Is it true that a person only have a police record if they're convicted?

Question

My bff had a little run in w/ the law a while back and had been very close to being charged w/ a misdemeanor. I won't say exactly what she did as to protect her privacy. Long story short she wasn't charged w/ anything although the cops did talk to her. Now's she's applying for a job and they're doing a background check on her. She's worried about it showing up on her record. I tried to assure her that it won't but she's so bent on worrying. I have little legal knowledge and idk exactly what to say to her. help plz?

Answer 1

The only way it would show up is if she was arrested.  If she wasn't then don't worry about it.  You can still have a record showing that you were arrested for whatever charge but not convicted.

Answer 2

No.  There is still an 'arrest record' - regardless of being convicted or not.

Answer 3

Be a little more specific about "a little run in". If she was simply contacted and then dismissed, not arrested, no record that can be easily located or accessed would exist. Her name would maybe, worst case, be in a little notebook or database somewhere and probably forgotten about long before she even finished her day. If she were arrested, there is still a record of it. However, arrest records and conviction records are indexed differently. In most jurisdictions, they are separate. A standard pre-employment background check consists of checking conviction records only because they are more easily accessed and more readily available. And quite frankly, most people who conduct pre-employment backgrounds don't put in enough effort to actually go locate arrest records unless something curious pops up during the investigation. If no convictions are reported, the slate must be clean and they leave it at that. And, in allot of jurisdictions, arrest records are not typically considered public record as are conviction records. In any event, if she was not actually charged, tried and convicted, I doubt it will come back on any standard pre-employment background check for most positions.  

Answer 4

If she wasn't charged with anything, it won't show up.