Skip navigation.

news and resources for acquiring, maintaining, and retaining government-issued security clearances

ClearanceWatch Board

Police question.

I was wondering if the following could disqualify me from getting a clearance.

I’ve had 2 encounters with the police in my life. The first one was for smoking some marijuana on campus (but I wasn’t arrested) the second one was really a trespassing complaint when some friends and I went to a place to do target practice and the cops pretty much just told us to move along.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Posted by jnov123 on Jul 12, 2007 at 07:01AM

Comments

Neither of these, even if brought to the attention of an adjudicator, is likely to jeopardize a clearance application, provided that the marijuana use was not recent (usually defined as within the last five years, but this varies). As neither involved an arrest, it wouldn’t even be necessary to mention them during a clearance investigation, unless asked if you ever have had an encounter with the police due to misbehavior? In that case, being upfront about the incident(s) is likely the best option.

Posted by on Jul 12, 2007 at 11:00AM

The SF86 asks for drug use since the age of 16 or in the last seven yeras which ever is shorter. So if the MJ use occured outside of this time frame then you do not have to mention it, but being honest about everything is the best policy. Since the police just told you to move along regarding the trespassing complaint you technically do not have to mention it at all but again being upfront and honest is best. If an investigator talks to one of the friends you were with at the time of the complaint and tells the investigator about the situation and you did not mention your clearance process might take longer.

Posted by Tyson on Aug 10, 2007 at 09:45PM

Want to comment? Log in below or sign up.

Mandatory fields are marked *

Login

Back to the ClearanceWatch Board