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Should Felons be allowed to be Firefighters?
I am wondering what you all thought about a few things.
1) Should Felons be allowed to be Firefighters?
2) Does your fire department hire felons?
3) If you are a firefighter and you are convicted of a felony, should you be fired?
The reason why I bring this up is because I got an email recently about Richmond (VA) Fire Department hiring.
Apparently, they have dropped the requirements for employment:
* Have no felony convictions for any offense within 60 months preceding the date of application;
I got the information here
I cannot speak for the department if this was an actual drop in requirement or if it has always been this way.
I thought that if you were a felon, you were always a felon. The only way to get a felony off your record is to have the Courts expunge it from your record.
What do you all think?
1) Should Felons be allowed to be Firefighters?
2) Does your fire department hire felons?
3) If you are a firefighter and you are convicted of a felony, should you be fired?
The reason why I bring this up is because I got an email recently about Richmond (VA) Fire Department hiring.
Apparently, they have dropped the requirements for employment:
* Have no felony convictions for any offense within 60 months preceding the date of application;
I got the information here
I cannot speak for the department if this was an actual drop in requirement or if it has always been this way.
I thought that if you were a felon, you were always a felon. The only way to get a felony off your record is to have the Courts expunge it from your record.
What do you all think?
Replies are closed for this discussion.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by eric nelson on
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Gregory,
Just curious, if people are unwilling to hire felons than basically they should just rot in prison, right? My only problem with what you state is the fact that yes I have a felony however, I would bet my paycheck that I'm more trustworth and I work harder than most of the non felons that apply. All I'm saying is hiring felons for any type of work should be done on a case by case basis! I did something stupid 22 years ago that does not mean all non felons are more trustworthy and work harder than me!!!! I do respect your opinon though gregory! -
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Permalink Reply by Gregory Borg on
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Thank you, like I said in the begining I am sure you do a great job, I have no reason to believe other wise. I am glad you have lived a good life and you have a job you like. In fact keep it up and be the best you can. You are setting a good example.
The discussion was not about you but about hiring felons. I do not get to make the decision, I am an engine company lieutenant. I was just giving my opinion, and you know what that is worth.
Keep up the good work, train hard and be safe. -
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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And the people who commit crimes while in positions of trust (firefighter, cop, paramedic) tend to be publically embarassed on the internet, arrested, tried, fined and/or imprisoned, and never be allowed to work a public safety job again.
Those were people who didn't have a question mark prior to hire.
The ones that do, no matter how long it's been, won't make the hire pools.
Right now, the hire pools are overflowing with non-felons.
Either state laws, local laws, and/or agency hiring regulations will prohibit hiring felons in most cases.
That's not an observation against anyone personally, just the way it is in most places. -
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Gregory and Ben,
Thanks for your opinions and yes I do understand its not about one single individual as myself,but against felons in general. I also understand i'm probably one of only a handful of felons that actually are trustworthy and honest. I understand how it is; my father is a retired fire captain, my uncle is a retired chief and my grandfather was the chief before my uncle and they were all at the same full time department. I had my whole family in one department and the mayor is a long time family friend and with all of these connections they could not pull the strings to get me in. Oh well, i'm not doing to shabby for myself.
God Bless all of you firefighters out there! -
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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No.
No.
Yes!
They have no place in civil service. We have a tough enough time maintaining a reputable image. -
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Permalink Reply by Tiger Schmittendorf on
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Welcome to FFN.
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Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on
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Resigning = Reasoning
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Oops. See last post on page two to make sense of above post here on page three.
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Permalink Reply by Jace Sandstrom on
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I work for cal fire out in California and our department is so large and we have so many wildfires that we actually have inmate crews. You do have to meet certain requirements to be on one and you can't have commited a major felony but I have worked alongside of them on the fire line and theywork their butts off. And actually they get paid something like 80 cents a day and can get certs so when they are released they can get a job with our department. There are a few captains in my unit who supposedly were on a corrections crew back in the day... so it happens. I'm not saying its a good or a bad thing its just what our department does, but if were Gona be spending our tax dollars on them they might as well be cutting some line. I know most departments won't give them a chance.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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there are more than enough honest people out there that are looking for work.....we haven't gotten that desparate yet.........Paul
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Paul,
If you met me I gurantee you would never know that I had a felony! I listen to my co-workers and even my neighbors talking about felons and how they would never speak to a felon or ever let a felon in their home and I just shake my head (i'm good friends with all of them and I have been in their homes on average of 3 times a week). I do agree that 99.99999% of felons are scum and would repeat however, I'm a prime example that not all felons are bad. As I have previously stated I'm in community groups, softball coach, soccer coach, Army Vet, a couuple college degrees, and I would probably be the most trustworthy and honest person you have ever met! I don't think society should judge me based on something that happened 22 years ago nor do I think society should disregard my reference letters from the judge in my case and the lead detective in my case! The judge who passed down the sentence wrote me an awesome letter about 5 years after this all happened and the same for the lead detective. I would pass any lie detector test on my character and my honesty! My whole point is society will always overlook the many accomplishments I have achieved over the last 22 years and judge me based on 2 minutes of my life when I was 17. Anyway, as I have previously stated I'm in a good position now and I do ok! I just laugh to myself when I hear people stating things like felons would never be allowed in my house or I would never let a felon coach my kid etc etc etc........ Just for the record most felons are scum and would repeat but their probably is a handful out there that were just in the wrong place at the wrong time....... Remember that! -
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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There is a reason why felony convictions stay on a person's record for life.
So, unless you can get clemency from the governor, your letter from the judge or the lead detective won't be enough to overturn a hiring policy if it states NO felony convictions on your record.
You might be a great guy; I haven't met you.
You might be something different. After all, this is the Internet.
So, it is what it is. You believe that people deserve a second chance after they have served their sentence.
I believe in second chances, but before they are convicted of a crime.
We can learn our lessons without breaking the law.
By then, it becomes clear that parents can no longer influence the behavior of the child, so the court system must act. Sad but true.
Good luck with your life and getting that conviction expunged.
Anything is possible. -
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