten years or more. Complete abstinence from alcohol is recommended. An offense like minor in possession of alcohol won't be overlooked, but it's not as damaging as some of the others I mentioned. In every case, the agency doing your background investigation will do their best to get the original report of the offense, and to interview anyone connected with it. If there were any extenuating or aggravating circumstances about the matter, you want to be the one to tell your background investigator about it. If they find out on their own that the situation was more screwed up than you described it to be, you're probably going to get disqualified. Those stretches of clean living between your offense and your application need to be exemplary in every way. No arrests, no tickets, good work history, all bills paid, etc. If you have a conviction on your record, the bar is going to set higher for you.
Can I be hired at a police department despite failing the polygraph?
Probably not.Polygraph tests do not work. It is quack science. They have been shown as effective at intimidating subjects into telling the truth and admitting something, but that requires the subject to be uneducated and to believe in the magical lie detector machine.If a charlatan has sold their services to a police force to "weed out bad eggs" as part of the selection process, then he has to "fail" a few at random to help keep the charade up. The better the candidate he fails, the more effective, "lucky we hired the polygraph guy, that recruit looked so genuine, just goes to show you never can tell".If you were unlucky enough to have been selected at random to be "failed". Just get on with life. You really didn't want to an organisation run by people dumb enough to hire a polygraph guy in the first place.