I find it funny that police departments are always claiming to be understaffed and have trouble finding qualified applicants. I think that if they didn't scrutinize Every little thing like credit accounts I understand they want responsible folks but
I know several people who are responsible paid their debts religiously and now due to lay offs and the economic downturn some of them have had to stop paying the less important ones like credit cards to be able to pay for the more essential ones like mortgages and car notes. But the departments treat these folks like irresponsible deadbeats. Or they look at some petty nonsense offense from 15-20 years ago and use that as a basis to analyze your character. They ask for very first boss's name number and home address
from 20 years ago does anyone still have that info?....very very few people but if you don't put it on your application they DQ you for omitting information. I understand the need for the background checks but they are no guarantee that they will be getting good cops. How many times do you hear about cops doing some illegal act. yet they passed the background checks.

I believe that some police departments take the reasons why applicants fell behind on their bills or have bad credit into account when they consider hiring them. It depends on the department. Some are more strict than others. Probably the departments that are really understaffed and want to hire someone aren't always so picky. However, today many departments can be even more selective than before. You're right that many people aren't able to provide their employer's information from 20 years ago. You just have to do the best you can.