DRUG USE COMMON FOR COP HOPEFULS

Dec. 9 - A growing number of applicants for police jobs admit having used
drugs - a big problem given the shrinking pool of people who want
law-enforcement careers, local officials say.

It's a national problem, they say.

"We have very, very few candidates who don't have prior usage,'' said Ellen
Reath, a member of the Denver Civil Service Commission, which tests and
screens applicants.

Paul Torres, the commission's executive director, estimated up to 70 percent
of the applicants for police jobs in Denver admit to some type of illegal
drug use.

"It's the rule rather than the exception any more,'' Torres said.

The issue surfaced this week after a man who said he used illegal drugs 150
times prior to 1987 was admitted to the Denver police academy.

The decision to admit the man has stirred controversy within the department.
9News reporter Paula Woodward obtained a tape of a conversation between
police Capt. Jim Collier and Torres indicating the man should not be hired
because of his background. In the tape, Torres said the man was being hired
because he had a contact on the Civil Service Commission.

Applicants who have used drugs in the past year are automatically
disqualified in Denver, but those who admit using drugs years ago can
remain.