Do I have to report being detained on SF86?

I was arrested due to a domestic violence situation but the charges were later dropped and records were revised to show that I was detained, not arrested. Should I report this on my SF86? The wording isn’t very clear so I’m unsure if I should or not. Thanks in advance.

If you were finger printed it will show up on FBI report as an arrest and you’ll be asked to discuss the details during an in person interview. If finger prints were involved you were arrested no matter what it was changed to later. If you don’t list it then it will be viewed as an omission/falsification and you’ll also be asked why you didn’t list it.

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Yes you should report it.

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What about if you were arrested in a foreign country, but released the same day due to insufficient evidence to proceed and it was classed as No further Action on the same day of the arrest. Then they destroyed your DNA and Biometrics out their system, years ago? I would still report it and show the paperwork showing the results of ‘insufficient evidence’ and ‘No Further Action Taken’ in the same 24 hours of the arrest. This occured 4 years ago. How do investigators view this, especially if you have 0 record in the states as well?

Yes, disclose it because it will be asked about in the Subject interview. We routinely ask about issues that occurred on travel.

The question reads “In the last 7 years have you been arrested by any police officer, sheriff, marshal or other type of law enforcement official?”

So short answer Yes, you need to report it.

The question does not contain an asterisk excluding overseas arrests, arrests that were then classes as NFA, or any other type of exclusions.

If anyone actually reads the first 5 pages of the form it states that knowingly falsifying or concealing a material fact is a felony which may result in fines and/or up to 5 years imprisonment.

I know my tone may come across as snarky, it’s not meant to be. An arrest is an arrest is an arrest. If charges were dismissed, dropped, the individual charging changed their minds, the police station burned to the ground and no paper trail exists, etc etc, it is still an arrest. Far better to list it (if within the time frame) and discuss than to have to later explain why you failed to list it, as well as having to discuss the arrest.

I already know this. I wouldn’t need to hide anything. I am clean in all other areas and I have due process and the fact it’s NFA isn’t enough to deny me a clearance. I am not worried about having to explain it, I am totally fine with that. This wasn’t my questions. My question was how do they view it, based on time since incident, isolated incident, the fact, it was NFA due to insufficient evidence on same day etc. I wanted to know how does this impact the process for botht he public trust and secret clearance. I am fully aware of the whole person concept and since I have 0 debt, and all other areas on the SF-86 are clean and clear, I am not much worried about a single isolated incident in a foreign country 1 time 4 years ago. LOL.

If you are “fully aware” of the whole person concept, then you should know that no one here can tell you what effect this will have on your investigation.

Your posts starts out with “What about if you were arrested…” So I answered the implied question, as best I could.

As for how “investigators view this” Well, we don’t. We are simply gathering information, our view is irrelevant. The whole person concepts takes everything into account, which means Investigators report everything. We do not insert opinions, beliefs, or our own view into the reports.

If you are looking for a “no worries buddy, you’re good” or a “oh jeeze, you’re screwed” you won’t find that here.

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I understand. I wasn’t asking about outcomes. The whole person concept would be applicable to outcomes. I was asking how are one time isolated incidents, the did not lead to proceedings, or convictions on a dead case that was finished in 24 hours due to insufficient evidence 4 to 6 years ago will be viewed for a public trust or secret clearance. I never had situations like this, so it’s normal for me to ask questions when I have had a clean record my entire life and never had debt etc.