Oct 24, 2007 7:33 am US/Central
DPD Will Consider Recruits With Drug Use History
(AP)
The Dallas Police Department has relaxed its hiring standards and will now consider applicants who have used small amounts of drugs such as cocaine and heroin in the distant past, officials said.
Previously, recruiters could consider applicants who had used marijuana, but would-be officers who had tried harder drugs could not be hired.
Deputy Chief Floyd Simpson said the department is within its rights to consider people who experimented with drugs but went on to become productive, law-abiding citizens.
"We think those people still have value," Simpson said. "We think that they ought to be able to apply."
The new policy is similar to the one used by the FBI, considered "the most professional law enforcement agency in the country," Chief David Kunkle said.
It's also similar to hiring practices in other cities. Arlington police officials, for example, said they consider candidates who have used marijuana or cocaine, if the drug use was long ago and in small amounts.
The change in hiring standards could have a negative effect, said Lt. Rick Andrews, head of the Dallas Police Executive Lodge.
"It speaks to your character, or lack thereof," Andrews said. "I think there's potential there for less-than-acceptable behavior to creep in."
The change in Dallas comes as the 3,180-member department attempts to add officers to its ranks to curb illegal activity in what has been the nation's most crime-ridden big city. Dallas hired about 335 officers last fiscal year but had to replace about 175 officers who left through attrition. This fiscal year, the department is trying to hire about 375 people and expects to replace about 175.
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