I am currently sutdying criminal justice in college and I hope to be a state police officer, Im on medication for my depression and it works fine, I don’t have suicidal or violent thoughts I just get sad but not to the point of suicidal thoughts as I mentioned, my question is would I be able to be employed as a police officer with clinical depression? or is it an immediate disqualifyer.
Tags: Clinical Depression, Criminal Justice Field, Medication, State Police Officer, Suicidal Thoughts
So you have clinical depression and you want someone to give you a handgun? Good luck, they usually don’t even take people with DUI histories, maybe you don’t have to tell them when you apply?
I think you’re going to have a tough time with that one.
I highly doubt it. Psychological evaluations are usually used to weed out potential candidates I believe.
Yes, it is an immediate disqualifier. An applicant will be discharged from the hiring process if they are in/on any type of treatment for a psychological condition.
Go to law school after you get your CJ degree.
And, good luck to you. I’m on your side.
You’re probably thinking that under most normal circumstances you can function just fine, and perform the job of police officer as well as anyone else. And in most cases, you’re probably correct in thinking that way. But a law enforcement agency has to think of liability factors, such as what happens if you have to work non-stop for extended periods, or be sent out of town for a few days on an enforcement activity and you forgot to bring medicine. It is not an uncommon occurance in today’s police departments that an officer is put on disability and/or limited duty (meaning: not armed and not performing regular police duties) as a result of stress or some mental condition. So you can see the difficulty you may have if you intend to come ‘into’ a police position with an existing condition where your performance depends on regular, reliable dosages of prescription medicine. You’d be better advised to research a different area of criminal justice - and there are many - to satisfy your career needs.