One-third of Atlanta's new police have RECORDS (?). Whoah (felony, shop)

[atlantagreg30127]

Ok. It takes a bit to get a real "whoa" out of me. A city allowing one-third of their new police recruits to have police records, however?

This one is a "whoa".

Story: Some New Atlanta Police Hires Have Arrest Records - News Story - WSB Atlanta (http://www.wsbtv.com/news/17698993/detail.html - broken link)

[LahdeeDahdee]

Chief Pendelton, I think that's his name, should know better, don't you think? He was responsible for overhauling a Louisiana Police Department and ridding it of corruption because many officers had records, were moonlighting in sleezy bars and were hanging out with common criminals. What's up with this? Whoa is right.

[gt6974a]

Bout sounds right to me.

[Florida2Georgia]

As quoted in the article, "He said in an ideal world they would like to see every applicant with a clean record, but, he said, "obviously that's not reality."

Exactly.... Another reality is --->People are human. People make mistakes!!!!

I tend to see alot of people have this misconception, that if a person has no criminal background....he or she should cause no problems and there will never be any problems. I feel, these are some of the people you should actually watch out for.


I feel almost every one should be given a fair chance, and judged based on the person they are today (not what's on a piece of paper).

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by Florida2Georgia

As quoted in the article, "He said in an ideal world they would like to see every applicant with a clean record, but, he said, "obviously that's not reality."

Exactly.... Another reality is --->People are human. People make mistakes!!!!

I tend to see alot of people have this misconception, that if a person has no criminal background....he or she should cause no problems and there will never be any problems. I feel, these are some of the people you should actually watch out for.


I feel almost every one should be given a fair chance, and judged based on the person they are today (not what's on a piece of paper).

I'm sorry, but we are talking about people that are sworn to uphold the law...this excuse does not hold water in such a situation IMO. I've seen and heard too much in my years here to believe that a "thug factor" does not exist in the APD. Remember the poor woman that was thrown to the ground by an officer at the airport? I've been nervous about being pulled over by one of their officers ever since.

[Merin]

As someone who pays a lot of tax's to the City of Atlanta, I could care less if a police officer shoplifted. In regards to the assaults, I would need to look at the circumstances.

[netdragon]

It depends on what the cause is. In fact, NOT hiring people with misdemeanors and even people with felonies is considered discrimination and could actually get a corporation sued, especially if the individual is taking action to correct the behavior and/or it hasn't happened recently. The only time this wouldn't apply is if the behavior would be a risk to potential co-workers or be disruptive to their work performance. I imagine it's a bit different with police since a felony, for instance, could indicate they aren't capable of performing their duties (depending on the severity of the felony). However, I still think the police department would have to be careful not to get sued and/or reported to the labor department if they were too picky along those lines.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by Florida2Georgia

As quoted in the article, "He said in an ideal world they would like to see every applicant with a clean record, but, he said, "obviously that's not reality."

Exactly.... Another reality is --->People are human. People make mistakes!!!!

I don't think most people would care if someone who stole some comic books at the age of 13 applied to become an officer 10 years later. But the article suggests that some of these recruits have had charges against them that are much more serious than that.

We're not talking about the sanitation department, or road crews, or the D.O.T. - we're talking about people who will have a highly stressful job (mentally and physically) and carry guns. Personally, I think you need to be held at a much higher standard than the norm if you're going to have that position (and yes, they should be paid more).

[luckysnap]

Atlanta is a mess, it is New Orleans East without the good food.

[JasonPaul]

Originally Posted by luckysnap

Atlanta is a mess, it is New Orleans East without the good food.