expunging misdemeanors

[Dvst8ed]

I had a misdemanor 3 years ago for hit and run.. Should i expunge this when i apply for police officer position next year?? I heard its a bad idea to expunge but no one ever said why. I mean even if it was expunged i would tell the police department who is hiring that i had a misdemeanor .. but i dunno

[BlackJhack]

Expunging your record is not going to do you a whole lot of good if you are applying for a law enforcement position. Many departments ask about all crimes committed, that includes crimes that have been expunged. As far as I know, LE agencies will have access to that information anyways, expunged or not. If you are going to tell the department that you are going to test with about the hit and run, I don't see a reason to get it expunged. They won't weigh it any less, even if it is expunged. Although expungment from your record is supposed to mean that it is erased from your record, it will never be totally gone. When your background investigator asks if you have ever committed a crime and you say no, you will be screwed, because they are not asking if you have a clean record, they are asking if you have ever committed a crime. My advice is simply don't lie about it.

[dimas]

I couldn't agree with BJ more.   Your best bet is to be honest about this.  

As far as I know expungement is not a bad thing, and may look a little more favorable.  What is going to kill you is that this happened only 3 years ago.  I really don't think any dept is going to be forgiving about this considering it wasn't all that long ago.