Arrested when i was 12

[vampike]

I'll be turning 21 next month and I plan on getting my CHL.. I have a question about paperwork regarding an arrest. When I was 12 I was arrested for shoplifting a candy bar and one of those mini bottles of cologne... foolish, i know. I was cuffed and printed but never charged with anything. I figured I'd have to declare the arrest in my application but I can't remember where exactly i was arrested. how would i go about finding out where i was arrested? also, will i need some sort of documentation of the arrest to submit with my packet?

[gigag04]

You were not actually arrested...figuratively you were, but the legal system views juvenile arrests as a different animal. For instance a "warrant" for a juv. is actually called a DTA - directive to apprehend. And when you are "arrested" it is really more of a detention. IIRC juv court is SORT OF like a civil issue....I'm not sure though since I don't deal with it on a daily basis.

Do you remember what county you were in? I would call their juvenile detention center and ask for any records they have of you. However, I doubt this is something you would need to declare.

[handog]

I was told by my CHL instructor that if you were EVER in handcuffs you must declare it on your application. I had a similar circumstance as you. It was 25 years ago and I could not remember the details. I just put down what I could remember which was very little so they didn’t think I was trying to hide anything. When they ran a check on my record it did show up. They sent it back to me with the info I needed to request a felony background check since it was out of state. It just set my license back a couple of weeks.

[steve817]

I know this is and old post but since I have been there I wanted to chime in, may help someone later. I did my application online and when it got to the part about past arrest, I listed my adult charges and included my doumentation.
Then in another block where one would put another event, I just put "See Attached". I typed out a letter and put the details as well as I could remember them and said that the GPPD could not offer me any supporting documentation.

I had no problems and got my license faster than some on this forum who probably had cleaner records than mine.

[The Annoyed Man]

I was told by my CHL instructor that if you were EVER in handcuffs you must declare it on your application. I had a similar circumstance as you. It was 25 years ago and I could not remember the details. I just put down what I could remember which was very little so they didn’t think I was trying to hide anything. When they ran a check on my record it did show up. They sent it back to me with the info I needed to request a felony background check since it was out of state. It just set my license back a couple of weeks.

People get put in cuffs all the time and are never actually arrested, so there is no record of any arrest, charges, conviction, and sentence or other disposition tied to the incident. Ask the LEOs on this board if they ever cuffed anybody "for mine and your safety" at the scene while searching their vehicle or sorting out a family dispute, and nobody got arrested. Being cuffed does not constitute an arrest and a "criminal record." Being cuffed may have a high correlation with being arrested, but it is a correlation, not causative.

That is my understanding.

[steve817]

I thought the probability of them finding my juvenile records would be very low. I didn't have a drivers license or even a social security number at the time. But I told them anyway.