Credit History

The applicant's credit history will be obtained from credit reporting agencies.  Derogatory information such as, but not limited to, prior or current bankruptcy, negotiated settlements, foreclosures, repossessions, accounts sent to collection, tax liens, late payment history, bounced checks and overextensions will normally be evaluated on a case by case basis.

Managing personal finances is relevant to an individual’s qualifications for the position of police officer. The amount of indebtedness, if any, may not be relevant in evaluating a candidate’s qualifications, but rather the behavior of the applicant in meeting those debts is of importance.

A large portion in verifying an applicant’s credit history is in establishing an estimate of the applicant’s level of personal responsibility. An applicant may be in debt, but if he/she tends to their financial obligations in a timely manner, it shows an acceptable level of responsibility in the candidate. On the other hand, if an applicant fails to meet his financial requirements, it is then an indication of lack of responsibility on the applicant’s part.

Furthermore, bad credit, (especially substantial debt), may be an indicator of someone who may be prone to corruption. Substantially bad credit may also indicate that the applicant may have his wages garnished which is extremely inconvenient to a department.

Some of the information requested during a credit check may be:

1. The applicant supplies their current monthly income amount.
2. Whether they have additional income, what the amount is and where it comes from.
3. The amount the applicant spends each month.
4. Whether the applicant has ever filed for bankruptcy.
5. Whether the applicant has ever had any bills turned over to collection agencies.
6. Whether the applicant has ever had any goods repossessed.
7. Whether the applicant has ever had wages garnished.
8. If the applicant has ever been delinquent in paying taxes.

Each agency may differ as to what information they require, however, maintaining a solid, responsible financial history, (as this is a strong indication of the applicant’s reliability, dependability and integrity), is a major requirement in completing this phase of the background investigation.