Do I Disclose My Sealed Juvenile Record with the Police Department I Am Applying for

[rxharp]

My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Califonia

I have a juvenile record all at the age of 16. There were 5 seperate charges total and all became misdemeanors. There were two charges of recieving stolen property of 400+, one was a stolen vehicle, and one was property out of a vehicle. Obstruction of justice for hiding from a police officer. Trespassing at a house that was not my own, and a bench warrent for missing a court date. I am 23 now, and have had no run-ins with the law since I was 16. This record has been sealed and deemed "never to have happend" says the court papers. I even tried to pick up arrest records from the police department and the court house and after the sealing process they would not release them to me. So my major question is, do i have to disclose this record during the backround investigation to become a police officer? I did disclose it with the LAPD, and i was disqualified, it could have been because I was completly honest and told them about my using of crystal meth 3 times. But I dont know for sure. I just dont want to disclose this with the next department I apply for if there never going to find it anyways. If one department contacts another to get information on me and my record is sealed, do they have to say we have nothing on him? or do they say we have something on him but its sealed so you cant have it? Thats where i get worried about disclosing my juvinele record or not.

[cdwjava]

They WILL find it. By law, information concerning your sealed juvenile court record must generally be provided to the agency. If you FAIL to disclose it if asked, you can and will be terminated when/if it comes out. Such dishonesty WILL be passed on to other agencies that conduct backgrounds as well.

Understand that a sealed juvenile record - even if for a felony - is not a statutory bar to employment as a peace officer in CA unless you were tried as an adult.

When you begin the background process you will sign a waiver allowing the investigating agency access to documents and records whether sealed or withheld in some way. If you refuse to sign that waiver, you might as well forget about a job in law enforcement.

Some agencies will have a zero tolerance for the offenses you describe. And I would not be surprised. However, time, maturity, education, and employment can play in your favor. If you are in your mid-20s now, have maintained a good education, held down a steady job with good reviews, have no police contacts, and are a reputable and honest guy, then what you did at 16 should be of little consequence for many agencies. But! If you LIE about it and are caught, you will torpedo your chances everywhere and forever.

[rxharp]

Thankyou so much, okay great, so atleast I know I must tell them so I dont feel I have to hide anything. I am just going to continue trying with a few other departments and see how it turns out. Now the papers I recieved back from the LAPD had said that I can withdraw my application so other agencies dont see I was disqualified from there hiring process. Does that mean I can say I have not applied at other agencies? Or does it mean that I did apply and I am able to say I just withdrew the application versus being disqualified?

[cdwjava]

The latter. You can say that you applied but withdrew from the process.

How old are you now? What have you accomplished over the intervening years to show that you are not the same person you once were?

[rxharp]

I am 23 years old now. At the age of 18 I left immediatly to florida to attend The Commercial Diving Academy which is a full time trade school to train divers in underwater construction, welding, burning and specialty courses such as dive medical technicians. I graduated from there after 6 month and immediatly began working offshore in the Gulf of Mexico with a pipelaying and salvage company. I worked out there and traveled the southern states unitl the following months of the BP Deepwater Hornizon oil spill which caused work to spiral down. Sense January 2011 I have been diving full time in the Port of Long Beach/Los Angeles working on tanker ships and container ships and select oil platforms. I also started going to school part time at Long Beach City College just to keep the show rolling and try to pursue a degree in the time I have been setteled on the beach. I volunteer with school on wheels tutoring homless children. I am very active and stay busy at the gym and doing mixed martial arts.

[cdwjava]

It sounds as if you may well have sufficient background to overcome your juvenile deficiencies... assuming, of course, that your roughneck days did not also include some drunken brawls!

Keep it up with school, and keep applying ... you may find an agency that can appreciate your skill set. There are a number of harbor agencies in the south coast that might be up your alley - try the San Diego Harbor Police (they tend to hire frequently), Oceanside Harbor Police (not so often), and the Long Beach PD and others that have a significant harbor and port presence.