united-states police admissibility
Admitting to a misdemeanor crime on an &quot;official&quot; police application
<p>When someone wants to apply to become a police officer, one question on the form is whether or not they have committed a crime or were present when a crime was committed. If they say yes and detail the crime committed, and the statute of limitations has not passed, is it possible the individual would be arrested and convicted of the crime? Could the form be taken as an &quot;official government document,&quot; allowing the answer to considered tantamount to a confession even for a misdemeanor?</p>

<p>It is possible. If you say e.g. &quot;On March 12 2021 I stole a steak from the grocery store at the corner of Smith St. and Wesson Ave.&quot;, that is a confession. It is voluntary and not coerced (you're not required to apply for the job), so it is admissible. It is extremely unlikely that there is any insulating provision in the job-application process (&quot;information obtained via applying for this job will never be used against you in a court of law&quot;). Whether or not you would actually be arrested and tried depends on the circumstances (basically, is it &quot;worth it&quot; to them to prosecute you). Also, what you say in the &quot;explanation&quot; box matters, so I gave you a clear confession to criminal culpability. Something like &quot;I was at the store when some dude shot a lady&quot; isn't a confession to committing a crime, it more satisfies the full-disclosure requirement.</p>
