what should i say?

[James Wood]

well i just found all the info i needed to know about the trouble i got in when i was 18, and i was not charged with a crimial crime. I got a conditional discharge, my probation officer from like 3 years ago told me im all good, but they will see the trouble i did get into when i was 18 on a backround check. Should i be upfront with them and tell them i got a conditional discharge, i technically filled out the forms honestly because no i havent been convicted of a crime, and i have no charges. so what should i do? just wait for the recruiter to call me on it?

 

[CF_MacAulay]

hey, i imagine when the recruiter goes through everything he will notice it and probably give you a call..whatever you do , DONT LIE...its a really big NO-NO...but if he doesnt call you..then at the interview or whenever your speaking to them...tell them....explain your situation...or you could just call the recruiting office on your own and tell them...thats what i would do..if i were in your shoes...but any ways ..just be upfront usually they are alright guys...(or women)but jsut be upfront...
peace

 

[James Wood]

should i tell them when i go in this week, or let them find out for themselves, because im not hiding anything, because i havent been convicted.

 

[Duotone81]

Take the initiative and tell them when you next see them. It shows you have nothing to hide (if that‘s the case) and their is more integrity in doing so.

 

[CF_MacAulay]

exactlly, tell them once you have a chance, ad explain everything..they can be understanding and nice ppl to talk to...lol...i was joking around with my MCC he was pretty cool...but i was just a civilian to him...if i was a soldier..it probably would have been different..but be careful some guys can have short fuses..

 

[GrahamD]

If you were granted a conditional discharge and you tell the CFRC, they will most likely reply "That‘s fine" or "That doesn‘t matter", or some other dismissive statement, because a conditional discharge is not a criminal conviction. It will have no bearing on your application.

They may give you credit if you are up front about it, but they can‘t take it into consideration if you choose not to talk about it.

Remember though, if they feel you are being elusive about it, even though you are not obligated to talk about it, they might grow suspicious of you and begin taking a harder line. Asking more involved questions about other aspects of your life, trying to catch you in a lie etc.

Honesty is the best policy.

 

[RJG]

If you were given a conditional discharged then you were found NOT GUILTY, discharge means that the charges are dropped, conditional means that there are conditions to the dropping of the charges. If you have fulfilled these conditions then you have NOT been convicted of an offence and it will NOT show up on your record.

 

[GrahamD]

Actually conditional discharges do appear on your criminal record, for a period of 3 years from the date of the sentencing.

It is there to be considered in the event you break the law in those 3 years.

If you were found not guilty, then there would be no need for a conditional discharge.

A conditional discharge means that they are giving you a second chance and not burdening you with a permanent criminal record.

Usually a conditional discharge is granted when a young, or first time offender commits a "harmless" crime, ie possesion of 1 gram of marijuana, vandalism, shoplifting etc.

If you are convicted of more serious crimes and they want to cut you some slack, they grant you a conditional sentence. Which means you serve your sentence outside of prison, but if you so much as get a speeding ticket, youre off to jail, immediately. You still get a criminal record, but you don‘t actually go to jail, thats the bonus of a conditional sentence.

An absolute discharge is basically like getting off. Only they are not willing to find you NOT GUILTY. You get off scott free, but its understood that you were guilty as charged.
In my day as a juvenile this was called getting your charges "diverted".

 

[James Wood]

i never knew army people were so into law haha thats awsome, yes your right, i was given 3 years from my date of sentencing, and i have been perfect, 3 years is up this augest, i am applying this week, my lawyer said that i am off probation and was for some time, therefore no legal obligation, i was thinking of writing about my conditional discharge on a piece of paper, explain some details, how i have grown up, learned things etc etc, and hand it to them with everything else, hows that sound?

 

[James Wood]

ps....thanks everyone for all your help, i really appriciate it

 

[James Wood]

so,GrahamD, will this conditional discharge affect my application serverly?

 

[GrahamD]

It is unlikely that a conditional discharge will negatively affect you application, if you have been free of obligation to the courts for at least 6 months.

I would say yes its a good idea to include a written or verbal statement in regards to your conditional discharge. However, you should seek the advice of a recruiter before deciding on that. If you know for sure that something is going to appear on your records search, then its going to seem better coming from you, rather than the CFRC finding out from CSIS, at least in my opinion.

You may find that there will be a few extra hoops to jump through as a result of your dealings with the justice system, however in the end it probably won‘t make too much of a difference.

 

[portcullisguy]

A conditional discharge is NOT the same as "not guilty". Neither is an absolute discharge.

Both are considered a "finding of guilt". One incurs conditions of probation. The other does not.

An aquittal is where there is no finding of guilt.

It is important to know the difference, because a discharge will give you a criminal record, and an acquittal will not (although police can still see records of acquittals).

When filling out applications for jobs and security checks, pay careful attention to the wording of criminality questions.

Some will ask "have you ever been CHARGED" with an offence. Others will ask "have you ever been CONVICTED" of an offence. Charged can include any case that was withdrawn, stayed, or where you were found guilty or not guilty. Convicted means you were found guilty, regardless of the sentence.

Bottom line: Be up front, tell the recruiter everything.

 

[James Wood]

I sighned no on all because they asked if i was CONVICTED, and the answer was NO i wasn‘t, and no questions asked if i was charged, just convicted

 

[GrahamD]

A conditional discharge is NOT the same as "not guilty". Neither is an absolute discharge.

Both are considered a "finding of guilt". One incurs conditions of probation. The other does not.

An aquittal is where there is noA conditional discharge is NOT the same as "not guilty". Neither is an absolute discharge.

Both are considered a "finding of guilt". One incurs conditions of probation. The other does not.

An aquittal is where there is no finding of guilt.

It is important to know the difference, because a discharge will give you a criminal record, and an acquittal will not (although police can still see records of acquittals).
finding of guilt.

It is important to know the difference, because a discharge will give you a criminal record, and an acquittal will not (although police can still see records of acquittals).

Im pretty sure I just said that

 

[chriscalow]

I was in a similar situation when I took in my application. I just told them right away about what happened, the recruiter took me into his office and asked me to explain what happened and told me that they understand that some people do stupid things when they are young, and he said that it was good for me to bring it up before they had to ask about it.

 

[shaun_bougie]

Just remember this. The application may have asked if you‘ve been convicted. Then it‘s fine to say no, because you haven‘t been. But if the recruiter asks in your interview if you‘ve ever been charged, investigated, interviewed, had your name written down by police in regard to a criminal offence, then you will have to say yes. Technically you have been charged, which would mean all of the others will apply. You may have received your conditional discharge, but once it is complete the charge still shows up on your record. Hope this helps.