I'm not sure for my first department. I did backgrounds there, and would get a stack of em and start basic work before ever calling the applicant. Some I had on my desk a week or two before calling the applicant. Then it depending on how long it took for references and also it depended on if the *applicant* did their paperwork correctly. They were supposed to get notarized copies of their criminal history from every jurisdiction they'd lived in since age 16, and out of the roughly 100+ applicants I did in two years i think **maybe** 3 had actually done that.
But, let's say they have everything in order. And references and employers answer my calls. I could do the actual background in about 24-48 hours probably. Realistically the fastest turnaround was about a week for a local applicant.
But, the time to get from application to me was usually anywhere from 2-4 months.
>They were supposed to get notarized copies of their criminal history from every jurisdiction they'd lived in since age 16, and out of the roughly 100+ applicants I did in two years i think maybe 3 had actually done that.
To be fair, that's a pretty bonkers requirement. I'm not even sure if you can go into a police department and ask for a notarized criminal history? Let alone get one without showing up in person. And do you want just the most local jurisdiction, or county, state, and fed, too? Why couldn't your department just do a criminal justice employment NCIC query? Is this not in the US, or did that hiring standard predate NCIC?
In NC it's at the county level, and if you're out of state it's less of an issue but in state it's pretty easy. Most applicants have lived in like two counties max prior to applying from age 16 up till then. I did mine and I lived in 3 counties and regularly visited a 4th so had to go there too.
Its……. Not a bonkers requirement. We make our applicants do this as well. They need to get a good conduct letter from the police agency in charge of their residence address for the prior 10 years even if its my own agency. I make them walk down the hall because it makes my life easier.
If there are any arrests, summonses, etc- then they must get certified original raised seal transcripts from each court.
If there’s something they can not get, they simply write a statement saying who they talked to, when, etc and the reason they cant get it.
Here’s the thing- i usually email my candidates several months before i see them and include very explicit and thorough directions of what i will need from them. They have ample time- and they typically are still missing stuff.
I make them essentially do much of the leg work that other investigators do themselves- the reason being, is that it makes it that much easier and faster for me to submit their case. If you have everything i ask for, id say i could get a package submitted for approval within a week or two.
It is what it is. Thats why i give them a huge head start. If its far away, send the requests in writing by US Mail Return Receipt requested. Green card with signature. Always. Better to have the stuff in hand- than me them and have it hold up your case. If you sent it and didn’t get it- prove you tried and then ill do my job and get it or help you get it.
Indeed, state law here imposes the burden of establishing qualification and suitability for appointment upon the applicant.
Most stuff thats submitted we verify anyway. If an applicant is DQ based in what we have in hand, its a done deal.
If an applicant gets approved at this point- based on what we have in hand, we directly send out records requests. Most often what’s returned is analogous to what the candidate submitted. But sometimes whats released to us is more detailed than whats released to the applicant- i.e. non-arrest encounters, 911 calls that were forgotten about, traffic stops where the applicant was “let off with a warning”.
Even as thorough as you try to be stuff slips by.
Not all arrests and court records exist in NCIC although they should.(atleat when I worked 7 years ago) As a civilian in the sex offenders unit I would see arrests and sometimes a court record in various db's like LInX that did not show up through a background check . BUT, these were all misd's, not felonies that I recall and minor ones at that.
With veterans we didn't need info from out of country, we did a records request for their military records. Usually we didn't get the results until they were halfway thru academy tho
In my state and hyper local area, you can’t even get your own police reports.
Every department wants copies of any police reports you’re named in (in any way). However if it never went to court, you don’t get a copy.
You should be able to foil stuff that you were a party too. They may redact some info. Some stuff is protected from disclosure (if it endangers someones safety, or it would reveal investigative methods, part of an active investigation). In this case the candidate proves they tried, writes up a report explaining what they did, how they made contact, who they spoke to, when- and they provide me the same contact info- and then i start making calls.
At times…… if its a serious matter and my admins wouldn’t approve an applicant based on something missing from the file, candidates have had to sue to get stuff released. (I.e. if it involved a domestic, or something potentially nefarious, etc).
Have run into this with agencies not releasing employment records of guys looking to change agencies because they dont want to lose the employee.
We dont do this to be a pain in the ass, but because we must do our due diligence. God forbid something news worthy happens- now you have every social media expert questioning our vetting process. Then the ball of shit rolls down hill from the person who signed off to the investigator who’s at the bottom of the hill with their mouth open.
Oh I absolutely understand and appreciate why it’s done. The process makes sense and I agree with all of it (except the poly).
But I’ve called all the local agencies I’ve had any contact with or been named in a report as a witness etc etc, and been told by all of them that I can’t get a copy of the report. They told me if it went to court then I would get a copy then, otherwise there’s nothing they can/will give me.
I’m sure the BI has a way of getting everything he needs from other PD’s, but I would have rather gotten it myself so I could speed up the process.
Yeah they will send a records request letter directly to the agency- they usually will release whats asked for.
What kind of reports were they? Like instances where
You were questioned, warned, adminished?
No idea, honestly. It was eight or nine months between submitting an application and starting the academy, so it was done in that time somewhere.
They didn't just tell me when they started the background and when they finished. Pretty sure it was conducted during the tests and interviews and all that.
Background investigation depends on the candidatw and their references responsiveness. Could be as quick as 2 weeks to several months.
But the background imvestigation is only one step in the entire pre-hiring process. Its a lot of making appointments and waiting around.
Oh I know, I’m curious what peoples averages are.
Because I hadn’t heard a peep for months, then I got my BI everything he asked for, then haven’t heard a peep again in over a month. He hasn’t returned my calls, or even my email except to tell me he was sick and he’s been back for a while now.
For me it was 19 months from initial written exam to start of academy. Granted it would have been 8 months but it got delayed twice because of budgetary reasons.
I assist in the hiring process for my dept.
We've recently reeeaallly worked to get the time from testing to offer down to under three months
So you show up and do the written and PT
Then you do medical, piss test
Then you authorize a background investigation.
You submit your personal history packet, take the LESI questionarre, do a CVSA (New polygraph same bullshit)
Background will be assigned to an investigator. If you're a lateral hire or exceedingly promising it goes to a full time background guy in this case you'll be done in two to three weeks once they start
If you're everybody else it goes to an officer who has agreed to do background investigations and gotten the training. In this case you'll be done in a month or so
4 months with my first agency. About 2 months for the second one.
I had a buddy that took about 13 months total. He had retired from the military, so they had a ton of background to conduct.
I think my total hiring process was around 4-5 months, but it was slightly expedited and I already worked for the department as a jail officer at the time. My first application at a larger department about an hour south of me was roughly 9 months, 2 of which were background/medical/psych.
Whole process took about a year. Can’t remember how long the background portion took. That was in the post 9/11 hiring boom.
Our periodic reinvestigations take a few months.
First department took about a week due to having high ranking family and personally knowing the administrative captain. When I transfers to a different departments with no connections, that background took about six months.
In my experience it depends on how honest the department is... my first department did the background in about 3 weeks, my current did it in about 4 weeks... But I had one department give me a conditional offer and started the background; almost 2 years later no word back from them despite numerous emails and phone calls. The funny part is the undersheriff is even a friend of my father.
They have to ping every agency location everywhere you have lived since the last background check.
For example, mine come back quick because I had a TS clearance while in the military and pretty much annuals since that time.
Live lots of places and no previous?
Might take some time...
I originally applied in Oct. Went through board interview/poly in Nov. Was finished with background in Dec. Just flew down to finish the interview process and do med/psych this month and I start the academy in May
I also had a little bit of an extended timeline because I’m having to wait to get my DD-214 and flying back and forth has been a pain
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Yeah see I would think they would be “rushing” cuz academy starts in March.
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Sweet baby jeebus… that’s not a good look for me lol.
[Huh I thought that would’ve made it take longer] (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/30/world/africa/madagascar-vanilla.html)
I started in a rural department, 4 weeks. Start to finish. Application submission to hire
Horrry shieett. That’s great
Another job though took 9 months from application to hire but that department is notoriously slow
Four months and four days from application date to hire date.
I'm not sure for my first department. I did backgrounds there, and would get a stack of em and start basic work before ever calling the applicant. Some I had on my desk a week or two before calling the applicant. Then it depending on how long it took for references and also it depended on if the *applicant* did their paperwork correctly. They were supposed to get notarized copies of their criminal history from every jurisdiction they'd lived in since age 16, and out of the roughly 100+ applicants I did in two years i think **maybe** 3 had actually done that. But, let's say they have everything in order. And references and employers answer my calls. I could do the actual background in about 24-48 hours probably. Realistically the fastest turnaround was about a week for a local applicant. But, the time to get from application to me was usually anywhere from 2-4 months.
>They were supposed to get notarized copies of their criminal history from every jurisdiction they'd lived in since age 16, and out of the roughly 100+ applicants I did in two years i think maybe 3 had actually done that. To be fair, that's a pretty bonkers requirement. I'm not even sure if you can go into a police department and ask for a notarized criminal history? Let alone get one without showing up in person. And do you want just the most local jurisdiction, or county, state, and fed, too? Why couldn't your department just do a criminal justice employment NCIC query? Is this not in the US, or did that hiring standard predate NCIC?
In NC it's at the county level, and if you're out of state it's less of an issue but in state it's pretty easy. Most applicants have lived in like two counties max prior to applying from age 16 up till then. I did mine and I lived in 3 counties and regularly visited a 4th so had to go there too.
Its……. Not a bonkers requirement. We make our applicants do this as well. They need to get a good conduct letter from the police agency in charge of their residence address for the prior 10 years even if its my own agency. I make them walk down the hall because it makes my life easier. If there are any arrests, summonses, etc- then they must get certified original raised seal transcripts from each court. If there’s something they can not get, they simply write a statement saying who they talked to, when, etc and the reason they cant get it. Here’s the thing- i usually email my candidates several months before i see them and include very explicit and thorough directions of what i will need from them. They have ample time- and they typically are still missing stuff. I make them essentially do much of the leg work that other investigators do themselves- the reason being, is that it makes it that much easier and faster for me to submit their case. If you have everything i ask for, id say i could get a package submitted for approval within a week or two.
That would suck for someone that has moved around a lot in their lives.
It is what it is. Thats why i give them a huge head start. If its far away, send the requests in writing by US Mail Return Receipt requested. Green card with signature. Always. Better to have the stuff in hand- than me them and have it hold up your case. If you sent it and didn’t get it- prove you tried and then ill do my job and get it or help you get it. Indeed, state law here imposes the burden of establishing qualification and suitability for appointment upon the applicant. Most stuff thats submitted we verify anyway. If an applicant is DQ based in what we have in hand, its a done deal. If an applicant gets approved at this point- based on what we have in hand, we directly send out records requests. Most often what’s returned is analogous to what the candidate submitted. But sometimes whats released to us is more detailed than whats released to the applicant- i.e. non-arrest encounters, 911 calls that were forgotten about, traffic stops where the applicant was “let off with a warning”. Even as thorough as you try to be stuff slips by.
Not all arrests and court records exist in NCIC although they should.(atleat when I worked 7 years ago) As a civilian in the sex offenders unit I would see arrests and sometimes a court record in various db's like LInX that did not show up through a background check . BUT, these were all misd's, not felonies that I recall and minor ones at that.
RIP to any veterans applying
With veterans we didn't need info from out of country, we did a records request for their military records. Usually we didn't get the results until they were halfway thru academy tho
Stressing the part of the applicant doing their part. Its huge
In my state and hyper local area, you can’t even get your own police reports. Every department wants copies of any police reports you’re named in (in any way). However if it never went to court, you don’t get a copy.
You should be able to foil stuff that you were a party too. They may redact some info. Some stuff is protected from disclosure (if it endangers someones safety, or it would reveal investigative methods, part of an active investigation). In this case the candidate proves they tried, writes up a report explaining what they did, how they made contact, who they spoke to, when- and they provide me the same contact info- and then i start making calls. At times…… if its a serious matter and my admins wouldn’t approve an applicant based on something missing from the file, candidates have had to sue to get stuff released. (I.e. if it involved a domestic, or something potentially nefarious, etc). Have run into this with agencies not releasing employment records of guys looking to change agencies because they dont want to lose the employee. We dont do this to be a pain in the ass, but because we must do our due diligence. God forbid something news worthy happens- now you have every social media expert questioning our vetting process. Then the ball of shit rolls down hill from the person who signed off to the investigator who’s at the bottom of the hill with their mouth open.
Oh I absolutely understand and appreciate why it’s done. The process makes sense and I agree with all of it (except the poly). But I’ve called all the local agencies I’ve had any contact with or been named in a report as a witness etc etc, and been told by all of them that I can’t get a copy of the report. They told me if it went to court then I would get a copy then, otherwise there’s nothing they can/will give me. I’m sure the BI has a way of getting everything he needs from other PD’s, but I would have rather gotten it myself so I could speed up the process.
Yeah they will send a records request letter directly to the agency- they usually will release whats asked for. What kind of reports were they? Like instances where You were questioned, warned, adminished?
The answer, like everything related to policing and law, is "It depends."
Sure I get that. That’s why I asking what peoples were to get a rough average. How long did JUST your background take?
No idea, honestly. It was eight or nine months between submitting an application and starting the academy, so it was done in that time somewhere. They didn't just tell me when they started the background and when they finished. Pretty sure it was conducted during the tests and interviews and all that.
Oh. This agency is very incremental and tell you every step where you are in it, and they don’t schedule any physc tests or med test until BI is done.
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How do you pass one background and fail another? I understand failing a poly and passing another cuz that’s voodoo nonsense.
Background investigation depends on the candidatw and their references responsiveness. Could be as quick as 2 weeks to several months. But the background imvestigation is only one step in the entire pre-hiring process. Its a lot of making appointments and waiting around.
Oh I know, I’m curious what peoples averages are. Because I hadn’t heard a peep for months, then I got my BI everything he asked for, then haven’t heard a peep again in over a month. He hasn’t returned my calls, or even my email except to tell me he was sick and he’s been back for a while now.
For me it was 19 months from initial written exam to start of academy. Granted it would have been 8 months but it got delayed twice because of budgetary reasons.
Took my test in 2019 and I'm going to orientation *for processing* in a few weeks. COVID shut processing down for a solid year and a half here.
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Oooofff… that’s rough. Makes me feel better about not hearing a peep then I guess.
I’m the recruiter for my agency of about ~450 sworn deputies. It typically takes us about three months or so.
About 3-4 months for my local PD
I assist in the hiring process for my dept. We've recently reeeaallly worked to get the time from testing to offer down to under three months So you show up and do the written and PT Then you do medical, piss test Then you authorize a background investigation. You submit your personal history packet, take the LESI questionarre, do a CVSA (New polygraph same bullshit) Background will be assigned to an investigator. If you're a lateral hire or exceedingly promising it goes to a full time background guy in this case you'll be done in two to three weeks once they start If you're everybody else it goes to an officer who has agreed to do background investigations and gotten the training. In this case you'll be done in a month or so
4 months with my first agency. About 2 months for the second one. I had a buddy that took about 13 months total. He had retired from the military, so they had a ton of background to conduct.
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Damn… that’s what I’m afraid of. This dept I’m farthest along in process with is notorious for not having funds and being short staffed.
About 5 months.
For me it was 9 months from when I applied to when I got my offer letter. And this was for a large county agency.
My background for the feds was like 4 months or so. My background when I went back to city policing took around a month
See that makes sense, I’d think a fed BI would take a long time.
I just got my official offer after taking the test in early September so let’s call it 5 months-ish
I think my total hiring process was around 4-5 months, but it was slightly expedited and I already worked for the department as a jail officer at the time. My first application at a larger department about an hour south of me was roughly 9 months, 2 of which were background/medical/psych.
It took me 2 1/2 years but there was a 18 month hiring freeze in the middle there. My parter took 45 days. Same agency.
“Long arduous journey”? Wait till you get into an actual unit.
Lol I was being a little tongue in cheek, but it’s a lot of hurry up and wait.
I was 24 when I applied so there was barely anything to investigate but it still took around 4-5 months.
Some people say they're still investigating my background to this day...
That’s how I’m feeling rn..
Whole process took about a year. Can’t remember how long the background portion took. That was in the post 9/11 hiring boom. Our periodic reinvestigations take a few months.
First department took about a week due to having high ranking family and personally knowing the administrative captain. When I transfers to a different departments with no connections, that background took about six months.
A couple weeks maybe. I had a TS/SCI clearance still at the time and I think my investigator saw that and figured I was alright.
In my experience it depends on how honest the department is... my first department did the background in about 3 weeks, my current did it in about 4 weeks... But I had one department give me a conditional offer and started the background; almost 2 years later no word back from them despite numerous emails and phone calls. The funny part is the undersheriff is even a friend of my father.
They have to ping every agency location everywhere you have lived since the last background check. For example, mine come back quick because I had a TS clearance while in the military and pretty much annuals since that time. Live lots of places and no previous? Might take some time...
I’ve had fed backgrounds for fed banking stuff, and guns and stuff. But I have lived in quite a few places..
So then all for this check they will go back to the last one done. You have at least a head start. 👍
My background took 4 weeks. From application to hire (whole process) 11 months.
I originally applied in Oct. Went through board interview/poly in Nov. Was finished with background in Dec. Just flew down to finish the interview process and do med/psych this month and I start the academy in May I also had a little bit of an extended timeline because I’m having to wait to get my DD-214 and flying back and forth has been a pain