police record check

midway

5-Year Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
4
Ok, here's the story, I will try to make it as short as possible. When I was 15, 3 friends and I got in trouble for taking the valve caps off a car by the police. The only thing the police did was call our parents and let them deal with the situation. No trial, no community service, nothing. We never heard from the officer again. I never placed this on my application. Should I have?

I then got my letter of acceptance with the "Police Record Check" paper. I was curious before I had the local police station fill out the form whether this incident was on my record. It was. The officer just said the only thing I would ever be required to say is that I talked to the police about the incident. The way it sounded he wasn't planning on even putting the incident on my form. I have no other violations ex. speeding.

Is there a problem with this incident which could possibly be on my form and what I said to the academy about me not having a record? (which im not sure if i do because nothing ever happened)
 
It's not on your police record because it was never brought up before a judge.
 
Disclose everything......straight up.......if the police have a "recording" of the transaction, it will eventually see the light of day as more retailed background checks are performed on you...full disclosure is always the best policy....I can not imagine the USNA and the Navy in generally will look disfavorably upon this transaction when you were 15
 
What do I do then? Just have the officer put down what happened on the form. This would contradict what I had on my application because I never even knew they had any information for me because a different officer just called my parents and told them what happened? Is this contradicting information a problem? I think I'm just paranoid.
 
I wouldn't tell the officer to put (or not put) down anything. However, I might just send a quick letter (or email - something in writing) to your RD explaining the incident and mentioning that you're not sure if it will come up in a check, but just wanted to make sure they're aware of it. Maybe explain just what you did here - that you had no idea there was any record of it and that's why you hadn't mentioned it before.

Like Pasquinal said, I can't imagine that now with an appointment something that minor would even be a blip on the screen. But it's better to give them the heads up than to have it come up in a year or so when they go through all the records for your security clearance and want to know why it wasn't disclosed. Even if this officer doesn't put it down, there's a chance they'll request all records again at some point in the future as you go higher up.

Definitely just my opinion!
 
Thanks Marciemi. I'll just plan on emailing my regional director. That way I would have evidence I tried to resolve the situaion. The vibe I got from the officer was that the incident wasn't even something I did wrong. I just had to talk to the original officer when the incident happened and that's what the report they had at the station was about.

2 more quick questions. The check they do on I-day does that just cover information that places like the state police would have or local police too? Also, when getting the forms filled out by the stations where you live and where your school is located etc. does this include the State Police also or just the local police/sheriffs offices?
 
Thought I'd add a related question (police report) to this thread. We have lived in three states since our son has been in high school. At this time it is our intention to get reports from all three states; local, county, state police departments. My son has never had even a minor traffic violation, so will have no record. Does anyone think getting info from all these sources is overkill, or will it make things easier in the long run? Thanks for any advice or information!
 
Midway,
It is always best practice to be honest and forthcoming, but I don't think it is your duty to testify against yourself.

If you didn't receive a citation, court appearance letter, and you weren't arrested and booked at the police station, then you don't have a police record. Just take the form to your police station and they will fill it out. If an officer writes down that you committed a crime that you never had the opportunity to defend yourself against, then you will have a grieveance against that officer.

If you receive a citation and pay the fine, you have admitted guilt and have a record. If you see a Judge and are found guilty, then you have a record. If the Police turned you over to your parents to handle, then it was dismissed. The easiest way to find out, is to go to your police station and see if you have a record.

I'm not a lawyer, but I hate to see someone possibly jeopardize opportunities when it is not warranted. Think of it this way: If you went to court and the Judge found you not guilty, would you have a record? No. Same thing goes if the police don't bring charges against you.

As far as security clearances goes, it will never be an issue. You can answer the question as "NO" when it asks if you have ever been convicted of a crime, because you haven't.

If you end up with trouble over this matter, then you should request your day in court. This is just my opinion. I'd seek legal advice if this goes any further.
 
thanks Cwodiver,
I'm still planning on emailing my regional director. I'm sure it can cause no harm. I'll tell him straight up that I had no clue it was on my "record" and I don't even think the officer was going to put it on my form, but I want the Naval Academy to be aware of the situation. I can't see them having a problem with me attempting to be as honest as possible.

A final qustion similar to Motm. Do I just have to go to the local police to get the form filled out?
 
Local police station...give them a call. we had to go into Houston (we live in a suburb of Houston).
 
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