Posted: 2/3/2008 10:11:03 AM EDT
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I've searched over this forum and I haven't found a concrete answer. I heard of someone being asked during a polygraph test if he participated in an illegal drug transaction. Is this a deal breaker? I've purchased weed/coke a few times as a teenager, but I've been clean for almost 10 years. No addictions and I'm healthy. I jsut want to know if my stupid mistakes in my past may cause me problems in my future. I am considering applying at Miami Dade police dept. |
Not necessarily for weed, but multiple narcotic transactions are not good.  Factors used to determine eligability can include your age, category of crime, department policy and circumstances (among others.)I will tell you deception, lying or omitting info during the application process are automatic disqualifiers on every department. |
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Depends on if you were ever arrested & later convicted of dealing, which is a felony in most states & usually, if not always, prohibits you from being hired as an LEO in the United States. If not & asked a related dope question on the polygraph, you need to be honest about it. It being a "deal breaker" depends on the agency & their standards. I can only speak for my agency, but if that particular questiong was posed, you would prolly be canned from further consideration after the polygraph session. There are lesser skeletons that we would rather chance with a potential recruit than past felony activity. We're no where near a small dept, but we're not so huge in numbers (not as large as MD either) that we need to risk hiring someone to put bodies on the street that's messed around with coke or been addicted to it, much less any other drug addiction. |
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Everyone needs to understand that we all have to pay for mistakes we made when we were young. There are thousands of ex-cons walking the streets, some of which do not intend to ever commit another crime. Should we allow them to become police officers? Some of them want to. After all, they would probably be pretty good at it, having a unique perspective. |
| never convicted of anything. never arrested for any drug related charges either. I was a dumb kid when I experimented. It's not like I was some junkie or anything. I really had no addictions or dependencies, I just flirted with it a few times and that was all. The fact that I've been clean for almost a decade says alot right? I just don't want to lie on a polygraph about such an important topic. |
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You say this as if it were an option. You have to tell the truth. For some reason the hiring authority believes that past drug use is an indicator of future work performance. I think it has something to do about altered brain chemistry and possible future lawsuits. They ask about other things... I have never screwed a beast. Why do you think they ask about bestiality? Should people who abstain from bestiality for ten years be granted peace officer authority? See where I'm going with this? PD's have to be very careful about who they hire. They give you a gun, a badge, and alot of power over other people. If you do something to somebody and they get a liar who digs up your past, the PD is screwed. You made a mistake when you were younger. You now have to convince the hiring authority that it will absolutely not impair your work performance. You now have to be better than the rest of the group. This is a tremendous hurdle to overcome. Good Luck. |