I agree with cyjeff and Ohiogal that you should not lie about the embezzlement, whether it shows up on a background check or not.
It may not make a difference in your becoming a Detroit police officer anyway.
In Michigan, embezzlement can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, and it can be charged under municipal ordinances or under state law. You cannot become a Detroit Police Officer if you have a FELONY conviction (even if the felony was expunged), but if you were given at age 15 a six month probation and ordered to pay restitution, it sounds as if your KMart embezzlement was a misdemeanor and you were offered diversion.
You can go to
www.detroit.mi.gov/PoliceDepartment/PoliceJobOpenings/tabid/792/Default.aspx., by the way, to see the requirements for being a Detroit Police Officer. You can also download an application while you're there.
With the diversion program, upon satisfactory completion of all terms of the program and with no additional violations during your probationary period, the charges against you are dismissed. There is no public record of your arrest or charges, BUT the record is often still accessible by law enforcement. Sealed and expunged records are also accessible to law enforcement.
In fact, even on
regular employment background checks, the FACT that a record was sealed or expunged may appear, even if there are no details as to WHAT exactly was sealed or expunged. A regular background check will NOT, however, show your juvenile arrest on embezzlement charges if you completed the diversion program and the charges were dismissed (or shouldn't, at any rate - errors happen).
If you want to, you can run a criminal background check on yourself. You can go to
MSP - Michigan State Police and click on "ICHAT." For $10, you can access your own criminal history.
You may want to Google Judge Greg Mathis, to see all that he accomplished even with a rather rocky youth. And, if the police department thing doesn't work out, I believe having embezzlement in your past does not preclude you from being mayor of Detroit, or from being on the Detroit City Council.
