Academy Admission Disqualifiers
There are several possible areas concerning a potential
Police Academy applicant's background that will preclude their admission to the
Basic Law Enforcement (BLE) program at this academy. Potential applicants are
also encouraged to check with the recruiters and web pages of the law enforcement
department(s) with which they desire employment to obtain specific information
concerning background information that the department would use to disqualify
an applicant for employment consideration prior to applying to this Academy.
We
use these disqualifying factors as we have found that they contain a significant
number of common employment disqualifying factors used by the law enforcement
agencies located in the Criminal Justice Standards Training Commission (CJSTC)
Training Region Five.
As approximately half of our BLE graduates have historically
sought employment with the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office, the Academy also uses
as additional admission exclusion guides, the current hiring policies of the Jacksonville
Sheriffs Office concerning an applicant's use of narcotics and driving histories
are shown below.
It is the Academy policy to disqualify
a potential applicant from admission or processing for admission for failure to
successfully complete the items listed below.
-
Failure to pass the academy entrance physical agility test
- Failure
to pass the polygraph examination
- Failure
to pass the oral board interview process
- Failure
to timely submit all required applicant documentation
- Failure
to pass drug-screening test
- Failure to meet
appropriate criminal history check standards
- Submission
of any false documents or statements
Potential
applicants are disqualified from admission or processing for admission for any
of the negative driving history issues listed.
- Any
arrest or conviction for any driving felony, such as DUI manslaughter
- Arrest
or conviction for any of the following activities during a 5-year period prior
to the beginning date of the class
- DUI/DWI,
license suspended for points
- Willful/wanton
reckless driving
- Fleeing and attempting
to elude
- Leaving scene of an accident
-
License suspended for financial responsibility from an at fault accident
- 5
hazardous moving violations
- 2 hazardous
moving violations resulting in accidents
Potential applicants
are disqualified from admission or processing for admission for any of the negative
narcotics abuse issues listed.
Any involvement,
arrest or conviction for the following violations, EVER
- Sales
of illegal drugs
- Acting as middleperson
in a drug deal
- Drug trafficking
Additional
narcotics abuse disqualifying factors include arrest or conviction for or:
- Failure
to maintain a completely drug free history for one year prior to application
- Continuous
use of habit forming prescriptions/controlled substances for more than one year
-
Possession of drug paraphernalia in past year
- Use
of hallucinogenic drugs in past ten years
- Use
of class I drugs in past five years
- Abuse/misuse
of class II, III, IV, V drugs in past five years
- Use
of non prescription steroids in past five years
-
Use of marijuana in past three years
See
FDLE web page for links to Florida Statues for a detailed explanation of drug
class categories.
Federal law prohibits persons convicted
of any domestic violence violations from carrying a firearm. Accordingly, any
potential applicant fitting this category is disqualified from admission to or
processing for admission to the academy. See FDLE web page for information links
and links to United States Code for a detailed explanation. Anyone arrested or
charged but not convicted, of a domestic violence violation where the charges
have been dismissed for cause, or persons having been served with an active injunction
for protection, which prohibits the applicant from carrying a firearm, must submit
a preadmission determination request prior to Academy admission.
Potential Applicants whose
personal history situation do not exactly meet or that borders on meeting the
above disqualifying factors, or who believe that there are significant
and/or overwhelming circumstances which would justify
their favorable consideration for admission to the Academy, may formally request
in writing, a preadmission determination evaluation for consideration of admission.
The
applicant must submit a detailed typed letter with all documentation to Stephanie
Scott, the Instructional Program Manager, Florida Community College Police Academy
requesting a preadmission determination. Applicants may attend orientations and
complete the physical agility test prior to submitting such a preadmission determination
request, however all other application procedures will be suspended pending a
determination by the Instructional Program Manager and the Academy Director on
a preadmission determination. The letter must clearly state why the applicant
requests consideration and how their situation fails to meet the above exclusion
standards.
Telephone or personal inquiries for preadmission determinations
are not acceptable. Applicants typed letter must provide a written statement of
all details concerning
the history and situation.
All requests for preadmission determinations
must also include photocopies of all
arrest, disposition, court documents and any other records concerning the situation
to be evaluated. This includes front and back pages of charge sheets and other
law enforcement records, as applicable
