Second Chance Hiring Scenario

Second Chances Management Scenario

You are the head of a police department that has a civilian review board that oversees hiring and discipline. You are about to hire a new officer. The background investigation has shown this individual to have a shaky background and an even shakier work history. Four years ago this subject was arrested for resisting arrest and possession of cannabis. The civilian review board appears to be very interested in hiring this individual stating that they feel this candidate deserves a second chance. Discuss if you feel this individual deserves a second chance. If you feel this individual should not be hired, how would you present your case to the review board?

In the scenario described above I would exercise my responsibility as the head of a police department to make the decision which best serves my city's citizens, while also recognizing the right to a second chance which I believe every person deserves. This means that the judgment I deliver during these hiring and discipline civilian review board proceedings will be based first on the city's overall welfare, before the applicant's situation and circumstances are fairly evaluated. In the prospective police officer's case, an incident which occurred four years ago would appear to be a severe strike against their chance of gaining employment with my department, however, every arrest report tells a story and this one warrants further examination. The applicant was charged with cannabis possession and resisting arrest, but in 2014 the national consensus regarding marijuana use has moved toward the side of permissiveness rather than punitive action.

When the historic passage of legislation permitting medical marijuana use in states like Arizona (2010), Delaware (2011) and Massachusetts (2012) is considered in conjunction with the fact that 13 other states have similar legislation or ballot measures pending, the traditional conception of marijuana ingestion as a criminal act is being reexamined on a societal level. Further bolstering this assertion is the legal situation in California, Colorado and Washington, where marijuana has been decriminalized entirely and permitted for recreational sale by licensed dispensaries, providing the platform for a restoration of basic rights in these jurisdictions. With approximately half of the states in the union already affording citizens with medical needs the liberty to seek relief in the form of marijuana, while the federal government's ostensible ban on the substance remains in effect, the stage has been set for a national debate over the merits of legalizing marijuana for medicinal use. A series of studies conducted recently by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) confirmed the theory that marijuana has quickly become the national drug of choice, with at least "17.4 million Americans -- or 6.9% of the population -- saying they used marijuana in 2010, up from 14.4 million or 5.8% of the population in 2007."