Background Check

[Big_John]

Hello, this is John. I have a question for the guys and gals in blue.

I'v been worrying about the background check a little bit. You see I have a squeeky clean record, but something occured when I was 16 or 17 years of age. My mothers roomate and I got into an arguement, I decided to walk away from it and go back to my room. She decided she would come in and smack me in the back of the head a few times, I took this women by the wrists and pinned her up against the wall and told her to never touch me again. Well, she decided she would go ahead and get the police involved and make up a bull**** story of how she was assaulted, blah blah. Not only that she points out a "HOLE" in the wall and sais I made it. She decided she would press charges and get me out of the house, that was her ultimate goal. So under procedure the police escorted me away in handcuffs. Now, just to prove she was bull****ting she drops all the charges later on, leaving the Criminal Mischief charge left, my mother pays for the false trouble and gets me out of there. The officer I was chatting with was really nice, I was all upset I really didn't want a record. A little fact sheet:

- The ***** dropped the charges because she was lieing.
- My mom payed the criminal mischief charge which I have no idea why. But she did. I don't know if this will effect me.

Will any of this be on my record at all and should I even bring it up? Thank you very much for the responses.


John.

[Unit19]

If you have something on your record (you do ) it's not squeaky clean.

Yes this will be on your record.

Yes you need to bring it up. If they find out from somewhere else you will be looking for a job somewhere else!!

[Big_John]

If you have something on your record (you do ) it's not squeaky clean.

Yes this will be on your record.

Yes you need to bring it up. If they find out from somewhere else you will be looking for a job somewhere else!!

I would like this to be answered by a Verified LEO if possible. Thanks.

[Unit19]

Try doing a search. Also post in Ask a Cop if you only want verifieds!!

[RO56]

I would like this to be answered by a Verified LEO if possible. Thanks.

Then you would have had better luck posting it in "Ask-A-Cop", where only verifieds can answer questions.

That said ... the bottom line is: if anything is on your criminal history (an arrest, a conviction, etc.), no matter how old it is or no matter how 'expunged' somebody told you it would be - you need to disclose this at the time you apply, even if you think it's "no big deal".

If you don't, and it surfaces during the BI (which it will), then you will be perceived as dishonest and deceitful, and your chances of being hired will be next to nada.

It's not (necessarily) the arrest or the conviction that will get you DQ'd - its' because, when you don't disclose it, you appear to be dishonest.

[webjeep]

Not a big deal as long as you are up front about it. If that's the way it went down then tell it that way to your BI. A rule of thumb is to always be forward about any discrepancy in your past and do not try to play it down or shift blame. Recite the facts objectively and if you made a mistake then own up to it. Comments like the b!tch or it was all her fault and she was the devil, etc and denying any responsibility look bad to a BI.

We all make mistakes, what makes people responsible is understanding when they have made a mistake, learning from that mistake, accepting accountability, and trying to make things right.

[Big_John]

Then you would have had better luck posting it in "Ask-A-Cop", where only verifieds can answer questions.

That said ... the bottom line is: if anything is on your criminal history (an arrest, a conviction, etc.), no matter how old it is or no matter how 'expunged' somebody told you it would be - you need to disclose this at the time you apply, even if you think it's "no big deal".

If you don't, and it surfaces during the BI (which it will), then you will be perceived as dishonest and deceitful, and your chances of being hired will be next to nada.

It's not (necessarily) the arrest or the conviction that will get you DQ'd - its' because, when you don't disclose it, you appear to be dishonest.

I don't know if this helps, but I was never convicted of anything nor did I go to court over the matter. Just so we're clear on that. She dropped all the charges.

Anyone can simply call the police and say so&so hit somebody, which is what this person did. The police will then take them in, fingerprint them, ect... not knowing what happened. So I cannot have a record over this. It just wouldn't make any sense.

[Figgy]

I know you only want verified LEO's to answer this, but you posted in an open forum so I'm going to say this anyway.

The police cannot just arrest anyone without a reason.

If you were arrested, there is a record of it because they had to fill out paperwork regardless of whether you were convicted or not. If your mother payed a fine then there is without a doubt a record of that.

As someone who is currently going through the hiring process and as someone who has read responses to numerous questions like this, I can tell you that the answer RO56 gave you is the answer. You will need to disclose this. It will come up during the polygraph anyway.

[Mike925]

So I cannot have a record over this. It just wouldn't make any sense.

You ask for LEOs advice and when he tells you something you dont want to hear you call him a liar? Integrity is a big part of law enforcement. I may not be verified yet (give me 3 months) but I see and hear it all day in the academy. Just tell your BI what happened and let them determine whats reality.

[mcsap]

ANY time you were arrested or think you were arrested could, should or will show up on a future background investigation. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS disclose such issues.

If you were arrested and it was later dropped , thats easily dealt with by a background investigator.

If you fail to disclose it FOR ANY REASON regardless of whether it was dropped, it WILL look like you are trying to hide something and your application will be shredded.

[mxwelch]

It's gonna show up. Better to disclose it and explain it then have the BI call you and ask why you didn't inform him of it. It probably won't be that big of a deal if you explain it. IMO.

[smoke63b]

And on a side note...

Take that lesson and learn it well. Never let anyone trap you into doing something like that. If you knew that she wanted you out of the house and would do anything to make it happen, why, oh why, would you give her an avenue to make it happen? I know why, we all make mistakes and that is ok. Just make sure you learn from it because people that will do things like that are all over the place. That's why they say running with the wrong crowd will get you in trouble. Doesn't matter if you're doing anything wrong or not, you can still get in trouble.

As for your question, you won't get any better info than what's above. Good luck to you and stay out of trouble.