Not to be confused with sport fishing’s “catch and release”, “cite and release” is what happens when you are detained by police for a misdemeanor violation but given a citation to appear in court in lieu of being taken to jail.
The categories of offenses for which cite and release is authorized vary wildly by jurisdiction. However, common examples are driving without a license, petty theft, and disorderly conduct.
Whether out of embarrassment or simply misunderstanding, many security clearance applicants erroneously treat such cite and release encounters with police as similar to unreportable minor traffic violations. After all, many people consider an “arrest” to require handcuffs and a trip to jail.
Unfortunately, an arrest can occur without handcuffs and jail – and failing to properly report an arrest on the SF-86 can lead to an accusation of intentional falsification.
Report it, or do your homework
To avoid that, you’ll need to do a bit of investigation before completing the SF-86 if you think this scenario could be applicable to you. For starters, take a look at the actual citation you received – if you still have it. In some jurisdictions, the officer would check a box next to the word “MISDEMEANOR” to denote that the citation constitutes an arrest versus a civil offense or the lesser “infraction” used to denote traffic citations in many states.
In other jurisdictions, both an “M” and an “I” will be imprinted on the citation following each blank space in which a charge can be written by the arresting or citing officer. The officer writes in the charge, then circles either the “M” (Misdemeanor) or “I” (Infraction).
If you don’t have the citation or court records, you’ll need to contact the police agency that issued the citation or the court at which the case was adjudicated. Ask the records clerk to retrieve your case; some jurisdictions afford police officers the discretion to cite the same offense as either a misdemeanor (arrest) or an infraction.
It is important to note, however, that all of this assumes your citation wasn’t for a strictly traffic offense, not involving alcohol or drugs, for which the fine was less than $300 (driving without a license or on a suspended license generally isn’t viewed as a “traffic offense”). Qualifying purely traffic citations are not reportable on the SF-86 regardless of whether a particular state categorizes them as a misdemeanor, infraction, or civil violation.
In the spirit of explanation by example, I will leave you with this: many years ago, when I was a police officer, I had the bizarre misfortune of encountering someone urinating in public on a near nightly basis. If the target of said urination was a tree or shrub, I cited as an infraction. If it was someone’s car door handle (yes, that happened) or somewhere equally disgusting, I cited as a misdemeanor.
If you were cited for a misdemeanor, hopefully it wasn’t for urinating on someone else’s car door handle. But regardless of the circumstances, reporting it as required is always better than being accused of trying to hide it from the government.
This article is intended as general information only and should not be construed as legal advice. Consult an attorney regarding your specific situation.
