I really want to become a police officer, but I have kinda bad credit. Can I still become a police officer?

Having good credit can be very important when trying to get a police officer job. Having bad credit often indicates irresponsibility. Police departments also worry that if you have bad credit and/or a lot of debt, you may be more likely to accept bribes, etc. There are ways that you can improve your credit. Visit http://www.peaceofficerjobs.com/credit.html for some simple ways to improve your credit and make it easier for you to become a police officer.

Do what you can to fix your credit. It could cause you to not be hired

It depends. But you probably can if you want to bad enough!

There actually are people who work for a living in helping people repair their credit. They will check into everything for you, and they sometimes find collections and negative history that isn't accurate that they can clear for you.

They find out what you owe, come up with a plan to get your credit back into shape on payments you can afford, and can even work with creditors to help lower your interest rates if you can agree to make the minimum payments. Don't let your credit worry you if you plan to have it cleaned up by the time you apply, because it is possible to clean it up.

I know somebody who used to have like a 350 credit score and is now around 600.

That's right. But you can do many of the same things that a professional can do to try to improve your credit. If you do seek someone else's help, just make sure that they are legitimate and reputable.

Work on not letting your credit get any worse. Pay down your debt as much as possible. Check your credit reports frequently. Be patient. Good luck to you

My cousin just got turned down by a PD because his credit is really bad. They told him to wait a couple years, and apply again.

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement.

I had bad credit. I was turned down for a police job because of it. I did everything that I could for the next 2 years to improve my credit and whatever else I could to make me a better applicant. I was hired by another department shortly thereafter. Work hard, and you can overcome your credit problem! Good luck!!

My brother was turned down by 2 police departments about a year ago because he had bad credit. I'm assuming he improved it because he just got hired by a different department 3 weeks ago.

You probably can, but as others have indicated, do what you can to improve your situation!