Is it true that gun collectors have a harder time getting into law enforcement?

I have never heard that ever happening.... Why do you think being a gun collector would prevent you from becoming a cop?

+1  curious where you heard this and what the reasoning would be.

i have never heard of this - i think someone is playing a bad joke on you or just has some F'd up info



 

Not ture at all, whoever told you that is highly confused.  Its not a crime to collect, shoot and enjoy firearms.

I think someone is jelous and in hopes they can convince him to never try.

I was asked in a police department interview how many guns I had.  I told them a number, not the number, and they asked me to name each gun.  I was not thrilled. I did go on to work for that department for 2 years before moving on.  The city had a population of 140k+, bordered city limits with a major city in the midwest.  Obviously the question did not keep me from getting hired.

My experience was similar for the psych. They will usually as anyone with more than one or two "why so many?". My response was that no one asks a golfer why they carry so many clubs, since each one is for a different purpose (i.e. hunting pigs, birds, home defense, plinking, etc..). They apparently accepted my response.

They are looking to weed out the tin foil crowd.

Yeah our shrink (who we no longer use) would ask the same thing.  Everyone knew to only say you had one or two, although I'm not sure if that was only a urban legend within the department.  I think everyone gave him the same answer!

Never heard of any agency ever asking if you were a gun collector.  Most were about theft, drug use, sexual habits, financial, subversive groups, etc.  

Never heard of that one and I have worked for several different agencies.  Heck, I know a couple of cops who have over 300 guns at home themselves.  I would have alot more if I could afford it, so I don't see it as an issue.

Was a gun owner/collector before the job, am still, and will be long after I leave the badge behind.

Romper

Reason I ask is, I tried for Phila Pd a couple years ago, didn`t make it. They not only ask if you have guns, but everything about them, make, model, serial number, when it was purchased, and if you still have it.

I do own a fair amount of firearms.

What I heard was if you have 1-3 guns they ask you about it, if you have 4-10 they jump on shit about it( this happened to a friend of mine), 11 and over they just talk about it with u, because they have to give you a pysch test

Thats where I`m going with all this

What the hive mind on this matter?

If I were you I wouldn't worry about not getting hired on for the Philadelphia police dept.  You are probably better off not working for them.

Yeah im not sure how much water it holds, but i was also asked before my poly before i hired on.  I told a number and was asked what they were.  No big deal.  But before i had my interview i did have an ex-chef of police (whos a good friend) tell me not to bring it up, let them ask.

I think it is bullshit and I wouldn't want to work for an agency that gave such a negative connotation to being a gun owner/collector.....In my mind, a guy that had experience and was knowledgeable about firearms would be an asset to the department.

My thought too.

That said, keep it on the DL until you finish the academy.  We had a recruit several classes back in the academy who was a real gun enthusiast.  I won't deny the dude knew his shit - prior USMC with a tour in OIF, had several class 3's and an armorer certification out of his own pocket, but he didn't know when to shut the hell up and as a firearms instructor this drove me totally nuts.  He, or more properly, his mouth, got his entire class thrashed several times during range week.

In my agency they do, I have seen the written comments from command staff regarding the number of handguns a prospective employee owned. "The candidate owns 9 handguns, several of the big bore variety", etc.  I sold most of my guns prior to applying back in 1987 based on tips from current employees on improving my chances of getting hired. (I have since gotten them back).  Nothing has changed since, it is a joke. We turn away many of the candidates best suited for the job. As a result, most of the new guys who work for me are completely unfamiliar with firearms, their function, capabilities, legality, etc.

I remember when I first applied for my current job back in 1999. The chief(very small dept.) asked me if I owned any guns (not really digging, just conversation). I was young still, only 23 and my collection had yet to flourish. I told him I had 4-5 shotguns, a dozen rifles and 8 or so pistols. He looked at me smiled and said something about there being a reason he liked me. Hell I think it may have helped me get the job. Now its just gotten out of hand and I'm the known as the resident gun nut.

There was a deputy here at our department who had a VERY nice sized inventory of firearms. I always joked that I would head to his house when the zombies roamed the street, since he was four blocks away.
When my wife interviewed with the city police, they did ask her about gun ownership. She said they were surprised that she claimed two pistols and a rifle. Didn't stop her from getting hired, and come to think of it no one ever asked squat about any firearms when I was hired by the sheriff's office.

I've never heard of it, and can't imagine any dept. doing so.  Regardless of the garbage you read in GD, a good percentage of cops have at least some interest in guns.  Sure you get a certain segment that have never owned or even shot a gun before the academy, but in my experience, that's the minority.  Besides, a lot of those guys end up becoming gun enthusiasts after they've had the exposure.

I had the 'how many guns do you own' question asked during the psych. test, and I still got hired.

That being said, some gun folks are weird about their hobby.  Personally, I like to keep it to myself unless I know someone else shares my interests.  No reason to tell every stranger you run into that you've got a house full of guns, for many obvious reasons.  So I'm sure some gun folks have gotten themselves 'unhired' by blabbing about guns at inappropriate times during the application process.  IMHO there is no reason to bring the topic up (during the application process), unless you are specifically asked about it.

The question was on my application regarding handguns... I listed them (make/caliber), because
I figured it could be verified by the purchase records (that aren't supposed to exist) and didn't want
it to be an honesty issue.

Clearly in my case it was not an issue.... everyone in my unit is a "gun nut" to varying degrees...
all but one reloads.

I think the key is "Philadelphia PD".  The city is pretty antigun.  

Gun collecting is almost a requirement at my agency.  The guys that own no personal firearms usually find themselves on the short of the jackal pile.  I don't think it is ever mentioned in our hiring process except by the psych and it is very brief.

I don't know if I'd talk about nothing but firearms for the entirety of the interview.

Wait till you get hired to do that.

I was going to say NYPD.

Depends on where you are, and the local attitude.  I started out already beign a shooter and having a decent sized collection..so, this being NJ, i've always been looked at with some amount of "Suspicion" let's say and the odd snide little comments passed towards me.  Fuck em, what i do with my money is my business.  Another 2 years and 11 months and they can all GFTS.

AJK.. Same here.. But having come from another agency i wasnt questioned as much. Im still referred to as "tackelberry" bc i carry off duty and shoot on my off time.

I can't say that they DON'T get hired, but I can say that for several departments I applied for back in the 90's that several of them DO ask how many guns you own.  I don't know what the magic number they were looking for was, but I didn't get several jobs that asked that question.  I also had a somewhat large collection at the time, having grown up around guns, and having worked at an indoor gun range prior to testing for a Law Enforcement position.

When I did get hired, the agencies that I have worked for have NEVER asked that question.  So I think it's really department specific, but that for some departments it DOES make a difference.

I was a shooter for years before LE, although probably not really a "collector", since few of my guns have historic or other intrinsic value.  Shooting was, and still remains one of my top hobbies, outside of work.  I was never asked about anything gun related, except for a couple of standard questions on the background regarding unlawful behaviors related to guns.  I've heard of this being brought up in many departments on the West coast.  I'd imagine that in any liberal area, the admins would bring this up.  

As an aside, I think that people focus too much on the gun aspect of law enforcement either don't get the job, or fail in training.  I know that those guys that would go into an interview and try to dominate it with discussion of their supposed skills with guns, knives, martial arts, etc., will not likely get the job.  A lot of guys want to do this because they want to carry a gun, but fail to realize that it's the LEAST used tool at our disposal.  Sure, a gun on the hip implies authority and is very useful in its symbolism, but majority of cops will go their whole career without firing a weapon at a suspect.  Having some common sense, being generally fit and keeping yourself out of trouble are things that are vastly more important to being a cop than amount of cool toys in your safe.

Totally agree with you. I`m was and currently am an armored car guard, and I can agree that my side arm is my least used tool on my belt

The other thing is that Phila PD requests that you list your personal weapons and they do ask you about it

This +1

Are they still doing this?

I listed my long guns on an application and ended up joining the academy class 13 days late as backfill because of it. Had to transfer them to my dad even though the applicant investigations was wrong. Only handguns had to be vouchered at a local precinct, not long guns. Investigator didn't seem to understand, as I later found out when qualifying at the range.

During the psych test I mentioned my interests in shooting but wasn't asked a single question about it. Instead the psychologist asked about paintball (which I no longer play anyway) and my limited alcohol use. Not one question about firearms. Real good psych investigator!

When I first applied to my department, as part of my background, they had me declare all my firearms: make, model, and serial #.

My background investigator asked me why I needed "an arsenal". I had 5 guns at the time, 3 of the 5 being handguns.

When I questioned why he would think 5 guns was a lot, he said, and I quote: "All I have is my duty issue and a back up gun. Seems like more than enough."

Since I was at his mercy at that stage of the hiring process, I didn't point out how ridiculous his logic was. I still got hired though. My investigator turned out to be a good guy.

It rather reminds me of what my CHL instructor said about why carry a gun.

"BECAUSE YOU WANT TO AND YOU CAN!"

By the by, he was an ex small town police chief.

Without taking too much of a Constitutional stand to this, the basic point of the matter is that ownership is a right and it is not decided upon need.

To which we come to two points that one might want to keep in the back of their mind.

1. Such questions may be looking for an obsession about guns and not a justification about why one has so many.

2. Such questions may be looking for who is a blabbermouth, of what buttons can be pushed to get them talking when they shouldn't be talking.

Finally, on a slightly related note: when I was much younger and looking for ways to get a college degree and a commission, I believe that there were several things about me that caused a few offers to come my way. Obviously grades, test scores, and class standing had its points But I believe it was also that I had leadership positions in JROTC (I was in charge of Rangers, fancy that!), had been lettered 3 years on rifle team, was a state champion in judo, and who knows, maybe having my pilot's license helped, too!

Now obviously as a teen, I wasn't going to be owning many guns. But back then, I never really got many questions to why I liked to fight, to shoot rifles and if of anything, years later, when we were practicing with pistols and M-14's on a rolling deck, it was more of a compliment when another officer asked me, "Where'd you learn to shoot like that?".
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(Madeline has invited Nikita to ask any questions now that she has passed her probation period. "Why? You aren't going to answer them. Any questions I ask just give you further insight into what makes Nikita tick. Information useful to you when you need to wind me up when you need it."––Nikita
"You really have graduated!"––Madeline, humorously impressed, (w,stte), La Femme Nikita "Treason")

Anyone know?