Will this fail me for clearance?

[JonApplePie]

A few months from now i might be offered a job at a contractor for the NSA that deals with software programming. I will have to get a background check and be cleared for a Top Secret with SCI ( i belive thats the offical name). Because of that ill also have to take the lifestyle polygraph.

The thing that worries me is a few months ago i was wrongly accused of shoplifting $22 of goods from a grocery store. Long story short i pleaded guilty to the charges in court so that i wouldnt have to pay a lawyer and go threw all the hassle , just to get out of a small charge like that. It was the first time i had ever gone to court or been charged with something, and my record is perfect before that. Im also young ( 22 years old ), so im afraid they will think im a punk that steals all the time or some crazy crap.

will this automaticly disqulify me, or do they only care about spying, serious crimes, and drug use?

[Fair Chance]

Dear JonApplePie,

The best way to look at this is from the adjudicator mindset.  You pled guilty to a $22.00 shoplifting charge.  If you plead guilty, you are guilty. Stop using the old lines of "not wanting to pay a lawyer and go through all the hassle."  Can I trust top secret information or software with a person who steals $22.00 of retail items.  The main motive for stealing secrets is money and you would be easily bought.

These are not my personal feelings about you but that is the way the system will think of you.

Hopefully, in the future, if you keep your record and personal life clean for about five years, they would consider it an isolated event.  If this happened recently, a clearance will be difficult at best.

Regards.

[NSAreject]

JonApplePie,

  The DoD would probably grant you a clearance
(the TS portion), as long as, you are totally honest with
them, but the assholes at NSA (the SCI portion) may
have a problem...

[alleycat1]

Do I admit to drug use in my past for lapd poistion? There is no rule against it considering I have never been arrested?

Alley

[theydeceivedme1]

Take a look at this website.  These are clearance decisions where the applicants had dirt on their records, so you will see a pattern and can learn alot from reading some of these cases.

http://www.dod.mil/dodgc/doha/industrial/

Bottom line, don't hide anything that they can find out by doing a credit check or criminal check on you.  Recent theft crimes will probably get you denied.

[Sergeant1107]

Do I admit to drug use in my past for lapd poistion? There is no rule against it considering I have never been arrested?

Alley

Yes, you should of course admit to it.  Lying in order to obtain a job in law enforcement is a terrible way to start off a career.

They will not only ask you if you have ever been arrested, they will also ask about past drug use.  

Even though the number of unethical and dishonest cops in this country is only a tiny percentage of the whole, it is more than enough.  We don't need any more.

Tell the truth and if your past behavior disqualifies you then move on to something else.