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This question is about president.
Can you become a police officer with a misdemeanor?
Yes, you can become a police officer with a misdemeanor in some jurisdictions. In general, misdemeanors are less severe than felonies, but there are a few misdemeanors that will stop a candidate from being accepted to the police force.
The definition of a serious misdemeanor isn't as precise as a felony and will vary from agency to agency. In general, whether a misdemeanor or felony, the following convictions will disqualify you as a candidate for the police force:
Assault
Perjury
Domestic violence
Theft
Recklessness
Unreported past crimes, meaning a crime was committed, but there was no arrest or conviction, can still show up on a law enforcement background check. Agencies often take undetected or unreported crimes as seriously as actual convictions. To that end, it is of the utmost importance to disclose any crimes or issues.
Domestic violence is a crime that is taken very seriously by the police department and will be an immediate disqualification regardless of the level of the crime. If an officer has a history of domestic violence, the public cannot trust them to protect victims of that same crime.
Some police agencies have become more forgiving regarding the use of minor drugs in the past. However, there are still usually hard rules regarding more severe substances like cocaine and hallucinogens. History of recreational drug use or dependency will be taken into account on a case-by-case basis.
Military service and law enforcement are relatively similar paths, and for that reason, they have many of the same standards. For this reason, police agencies will consider a dishonorable discharge from the United States military as an automatic disqualification.
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