Can I get my record expunged at a federal level (FBI)

[LizC]

It was for petty theft. (stealing from an employeer) Im a criminology major and Im afarid having this on my record will hurt my chances of getting a job. It was sealed in the state of ohio. But law enforment agencys can still view it.

[scott715us]

I will tell you how it went when I worked for a state agency that entered records. In TN, we had a database called TCIC, which stands for TN Crime Info Center. This was a state database for criminal records of any arrest that occurred in TN. The FBI has the NCIC, or National Crime Info Center. When anyone is arrested (anywhere) they are fingerprinted. For most crimes a copy of these fingerprints are either sent by mail by the arresting agency or electronically to the state entity responsible for record-keeping and to FBI to be entered into NCIC. Minor arrests such as driving on suspended license, disorderly conduct, public intox, etc did not go to NCIC. I think theft probably would. Once you went to court and the disposition occurred (guilty, dismissed, etc), the jurisdictional court clerk is supposed to send it to the arresting agency and state entity to also be entered. If an expungement order was signed by a judge, then the same thing happened. Now mind you this is in a perfect world. Normally we would always get the fingerprints by the arresting agency because it's required by law. The disposition and expungement paperwork was a different story. Many people would think they had a charge expunged, which could have happened and entered at the court level, but the paperwork never made it to the state record-keeping agency or FBI (NCIC).

As far as an expungement is concerned, that can only be done by a judge. Once signed it will go to the appropriate agencies to be expelled from public record, but normally law enforcement entities can still view the charge/disposition. I would assume this is true for the FBI as well. Theft is frowned upon by any LE agency, but there are several factors that come into play as to how bad. Most folks know that we do stupid things when we're young. Theft or shoplifting was one of them. If I was sitting on the interview panel, I would take into consideration things such as age, what you have done since the experience, if you learned from it, what exactly was stolen and value, etc etc. Agencies will hire people with blemishes on their record, but obviously you are fighting more of an uphill battle than those with no prior criminal history. You will want to work hard and do things that make you stand apart from those you are competing with.

[Piggy]

Expunging it won't do any good. It's best to explain it rather than trying to cover it up. Your friends and relatives are still going to be interviewed as well as former employers. Unless you can talk them all into a big conspiracy to lie for you, it's best to provide your own version of the story which will hopefully be the truth.

[retdetsgt]

Depends on the state. In Oregon, you are given all the fingerprint cards, original copies of custody reports and copies of relevant reports to show your name has been blacked out beyond recognition. That includes the print cards sent to the FBI and state agency. The order here also states that you can legally say you were never arrested.

But as Piggy said, you can't erase the memory of people that know about it and the investigator might talk to.