[satterwhite90650]

I want to go to school to be a Parole agent. But I am not sure if I can. I have a criminal record. No felonies.

[Fr_Chuck]

What is the criminal record for and how old are they.

If they are for drugs of any kind, most likely not ( unless you can get hired as a private probation officer that does city court and traffic cases, they have lower standards)

Most of the state probation officer positions are very, very competitive. In the states I have been, there are 100's of applications for any one position.
There is testing, and very close back ground search.

You would have a much easier chance being a correctional officer.

Please tell more about your record and how old it is.

[satterwhite90650]

First I want to thank you for talking the time to respond to my question.



Well here it is . In 2002 I was charged with Grand Theft ,I was shoplifting and the amount of everything was $658.48. The second charge was under the influence. Both were felonies and were reduced to Misdemeanors. I completed PC 1000 program and that charge was apparently taken off my record.


Thank you for your thoughts on different career options for me.

[Fr_Chuck]

First any arrest, any charge even those not convicted will show up on your NCIC report that the police department will run on you.

So these will always show up for a police eyes only type search. And also even if taken off your record you will be required to list any arrest ( even if not convicted) on any application for police, parole, or correctional officer.

I will be blunt, these will make it hard to get a job in law enforcement
While many state that as long as here are no felonies the competation is tough. I don't know why since the jobs pay poorly and often have little benefits.

Now in some area like Georia for example or maybe even TN. Our county police officers make about 7.50 a hour and don't have any health insurance benefits at all. Many of the police officers in GA start at about 6 bucks a hour. So they often have to hire lower quality ( sorry) but people without college degrees, no military experience and so on.

Other departments that pay in the 40,000 often prefer college degrees and/or military experience, very high scores on the state law enforcement exam and a spotless record.

I will never say nothing is not possible, but sometimes it will take a lot more years, starting at a lower position and working your way up.

A good friend of mine wanted to be a police officer more than anything, he started as a city dog catcher attached to the police department to show them he could do a good job, he was passed over and over for several years, but he keep trying and finally made it.