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Posted by: wiscojohn

First off, I just want to introduce myself and say I am new to this forum. I am currently a college student in Wisconsin (yes, make all the assumptions you want ). I have had a very
strong interest in law enforcement since I was young
and I am very interested in taking it on as a
career after I finish college. As I begin to look at depts/agencies to apply I have added MSP to my list. To clarify, NO, this is not because I saw the movie "The Departed" but instead because I have spent some time in Mass. and, from what I have seen, like the state. I also know the MSP is a very respected dept and the fact that they do more that just hiway patrol (unlike troopers here in WI) also draws my interest.
I have a growing concern, however, of my
eligibilty to apply with a dept like yours. I realize
that potential applicants don't have to have perfect
records, but I have a few questions regarding this
topic. Officially, I have only a speeding ticket on
my record, which was about 3 years ago. That is not
my main concern however. As I plan on being *totally*
honest with any dept I apply with, I will have to
admit that I have tried smoking "pot" 4 times (over
the course of several years in highschool) but it has
been over two years since I last tried it, and I will
never do it again. My only other run-in with
drugs has been with perscription pain killers. I
tried my father's vicadin several times, with one
friend, (6 times). Again this is not behavior that I
have continued into my college career, it was just
some experimenting in between high
school and college. I have completely stopped
trying/doing any drugs of any sort, have stayed away from them ever since. I do realize that these indiscretions may already put me in a disadvantaged
situation, job wise.
The main thing I am concerned with is that I
*once*, and with no ill intentions, sold some of this
vicadin to my friend (and *only*
him) and I can now see that this could be construed as
"dealing" drugs, which I have heard is an automatic
disqualifier with some departments. This was back in highschool and I was planning on
just giving the few pills to him for free so we could
try them at the same time, but he offered me money and
I regretably accepted. I know for a fact that he
didn't sell them to anyone else, and that this was not
a "drug deal" but rather two immature friends
exchanging a few pills in highschool. Clearly I was
not thinking, and this was a very stupid thing of me
to do. I just hope that this single indiscretion
won't overshadow my otherwise strong background in
commmunity service and college education. I am not
sure if dept's like yours give
people a chance to explain themselves about topics
like this. I understand you may not have good news
for me, but I wanted to hear the facts. I also understand the the MSP is highly competitive. Any time/help/advice you could give would be greatly
appreciated. I swear I am a good, responsible young
man, and have grown a lot in my college years. I hope
that I have not ruined my chances
in LE because of a few past mistakes, although I know
it's possible.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to learning more from this forum. Good to meet all of you!


Best- John

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Posted by: Officer Dunngeon

If you take the MA state police exam and are granted an opportunity to apply, then you more than likely will be given the chance to explain your situation that you revealed on your application.

Little traffic violations most likely will not be a problem; I would say that rambling on and on about your history of drug involvement would be. Keep it short, sweet and to the point. That's the best advice I can give you.

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Posted by: SOT

Here's the shorter version and I disagree with OD.
There are thousands of candidates to choose from, why would the MSP need to get involved with a candidate that was less than perfect?
They have enough trouble with the good ones as it is.

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Posted by: Andy0921

What dunny said....Keep it short, sweet, and to the point.

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Posted by: sempergumby

I have a better Idea. Forget about it.... MANY exemplary canidates apply and are turned down. Active Police Officers with distinguished records. drug free all their lives. People with excellent military records and degrees still get turned down....so your experimental phase probably cost you more then you know.

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Posted by: Todd

Not knowing what your financial situation is, you should look into the bigger departments that are hiring so that you have a higher probability to get a position. After working for a few years, you can laterally transfer. I'm sure that there are some departments that forgive transgressions, just check their website and email the recruiter before applying. It's better to know before spending the bucks flying out and taking the exam. Places in Arizona seem to be begging for help, check them out. Since you're young, the salary is probably not a big deal right now so don't just limit your departments by that. The key here is getting hired anywhere and going to the academy. I wish I was in your situation now. I have an opportunity to get hired fulltime (currently I'm a reserve and a part timer in Western Mass) but because the salary is about $30G for a year or two, I can't afford a huge cut like that. If I was 21, I'd be jumping at it.

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Posted by: Tango

John, getting an LE job in Mass is very difficult. Super competitive. There are some great departments, MSP included, but do yourself a favor and also try elsewhere in the country. There are some big cities (NYSP for example) begging for applicants. If being a cop is what you want to do, dont put all your efforts into Mass.
Best of Luck

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Posted by: Inspector

John, best advice really is to try in other states. Mass law enforcement is very difficult to crack into and, as probably you can see by the numerous entries on this board, has to deal with laws, politics and other factors that can quickly bog you down in frustration and disenchantment. Not that other places may not have the same.

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Posted by: dcs2244

John,

It doesn't hurt to apply...what have you got to lose? Just be honest...like Dunny said, "brevity is the soul of wit...": don't dwell on the drug subject, be quick and clean.

I'm a "carpet-bagger" here myself...so far I've taken three jobs, and the first I took was when I was not a resident of this state. Yeah, it's competitive here, but if you can compete...

Go for it...they can only say "no thanks"...

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Posted by: 2-Delta

Yeah um, I would personally omit your hippie days from any interview process you go through (unless there's a poly to follow).

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