Police Background Check

First time contributor. Apologies if answers to this question are out there and I can't find them. My son will attend USMA. We live in Maryland. Getting a bit of the runaround on completing the police background check. Started with local police they sent us to state police. Went to state police barracks they sent us to a Maryland agency that handles background checks for all sorts of things like applying for a professional license etc. That agency would not accept the DOD form provided in the cadet package of forms. Maryland agency insists they have to use their form (they would not even allow us to hand them the DOD form) and theynthen send the results report to our address; and then we send their form to West Point. Instructions looked pretty clear in stating West Point is looking for their DOD form to be completed. Anyone have a similar problem? Will West Point accept the state of Maryland police background check report? Recommendations?

Local police were great. County Sheriff was downright hostile. It seems to be a matter of finding the correct phone extension.

We went to the local police and they sent us to the clerk of courts that filled out the form and signed it and attached their own printout. Hopefully it is accepted and that box lights up green soon.
Sent in immunization records by fax 3 days ago and that one is still not green, which is worrisome because it said it needed to be completed within 2 weeks of accepting which is tomorrow.

ironmountain said:

First time contributor. Apologies if answers to this question are out there and I can't find them. My son will attend USMA. We live in Maryland. Getting a bit of the runaround on completing the police background check. Started with local police they sent us to state police. Went to state police barracks they sent us to a Maryland agency that handles background checks for all sorts of things like applying for a professional license etc. That agency would not accept the DOD form provided in the cadet package of forms. Maryland agency insists they have to use their form (they would not even allow us to hand them the DOD form) and theynthen send the results report to our address; and then we send their form to West Point. Instructions looked pretty clear in stating West Point is looking for their DOD form to be completed. Anyone have a similar problem? Will West Point accept the state of Maryland police background check report? Recommendations?

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In some states, there is a State Attorney General web page that has links to get background checks done at various state, county, city levels. The link below may be a start.

https://www.dpscs.state.md.us/publicservs/bgchecks.shtml

With luck, someone from MD with recent experience will post.

I did find older posts on various individual SA forums by using “police background check” in the Search string.

You might try reaching out to you local FFR. He may be aware of the problem and be able to suggest a solution. Every year I read posts like this one. My son had no trouble with our local police dept (different state than yours) but there are always cadets who have this problem.

My local Police were also hostile- they made me pay a fee- I think it was $20 or $25.00- when I tried to explain the form was for West Point- they pointed to a Fee Sign- I had to go to the ATM and get cash, they would only take cash, told me if I wanted it completed, I had to pay the fee- said it was a processing and handling fee to handle the piece of paper. This was my first and only experience going to my police station. It wasn't a positive one.

My daughter tried the local police and the county clerk. Neither of them would do anything. They pointed us to the State Police. They charged us $20 and gave us the standard printout and refused to complete the form. I finally went by the Sheriff's office and the first deputy I spoke to got all excited because he had wanted to go to West Point as a young man. The sheriff completed the form and acted appropriately disgusted that the state police charged us $20 and would not complete our form, LOL. We are in Kentucky so it might be different for you, but check with other law enforcement agencies if there are others in your area. In Kentucky, they all pull from the same database anyway. Good luck.

Ok, so good thing for your son or daughter to take charge BUT in this case I found that a real pissed off dad explaining that this kid was attempting to prove that (in my case) she wasn’t a crook and the military demanded that proof AND you as a l low end file clerk had damn well better find me someone in charge with the authority to pull those records before I go visit the mayors office. Amazing what some old people hostility can produce. BUT ONLY AFTER KIND WORDS. Trust me had exactly the same initial experience you folks did. Got the records. Local, County & State

I had to do one for USNA and I don't know if it is the same form, but I had the same problem. Went to my local police station, got turned away. Went to my state police barracks, told to go get fingerprints. The most surprising part of it all... I stopped by my college campus police (UMBC) and they pointed me to a really kind officer who was ex-military and he did it for me in 2 minutes and didn't charge anything! It's really all about finding someone who understands that its NOT A BACKGROUND CHECK just a record check that takes 10 minutes (at most)!

Goodluck!

bbwarrior said:

My local Police were also hostile- they made me pay a fee- I think it was $20 or $25.00- when I tried to explain the form was for West Point- they pointed to a Fee Sign- I had to go to the ATM and get cash, they would only take cash, told me if I wanted it completed, I had to pay the fee- said it was a processing and handling fee to handle the piece of paper. This was my first and only experience going to my police station. It wasn't a positive one.

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1. Did you view the police as hostile because their regulations require you to pay a fee?
2. When you went on the PD website to see what info you had to bring in order for them to run your records check, was the fee info on there?
3. If you didn't do that, when you called the station for info, what did the police officer tell you to bring?
4. Why are walking around without $20-25 in your wallet? That's a bad plan as you will need cash when unexpected circumstances arise...as you just found out.
5. Was your expectation that the records check was free? Local civil service agencies almost always charge to file or release info (DMV, town pool pass, etc.)...again as you found out.
6. If, you know by chance, hypothetically, you walked in with an attitude & didn't get arrested, you actually had a positive experience, not a negative one. The police officer had the experience of dealing with someone who came in unprepared & resisted following the info clearly printed on a sign in plain view. Sounds like the cop had the negative experience.

This thread demonstrates to us how decentralized our police agency is across the country. And the difference in awareness in handling this type of request.

We did 3 stops before we got it right. The right stop was the Police headquarters in our county. Once there it got squared away immediately. No fee no police forms. Police HQ used the form from Annapolis.

At every stops we made, police were very kind and referred us to the next hierarchy until we got to the top of the food chain. The county police headquarters. Completed report was mailed within 2 days. Report is actually a one sentence saying that there’s no record to report.

Good luck everyone.

ironmountain said:

First time contributor. Apologies if answers to this question are out there and I can't find them. My son will attend USMA. We live in Maryland. Getting a bit of the runaround on completing the police background check. Started with local police they sent us to state police. Went to state police barracks they sent us to a Maryland agency that handles background checks for all sorts of things like applying for a professional license etc. That agency would not accept the DOD form provided in the cadet package of forms. Maryland agency insists they have to use their form (they would not even allow us to hand them the DOD form) and theynthen send the results report to our address; and then we send their form to West Point. Instructions looked pretty clear in stating West Point is looking for their DOD form to be completed. Anyone have a similar problem? Will West Point accept the state of Maryland police background check report? Recommendations?

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I think I read somewhere that if you cannot get a check performed, just have them print out a form that says they could not do one, and you can just submit this to West Point.

ironmountain said:

First time contributor. Apologies if answers to this question are out there and I can't find them. My son will attend USMA. We live in Maryland. Getting a bit of the runaround on completing the police background check. Started with local police they sent us to state police. Went to state police barracks they sent us to a Maryland agency that handles background checks for all sorts of things like applying for a professional license etc. That agency would not accept the DOD form provided in the cadet package of forms. Maryland agency insists they have to use their form (they would not even allow us to hand them the DOD form) and theynthen send the results report to our address; and then we send their form to West Point. Instructions looked pretty clear in stating West Point is looking for their DOD form to be completed. Anyone have a similar problem? Will West Point accept the state of Maryland police background check report? Recommendations?

Click to expand...

I had the same problem. I Googled police records and my city, then called them. Unfortunately, they only stated their "downtown office" of which there are 3! We went to the wrong one today and they gave us printed instructions on which station will do it. I informed the previous places we contacted on what they should tell others. They were grateful. But, this has proven to be the most difficult form to get filled out for sure! Try the BIGGEST city police station. Good luck!

The biggest police station has a name; is's usually called Headquarters.

Wishful said:

The biggest police station has a name; is's usually called Headquarters.

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Ok. Sure. To clarify. Headquarters didn't do the records check, but they pointed me to the right place.

Sunnydae said:

Wishful said:

The biggest police station has a name; is's usually called Headquarters.

Click to expand...

Ok. Sure. To clarify. Headquarters didn't do the records check, but they pointed me to the right place.

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And when I said the biggest city police station, I was referring to the city, not the police station. Geesh!

Wishful said:

bbwarrior said:

My local Police were also hostile- they made me pay a fee- I think it was $20 or $25.00- when I tried to explain the form was for West Point- they pointed to a Fee Sign- I had to go to the ATM and get cash, they would only take cash, told me if I wanted it completed, I had to pay the fee- said it was a processing and handling fee to handle the piece of paper. This was my first and only experience going to my police station. It wasn't a positive one.

Click to expand...

1. Did you view the police as hostile because their regulations require you to pay a fee?
2. When you went on the PD website to see what info you had to bring in order for them to run your records check, was the fee info on there?
3. If you didn't do that, when you called the station for info, what did the police officer tell you to bring?
4. Why are walking around without $20-25 in your wallet? That's a bad plan as you will need cash when unexpected circumstances arise...as you just found out.
5. Was your expectation that the records check was free? Local civil service agencies almost always charge to file or release info (DMV, town pool pass, etc.)...again as you found out.
6. If, you know by chance, hypothetically, you walked in with an attitude & didn't get arrested, you actually had a positive experience, not a negative one. The police officer had the experience of dealing with someone who came in unprepared & resisted following the info clearly printed on a sign in plain view. Sounds like the cop had the negative experience.

Click to expand...

Wishful, you make some good points!
But I must comment regarding the DMV. They have many signs, procedures, lines, and Fees, all of which I follow like a new recruit in basic training. The times that I have had to go there are often a less than pleasant experience. I go in there with low expectations, and the people of power there usually do a good job reinforcing my expectations. But I digress....

When DS had to have his record check completed, our local Sheriff's dept was more than willing to help once they understood the form, and our agency didn't charge a fee. We were lucky compared to some people I guess.

It's too bad that this part of the portal seems to give some people trouble, but it's nothing like trying to figure out how many pairs of socks will be needed for BEAST!

Sunnydae said:

Sunnydae said:

Wishful said:

The biggest police station has a name; is's usually called Headquarters.

Click to expand...

Ok. Sure. To clarify. Headquarters didn't do the records check, but they pointed me to the right place.

Click to expand...

And when I said the biggest city police station, I was referring to the city, not the police station. Geesh!

Click to expand...

Don't worry, Wishful asserted that another poster was lucky not to be arrested for having an attitude in a police station (an attitude that the poster didn't even seem to have), so I wouldn't take his rude flaunting of rudimentary police knowledge very seriously, retired LEO or not.

We live in San Francisco, where any brush with city government is going to be mind expanding. Guaranteed. I called to find out which office would complete our child's 5-521 form - voice mail. Web site unresponsive. Chat line unresponsive. Nonemergency line operator - said go to your local police district office. They sent me downtown. (Child had to leave to go to school. Oh that.) At the downtown police/courts/records center I met some lovely folks just released from county who offered to help after their arraignments... Got redirected to four different offices, then had it explained to me that since my child has no criminal record "You can't prove a negative." Then it was a liability issue (If we certify she has a clean record then she goes on a crime spree, we might be liable.) Then it was that she is under 18 and therefor would only have records at Juvenile Hall. Pulled my car out of parking and drove back across town to juvie. Some very nice people led me to three different offices that couldn't help, but they invited me to their potluck. Long lines of people were at juvie trying to seal the records of their kids so they could go off to college. No one had my problem of having a kid who doesn't have a record. Then I was admitted to the head office, to the j-court admin, and he explained that he hates the military, that the feds are chipping away at juvenile privacy rights, and explained that the form was a plot to get juveniles to pierce the veil of their protected information. He decided that he wouldn't complete the form until I produced my child and she could confirm that she consents to renouncing her privacy protections. I drove across town to pick up child from school, brought child to juvie ("Wow, so this is juvie?"), tracked down the chief administrator, and told my child to please shake his hand and thank him for the work he does protecting the rights of children. He saw that he would either have to write a letter or stamp and sign the form, and kept fussing that he just does not like the military or what the federal government is doing to the rights of minors. Child shook his hand and said, "I know what you mean, but I want to serve so that this democracy you're protecting is still here. It takes all of us." He sighed, unlocked his drawer, pulled out his stamps, signed it, made us photocopies, and said "Now don't you let them turn you into a robot!" It's not the tickertape parade some kids get. But I love my city.