Past arrest record

[romyorb]

I reside in Calfornina, but crime committed in the state of Washington.

Hello,

I was arrested in Vancouver washington for the following : VPD CN CLD 11/27/97 DV ASSAULT 4TH D CL * *

I am trying to get my arrest record expunged, but the court clerk advised me that the case was dismissed and that there was no reason to request a judgment to vacate as the term expungment is used in Washington.
My question is: If the case was dismissed, does this mean that I was not convicted of the domestic violence case and also this will not show up on any background ? Another question, am I supposed list that I was arrested for such a crime on any background or employee application?

I am in the process of getting into the Law enforcement career field and I want to ensure this past arrest which was the only arrest I have ever had will not affect the process of working in law enforcement.

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by romyorb

My question is: If the case was dismissed, does this mean that I was not convicted of the domestic violence case and also this will not show up on any background ? Another question, am I supposed list that I was arrested for such a crime on any background or employee application?

I am in the process of getting into the Law enforcement career field and I want to ensure this past arrest which was the only arrest I have ever had will not affect the process of working in law enforcement.

If you are applying for law enforcement in CA (and, indeed, this should hold true in EVERY state) you will be required to also list any arrests you have - regardless of the end result. Plus, the arrest WILL show up on a law enforcement pre-employment criminal background check. If you were fingerprinted, the arrest will show when your criminal history is confirmed by prints ... if you were never printed, it will show when they contact Washington state and local jurisdictions for any contacts they have had with you.

The investigating agency will also almost certainly ask for a copy of the police report so they can determine just what happened. A domestic violence history - even if not prosecuted - is NOT going to look good. They will want to have a feel for the totality of the circumstances, and they will want to be confident that whatever transpired was isolated and was far in the past. Since this seems to be 11 years old, I doubt it will be an issue time-wise, so they will look at the circumstances surrounding it.

- Carl