A few years ago me and my friends hung out on a train track. We weren’t aware it was trespassing so a police officer brought us down and talked to us. We weren’t brought into court or put in handcuffs or anything but he did ask me some questions (how old am I, what school I go to, etc) and my dad signed some papers.
I haven’t thought about it much but college apps are coming close so will this make a difference; if so what difference will it make??
“and my dad signed some papers” ???
If you have been arrested, a police officer has read you your rights (just like on TV- you have a right to an attorney, the right to remain silent, etc.) If you have not been arrested, you were not read your rights and were just brought in for questioning.
What papers did your dad sign?
Was a mug shot taken?
No, no mug shot was taken. I wasn’t brought into the police station.
I don’t recall them reading my rights to me but it was a long time I could be wrong.I don’t know what papers my dad signed I was in the car.
It’s probably a good thing to figure out as this question will be asked of you in various contexts (I.e. applying for a government job or for a Global Entry card). Contact the municipality where the incident occurred and see if there was a disposition that you can obtain (for example, a document showing a guilty plea and a fine or a dismissal of the charge).
Can’t you ask your dad? He will most likely remember if you were arrested or not…
If you weren’t ready your rights and arraigned at the station then no.
I was just going to ask the same thing.
I highly doubt you were arrested though. I had a similar situation in high school where we were brought to the police station for vandalism (we were toilet papering a rival high school), but none of us were ticketed or “arrested”. Our parents were called and we were sent home. I suspect the paper your dad signed was more about the police releasing custody back to him. I would think if you were actually arrested there would have been more legal processes to go through after that one night. But it seems like your dad would know best.
If you did not go to the police station, nor have your picture taken, nor have your fingers printed, then you were not arrested.
Until you ask your father, you won’t know for certain what he signed. Maybe he didn’t “sign” anything. It’s possible the officer simply wanted contact information for you and your father in case they needed to get in touch with you later.
If your dad signed papers relating to your questioning / detention by a police officer, then there may be a formal police record of the matter.
Arrests do not always involve the procedures outlined above by other posters. Thousands of cases have been dismissed or overturned due to improper arrest procedures which violated the detainee’s Constitutional rights.
You need to ask your dad about this incident.
If you ever apply for state bar clearance or for a security clearance, you may be required to disclose this incident.
P.S. Obviously you were a juvenile at the time of the incident so the local police dept. may have different procedures for infractions / minor offenses by juveniles such as releasing them to the custody of their parents. Was your father present at the scene ? Or did the officer detain you & transport you to your home ?
The arrest of a juvenile is not like that of an adult, and does not require a visit to the station, fingerprinting, etc, or even for charges to be filed. An officer can arrest a kid and then set them free after scolding them. However, it does require the juvenile to be notified of their rights, and to notify the kid’s legal guardians (which happened).
If the officer reported that the kid was arrested, then there is an arrest report. If not, there isn’t. It depends of what the officer decided to do.
@Mbappe321 Besides checking whether there was an arrest report, you should check the rules in your state regarding sealing or expunging juvenile records.
Police can issue Minor in Possession tickets (or similar) and yes, it is a crime.
Why don’t you run a police report and see? If nothing shows up, then there is nothing of record.
Sounds like this varies by state. In my state, a juvenile arrest wouldn’t show on your record and you would have been fingerprinted. My guess is you weren’t, at worst issued a ticket for loitering but check with your dad. If you were my kid, you definitely would have known if you were arrested!
Any citation most likely would be for trespassing based on the information shared by OP.
I was a cop in the military, which is a little different than a civilian cop. But it doesn’t sound like you were arrested. I would be very surprised if this affected your college admission process. Simply being questioned by a cop isn’t that big of a deal.
@twoinanddone : “Why don’t you run a police report and see? If nothing shows up, then there is nothing of record.”
What does that mean? How does one do that?
You say you’ve committed to Penn State. Closing thread.