Will a Family Background Keep You From Becoming a Police Officer?

Anyone who wants to wear a police badge has to meet official requirements. General requirements include physical fitness, education and passing a background check. Whoever reviews the background for a police officer looks for red flags such as a criminal history. Family history? Not so much.

Tip

Background checks don't look at your family history; only your own. If you have family members who are convicted felons, however, some police departments will discharge you if it's discovered you're still associating with them.

Police Officer Requirements

Every state sets its own standards for police officer candidates. Some local governments will add rules on top of them. The rules are generally consistent though, American Military University says. CHP background disqualifications in California, for exaple, won't be radically different from other departments.

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North Carolina's Department of Justice says anyone working law enforcement in the Tarheel State must be a U.S. citizen, at least 20 years of age, with either a high school diploma or a GED. They must be of good moral character and complete basic law-enforcement and firearms training. You have to pass a physical and a psychological checkup as well.

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On the other side of the country, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has similar minimum standards. CHP also requires recruits pass a physical fitness test, including 19 push-ups in a minute, 25 sit-ups in a minute and a 1.5-mile run in under 15 minutes. California, North Carolina and other states also require you pass a background check before getting a job.

Some issues will disqualify you regardless of your background. Civil Service HQ says failing the psych exam is a career killer, and obscene or offensive tattoos often do the same. Some tattoos, however, can be covered up and hidden. Eyebrow-raising social media posts about, say, your drug use or how you want to kill people are a red flag, too.

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Checking Background for a Police Officer

Checking the criminal background for a police officer involves fingerprinting you, and then running your prints through state, federal and local databases. If the background check turns up a felony on your rap sheet, your chance of getting a police job is probably gone.

Misdemeanor convictions are another matter. They're not necessarily CHP background disqualifications, for instance: The severity, the number of crimes, how recent they were and the specific circumstances all come into play. North Carolina says four Class B misdemeanors on your record is a firm no-go; four Class A misdemeanors that happened further back than two years is tolerable.

If your rap sheet includes domestic violence, that's a definite No. A dishonorable discharge from the military gets the same reaction from most departments. A bad credit history can be a dealbreaker: If you have money troubles, it's assumed you'll be easier to corrupt.

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What isn't a dealbreaker? Your family. If you father or your sister has a felony conviction, that isn't something the background check will turn up. However, if you're still associating with your criminal relatives, that might be another story. The police department in Bolingbrook, Illinois, terminated one police officer for associating with a convicted felon, Police1 says, even though it was his son. If this standard is a problem for you, research your local department's rules.

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