My friends brother is applying for a State Trooper Position...?

Question

Last night her brothered called and asked her for her information SS#, Address, D.O.B etc. She asked why he needed that information and he said that to apply for the state trooper position he needed to list all his immediate families information and that they may do a background check on her. Well back when she was I think 18 she was arrested (NOT convicted) and ended up on probabation for about a year paid a fine and the case was dismissed she is now 27 years old but is concerned that her criminal history may affect her brother from getting the state trooper position. She didn't tell her brother of the offense because she didn't think it would come up. Should she tell him? Will this affect him getting the position? Will they ask her brother is he knew of the offense?

Answer 1

First, why another persons SSN and DOB are requested on a trooper application would be concerning to me. Normally, only a name, address, and telephone number for references are required.

Second, any arrest as an adult (over 18) should be disclosed or else you could be considered "deceptive" on the application. The only consideration to not report the arrest is if the question is asked in such a manner that it only requires arrests within a specific time frame. For instance: "Have you been arrested for any felony or misdemeanor offense in the past five years?"

By withholding any information...you could be disqualified in the application process.

Best wishes.

Answer 2

From what you have described, it is evident that we are not hearing the whole story, but I cannot see how one family member 10 years ago in trouble, and clean since, should have an effect on brother getting the job. It would be a different story if the whole family was perpetually in trouble with the law.

But for all you know, many members of the family have bad driving records ... I mean if someone gets traffic tickets for speeding, reckless driving, pay the fines ... do they go tell their family that they got caught again?

I think it is pretty rare that a person gets in trouble with the law, then goes tells their entire family. Immediate family will know when the person is fighting for a declaration of innocence, but young children at the time may have no idea what is going on. This is especially true when an adult is a victim and not want to get the younger children upset.

Being charged with a crime but not convicted, or charges dropped, that should be the same in the eyes of the law as being an innocent person, although there are always some people who do not accept the official results of a case.

Ending up on probation, paying a fine, is not the same as being found innocent. It sounds like something is not being correctly represented, because not being convicted should mean no probation, no fine. Perhaps there was a plea bargain & she thinks that is different from being convicted in a trial. My understanding is that if you plead guilty, that is the same as being convicted.

I was before a traffic judge once when the situation was complicated ... I felt I was partly guilty but not totally guilty, so I pled no contest. In the eyes of the law that is the same as pleading guilty. But for my ethics it meant slightly different ... I am not going to fight the justice system on something that will have 2 points on my driving record, and a trivial fine ... I don't want to consume a lot of people time and money over this.

On any form to any organization it is legitimate to include something like "ANSWER REFUSED" or "NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS"

This is because many organizations have forms that have not been redesigned for decades, ignoring changes in the laws, and changes in risks.

It has become more and more obvious, to most everyone, in recent years that there is a great deal of abuse and criminal negligence with respect to the handling of personal identification, leading to various laws being passed restricting the use of info like social security #, and when stored in some record system, to impose certain security precautions on the storage.

Implementation of these rules, and enforcement has been laughable. Government Agencies, in particular, seem to behave like the laws do not apply to them.

There are times when social security # is needed, such as opening a bank account, and there are times when other forms of identification, such as driver's license # is more than sufficient. Some forms provide space for multiple alternative forms of id ... this does not mean that ALL of them should be provided.

Answer 3

she probably got administrative probation, no conviction if she keeps clean for a certain amount of time.
as far as asking for the info on relatives, usually dob and pob are required, as well as current location and any name changes. not sure what state you are in, but all the ones I worked for the feds are more concerned about relatives who may be engaged in current and ongoing criminal activities, and not some (probably) misdemeanor from ten years ago.
she should tell her brother, because he is going to find out anyway, if he does not already know. I doubt very much that the state patrol will really care . if they ask him, then he can say that yeah, she just told me last week when she heard i was applying .

Answer 4

If she was on probation then she indeed was convicted. Whether it will affect her brother is doubtful; depends on the conviction. If she completed her probation with no problems, paid her fine and never got into trouble again, I doubt it would affect him in the slightest.

Answer 5

I'm with KCV, and I don't believe they would ask for a relatives social security number on his application.
If I were you're friend, I would obtain a copy of my credit report (she can get one free copy each year) and check to make sure nothing else is going on.
Take care.