Sense I was a little kid I always wanted to be a police officer or something within the law enforcment field like dea of atf Or a state trooper I am 20 years old an I went down the wrong road all my life an I want to straighten out my life an Follow my dream of being a police officer I have been arrested 7 times for misdemanor charges an just got arrested for a felony charge an I was wondering if I can still be a cop with misdemanor charges on my record an if the felony gets dropped I'm from ny an I was just wonder so if anyone can help me or is there any other field of law enforcement is easier to slide around with if I can't be a cop with my record

I was going to suggest expungement for the misdemeanors, but the recent felony arrest may be a problem.

When I applied for a local police department (over 20 years ago) the first thing the man in charge said was "Anyone with an arrest record, especially drugs, stop now and exit through the rear door." They had so many applicants that they didn't even want to bother with people with a bad history.

Fast forward 17 years to when I applied to the TSA. I was one of 3000 applicants that ended up filling 180 positions. I am about as squeaky clean as they come and all my fellow coworkers had similar backgrounds. They encouraged full disclosure and said anything disclosed would not be held against you. My point is there are so many applying that don't have arrest records that you will be really far down on the list of prospective employees.

I doubt you can be a cop or a highway patrol officer or even a prison guard. The misdemeanors may not be held against you, as part of your youth, but the felony charge will give them a reason to not even accept the application. My oldest son, before he went in HVAC, applied for the highway patrol academy and he was refused admission because he had three speeding tickets, all under the age of 21.

It can also vary by state. You need to check that out. But be realistic.

You really need to check with the local police department in the area that you live in. If you do not get the felony dropped then your chances are slim to none. The other arrests would depend on what they are. If they are crimes of violence like assault, domestic violence or drug charges you might not stand a chance.

Ok, you did not say what your misdemenaor crimes were for, and I will give you a secret, even if you get something explunged, it still shows up on the police background check, it will show when arrested, when convicted and then when explunged.

Also if any of your misdeanors were on drugs, you will will be asked have you EVER used illegal drugs. And you will take a polygraph on this, so don't lie.

With that said, there are some departmetns if you have ever used drugs, you will never work for them, if you have several arrests you will never work for them.

Now there are some of those small police departments that pay about 8 bucks a hour with no health insurance and no retirement that have less standards, I know a few that havve allowed felons to be officers.

But you need to forget DEA or ATF fairly well, if you have a friend or family member who is part of the state patorl, that could happen if you have someone who can bend some rules to get you on.
But expect it to be in a town of 5000 people.

I have a good friend who had a lot of trouble during his 'juvi' years. He had sold drugs in high school among other things. I do believe he had his record expunged. He successfully completed the police academy, and he is currently a cop in a 500,000 + population city. He is also very respect among his colleagues most of which are aware of his previous record.

Hello:

Dude, you're just like all the cops I know - crooked.

excon