Retail Theft

[january_32]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA


My husband was 17 yrs. old when he was arrested together with his friends for the amount of $5.00 stuff in a store. The Police Dept. did investigate and wrote down a retail theft charged against him and his friends and took his fingerprints during that time. There was no court hearing or anything at all but he was asked to pay around $40.00 as fine. He is 40 years old now and just finished his degree. A certain public school in AZ wants to hire him for a teaching job. Now he is in the process of his application for fingerprints card clearance in AZ Department Public Safety. We are worried so much maybe he will be denied for his teaching application job in that public school once they will find out his 22 yrs old criminal history record. Or would he be denied for a fingerprint card clearance application due to his criminal history and would not have a chance for any teaching job? We are hoping for anyone to help and explain things clearly. Thanks alot!

Godbless!
january_32

[outonbail]

I doubt a single shoplifting incident, that occurred when your husband was a juvenile, will be closing any doors of employment twenty two years later.

What your husband might do, is to pay one of the many companies who provide background information to do a check on himself. There are many he can find on line and the price will vary depending on what each one can provide. So he should look for the one that offers the most extensive search, provides the most information and digs back as far into the past as possible. Then he'll see what, if anything shows up on his record.

This can also be a good way to make sure that no false information is tied to his name because of someone else having the same name, or even due to an unknown situation of identity theft.

If he was not required to appear in court on the shoplifting charge, there may not be an actual arrest or conviction record for shoplifting, depending on how the police handled the recording of the incident at that time. But there is no way of really knowing without undergoing the background check.

He could always go to the police department which handled the incident and did the fingerprinting at the time and ask them how the reporting of his incident was handled and if it would show up on a background check today.

As a side note, I was caught shoplifting sunglasses with several friends when I was about fourteen years old. We were not required to go to court and the store security only contacted our parents, not the police. Although if I had my choice, I would have chosen the police over my dad. But dad came to pick me up and the incident then became what I refer to as my "near death experience". I haven't even thought of shoplifting since.

Anyway, I've undergone several background checks for clearance in order to enter a couple of military bases and also to work at aerospace companies who were under government contracts. As far as I know, my near death experience never came up, or if it did, I was never refused clearance because of it.
I was just relieved that they didn't contact my dad!