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No felony firefighters
On another board I'm on there was a discussion about prisoners out west fighting fires. Everyone was saying what a good job they were doing. But we won't let people with felonies in the fire service. Delaware recently passed a law concerning this. If it's okay for hard core prisoners to go out and fight fires why can't someone who made a mistake 5-10-15 years okay and has been clean ever since do it?
Am I the only one with a issue about this?
Am I the only one with a issue about this?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Joe Workman on
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I say if they can do the job and can prove beyond any doubt that they can be trusted and are in fact not the same person they used to be then let them do it and be a productive member of society. One of the biggest factors young offenders go on to become repeat offenders when they get older if that nobody thinks they are worth the effort because the screwed up.
Now for all that disagree, try this situation....completely hypothetical....just wonderin your opinion
A guy has been on your department for the better part of 20 years and has become a close friend and trusted ff in your company. One day, someone from his past shows up and tells you about a felony conviction he had when he was a young guy. He hasn't told anyone because it is a part of his life that he left a long time ago and has moved on and now is a trusted,reliable member of society and your fire company. What do you do about him....kick him off or give him the benefit of the doubt that he got it taken care of (as in an expungement or pardon or whatever). Now that you know about it and feel that no felonies should be allowed what is your opinion
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Permalink Reply by James snapp on
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Good point, I agree.
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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For starters, I would assume he lied on the application: Have you ever been arrested for a felony?
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thats the problem....everyone always assumes the worst, if it were me I would talk to him about what I had been told and give him the option to explain what was going on and if it had indeed been taken care of, assumig that he lied means that you would automatically no longer trust someone that you had been trusting for so long and that would no be gone because he would probably not have any trust in you as well
your answer is why most people with only one felony conviction feel like it is a continuing punishment that never goes away no matter how much they have improved their life
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Permalink Reply by Jake Fireman on
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Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh not always true...In California you can have crimes "expunged" under 1203.4 of the penal code, but the applications are very clear that you still MUST divulge this information to fire and police departments as the are public safety/public trust jobs.
I still can't quite get the concept here of why you folks are arguing so much to hire felons...Felony crimes are made felonies for a reason. They are serious!!!! Why on Earth do you want to hire felons and then have them go into peoples houses, work side by side with you, entrust your life to them when there are thousands of people who want fire jobs who have never committed a felony or misdemeanor...
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You propose a hypothetical situation, I propose my response to it and the you ignore it.
If the guy you speak of had a felony arrest/conviction and he didn't disclose it, then he must have lied. Regardless of how "trustworthy" he may have been, he lied to get that job. That's grounds for dismissal right there.
As jake said above, what is the obsession with hiring felons when there are thousands of applicants that haven't committed a felony? Moreover, if you take a felon, to give him a second chance, you deprive a non-felon of his first chance. How is that fair to the person who has never committed a felony?
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Yes and on another point....If we take the felon and give him that "chance" and we are wrong and he has just been fooling everyone, then commits crime at the "house" or while on duty or under color of authority....then how much liability has your department, city, county, or whatever just assumed???
It is not always about "he is a really good guy"...there are many many other factors that have to be looked at...some of which have been brought to light here...
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Permalink Reply by Oldman on
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one felony conviction ... never goes away no matter how much they have improved their life There is your answer.
Felonies are not speeding tickets. They don't just disappear after 3 years.
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A felony doesn't make you a bad person, some things that are misterminors are worse.
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Permalink Reply by Jay R. Dudley on
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Having worked along side prison fire crews let me say they are hard workers. Each has their own place. For them it's a good reward to be placed on a crew. They are well supervised as they should be. In the real world we are not and have a greater ease at which we do our jobs. I still think that the fire Service has no place for felons.
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Permalink Reply by roy l. airington on
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south carolina- felony DUI if great bodily harm or death occurs
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Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on
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Jim,
Minors are referred to as master, not mister.
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