The truth about drugs

[Tommy]

I have been seriously considering applying for the local police department.  As well, I am branching out and asking questions about other area police departments.  Recently, I received an unsolicited piece of advice regarding how truthful you should be in both your application and interview.  This gentleman told me that Chicago Police asks if you are prone to drinking and whether or not you have ever done illegal drugs.  My acquaintance told me no matter what, if you want your application to even be considered, you need to say no to both situations.  It was even reinforced later when a training officer in the academy joked about them all being liars (in reference to those questions).  All along, in this process, people have told be that honesty is the best policy.  And by my own standard of ethics, I support this.  However, I am questioning the ethics of an application being tossed because of one or two trial experiences.  If past indiscretions are not permitted, why allow the impression of flexibility in an application?  Any feedback?    

[Charlie]

Tommy--Obviously, I don't know anything about the credibility of your "acquaintance" but I dare say his advice is questionable. Think about the sample questions that may be asked of you concerning drinking and past drug use. Do you think every cops on a PD is some sort of angel that has never done anything wrong in their lives?

Without a doubt, times have changed and perhaps there was once a time where, for example, ANY past illegal drug use DQ'd someone. Course, these days, I think most agencies take on a realisitic perspective concerning these issues. At the same time, there are some agencies that still maintain a strict no tolerance policy about any applicant's past drug use. Period. Does the CPD take this sort of stance? I honestly don't know but would be willing to bet they have some sort of policies in place concerning an applicant's past drug use and the type of drugs they've used in the past. To better illustrate and example, I am aware of a large municipal agency that has a policy something to the effect of: "No marijuana use for at least 24 months." Course, what is also taken in consideration is the frequency of use an applicant has done in the past. AND, there are some drugs, even if used one time only, that may permanently disqualify someone from ever applying with that agency again in the future.  

Most agencies know that a significant percentage of applicants have "experimented" with drugs in the past. Commonly, in my opinion, marijuana is one of the drugs. Does this mean the person will be barred or not hired? Most likely no. I know a lot of cops who have previosuly experiemented with drugs prior to employment. But the key is, how many times and how long ago. The more time between the last time used, the better. AND, of course, there are some other drugs, used even one time, that may cause you problems.

I would recommend that if you need to know more about this, contact the CPD recruiter. In fact, I would recommend checking out the CPD web site about this issue. And, I would be even willing to bet they have an email address to a recruiter where you can email a question about this issue to them.  8)

Should you, across the board lie about these issues? That's a tough question you'll have to ponder.
Broadly speaking, I still think honesty is the best policy.  ;D Simply because, if you get caught lying, your credibility is ruined and your application gets flushed down the tubes.

Hope that helps. Just my humble opinion.

Charlie

[junior]

tommy,

i'll have to agree with charlie.  in my book honesty is the best policy ;D.  by lying about what you have done shows that you have not yet accepted responsibility for your actions.  if you have only tried pot a couple of times admit to it.  but, be prepared to explain yourself.  even if you find out that they have a zero tolerance regarding past usage, think long and hard before lying.  as charlie mentioned, if you are caught you could possibly ruin any future chances of being employed somewhere else .  we are all humans, and we all make mistakes.  whether or not you have learned from those mistakes is the real issue.  good luck.

junior  8)