I can not speak for all agencies however with 13 years on the force I know many departments are structured basically the same. Hiring is a touchy issue for most departments as they could be liable if they allowed a known sub-par person on the force who later shows poor judgement on a crisis situation. They will screen you very much before you are hired so believe me they will know most of your history if not all of it.
Now having said that I found it is most important to always be honest when answering questions on a police application. Most recruits will tend to "bend" the truth when answering the tough questions. I knew one recruit who had been arrested when he was 15 for simple shoplifting. He plead out as a juvenile offender and paid a fine and walked clean....or so he thought.
While he was not jailed he was charged and actually arrested. After the paid fines and 3 months probation he was cleared. Now fast forward 15 years later and he was asked in his interview if he had ever been arrested and he said no thinking it would not be found. He was terminated from the hiring process immediately not because of the arrest but because he lied.
I also know an officer who was charged and arrested on a drunk and disorderly charge 7 years before he was hired. This was a misdemeanor and he was 18 years old. He did community service and was cleared after. He told the truth when asked and said only that it was a mistake from an 18 year old kid. He was hired as he had proven to be honest and had no further trouble after the drunken arrest.
Most places will terminate you for a lie rather than a past mistake. It does not sound as if this will be a problem for you however again always be honest as you may also be asked to take a poly-graph test before being hired....My class had 48 recruits and 2 failed out on the poly-graph test.
The best advice I can give as far as the actual working environment would be to look into doing some ride-alongs. Most departments will allow civilians to ride with a street officer and it is really fun for a civilian. This will give you a first hand look at a day in patrol. The radio will be spitting out calls and you can actually learn signal codes and other procedure. This is how I started my career as I must have done 5 ride-alongs and was hooked on the adrenaline.
Also if you do enough ride-alongs with the department that you plan to apply for you may have an advantage. You may impress the recruiter if you already know the signal codes, patrol area, rules and regulations, procedures....etc:
Good luck and you sound like you will be just fine. As far as your college is concerned most departments pay extra for a degree. The better part is that many of them will pay some or even all of the cost for you to complete your education. Many of my co-workers have done this all on-line for their 2 year degree.
The pay issues that most places complain of are slowly changing. Departments are hiring nationwide and are slowly learning that to get, and retain, the better recruits they have to offer more pay. My pay is topped out and I get an extra 5 % for being a training officer. My pay scale has increased maybe 30 percent over the last 3 years and a few years past I never thought this would ever happen however I am actually very happy with my pay. In a Department of maybe 900 sworn officers 62k per year is pretty damn good for police work and many others pay more.
Again good luck and sorry for the way too long reply. I am always eager to help anyone who wishes to become an officer and sometimes just can not shut up....
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