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I plan to be honest with it. I shouldn't have listened to that advice in the first place. It was my mistake to assume that I would get right in, and that admitting past experimental marijuana usage, no matter how small, would be so detrimental in hurting chances of promotion or choice assignments.
i plan to accept the responsibility and be upfront with the department about my failure to tell them the initial time around. I honestly hope that it doesnt bar my chances, as i'd really like to work for that department.
minus the experimental marijuana usage in high school and college years ago, i feel i'm an exceptional candidate. and it would be a shame for someone to be disqualified for that. I think they will look more harshly on my omission of the marijauna usage the first time around however... do you think that will be enough to have me removed from the process?
Posted by: Sergeant1107 Posted on: Aug 3rd, 2005 at 8:31pm
i've applied to some east coast PD departments in the past, but stopped all my applications prior to a polygraph on account that I found a job i wanted to try out. in filling out 2 departments background information i specified that i had never experimented with marijuana. this was on the advice of another officer who stated that if i admited to any sort of prior use, it would follow me on my employment record as a misdemeanor, and then could affect future promotions, etc. the reality of the situation was that in high school and college i experimented with marijuana a small number of times. I am thinking about opening back up the applications since i am not happy in my job, and i'd like to be honest with them as to prevent any problems with the polygraph. I am concerned however because they will clearly see the differance between no drug use on the first BI and experimental drug use with marijuana on the 2nd. In peoples experience is this something i can be open with and disclose. or will my previous mistake of hiding this on bad advice DQ me, in which case i should try my best to go forward with this not openly.
any advice would be appreciated. thank you
If you wish to apply to be a law enforcement officer you should be honest in your background investigation. Not telling the truth on previous applications was not a good idea, but nonetheless you chose to do it. Nobody made you do it, and you knew it was a lie and that it was wrong. You must face up to any consequences that follow your choice.
On all applications from this point on tell the truth about your past. If someone compares your previous application with a current one and asks about the inconsistencies, be honest and tell them just what you posted here. If they disqualify you for that then apply somewhere else. Lying about a lie you already told is not a good idea in any situation. Tell the truth and face the consequences.
Sometimes personal responsibility sucks.
Posted by: fpio Posted on: Aug 3rd, 2005 at 8:07pm
i've applied to some east coast PD departments in the past, but stopped all my applications prior to a polygraph on account that I found a job i wanted to try out. in filling out 2 departments background information i specified that i had never experimented with marijuana. this was on the advice of another officer who stated that if i admited to any sort of prior use, it would follow me on my employment record as a misdemeanor, and then could affect future promotions, etc. the reality of the situation was that in high school and college i experimented with marijuana a small number of times. I am thinking about opening back up the applications since i am not happy in my job, and i'd like to be honest with them as to prevent any problems with the polygraph. I am concerned however because they will clearly see the differance between no drug use on the first BI and experimental drug use with marijuana on the 2nd. In peoples experience is this something i can be open with and disclose. or will my previous mistake of hiding this on bad advice DQ me, in which case i should try my best to go forward with this not openly.