There is no hard and fast rule on how an arrest or conviction could affect your chances of losing your security clearance – it all depends on the nature of the conduct and the whole person concept. However, criminal conduct is an adjudicative guideline that remains in the top five reasons for denial or revocation.
So what if you take up a shoplifting habit that results in a felony?
One ClearanceJobsBlog subscriber writes:
“I have held a security clearance since 2014 and it is coming up for renewal. I did something extremely stupid last week and received summons to criminal court for petit larceny misdemeanor ($200+). I am in my 40s and other than 2 traffic tickets a few years ago, I have excellent credit, no debt (besides a mortgage) or back taxes, etc. Squeaky clean record, excellent ratings/awards every year.
I have engaged a criminal defense lawyer who advised me to be proactive (1) seek counseling, (2) complete shoplifting course and (3) volunteer for community service. She is working towards a “no prosequi” at best and a dismissal as the worst-case scenario. The court date is scheduled for the end of November which she is hoping to move to December to allow for more time to complete my to-do list.
I will need to disclose this to my agency’s security officer within 10 business days (I plan to do so on Friday which is Day 7).
I have been so sick with worry and am extremely depressed about what the future will look like. Will I lose my clearance and therefore my job, my children and I will no longer have health insurance, I won’t be able to find another federal or federal related job in my field which I have dedicated over 20 years to and yes, I know, this was my own fault. I am hoping what we are allowed to make a mistake and recover. Has anyone been in/know of a similar situation and what the outcome is? Trying to anticipate what to expect in the coming months, when does the security clearance renewal process typically initiate?”
REPORT REPORT REPORT
First and foremost, report this offense to your security officer as soon as possible. Even though the original poster is sick with worry, what’s done is done, and the next step is to be honest and let the chips fall where they may. Seek out the help you need, as well, as that may be seen as a mitigating factor in addition to your honesty.
Background investigators on the forum warn that there is the risk of an incident report being added to a record, and if the clearance is suspended, that the individual could be terminated and placed in a lose of jurisdiction status. That will all be heavily dependent upon the agency, the individual, and their history with the company. This is a time to not your commitment to the mission and how this behavior is an anomaly. A mitigating factor could be to show that the incident was induced by stress or circumstance and not financial hardship, which could lead to further speculation about the possibility of blackmail or financial incentives being a way to compel you to disclose your privileged information.
Most of all, don’t seek a thrill like this again if you want to be gainfully employed in the clearance world.
Much about the clearance process resembles the Pirate’s Code: “more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules.” This case-by-case system is meant to consider the whole person, increase process security, and allow the lowest-risk/highest-need candidates to complete the process. However, it also creates a lot of questions for applicants. For this reason, ClearanceJobs maintains ClearanceJobsBlog.com – a forum where clearance seekers can ask the cleared community for advice on their specific security concerns. Ask CJ explores questions posed on the ClearanceJobs Blog forum.
If you have a tough security clearance question, you can post your questions or concerns on ClearanceJobsBlog.com.
