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About those criminal records...
NEED + GREED + OPPORTUNITY = FINANCIAL DISASTER Additional information on criminal records: Bad Practices for Background Screening Take a look at some of the statistics and court
A check of criminal records is standard procedure when due diligence research is conducted on an individual. However, even in this age of instant access to digitized information, old fashioned investigative techniques usually must be relied upon for the research of criminal records. This segment will discuss how criminal records are maintained and how they are retrieved.
The Mythical Nationwide Criminal Records Check
There is no such thing as a comprehensive national criminal records check that is avaialabe to the private sector. There is one "nationwide" criminal database, the FBI database, which is known as the NCIC (National Crime Information Center). The FBI database is NOT a public record and cannot be legally accessed by anyone other than criminal justice agencies. There are strict penalties for unauthorized access to this data, and there are penalties for buying information that is illegally obtained. In spite of the fact that unauthorized access to NCIC is illegal, there is an enormous black market for this information. The information is often obtained by individuals who were formerly in law enforcement and who have a "good old boy" network of associates who have access to NCIC. And, even if FBI records were available as public record, it would not be possible to obtain a true nationwide criminal search without submitting a fingerprint card, as Interstate Identification Index (the non-fingerprint NCIC database) only receives data from twenty two states.
There are thousands of separate criminal indexes maintained at the county, parish, township, and city levels throughout the United States To conduct a nationwide search would require accessing each individual index. Recently, proprietary databases have been created to access that information in its’ raw format. Because of the very nature of these databases they are NOT compliant with the FCRA as a primary tool for hiring decisions. They also seldom contain a date-of-birth, making the records found “name-match-only”. What role these database searches do play is as an “indicator” for searching for criminal records beyond the address of record of the applicant. For compliance with the FCRA, any records (hit’s) found within these database searches must be cross-checked with an onsite county courthouse record search. When common names are involved, this could be difficult, time consuming and expensive. The HIRE-SAFE product is called the National Criminal Profile Report, which is used as a supplement to the onsite county courthouse search or as a “pointer” to locate criminal records beyond where the address history suggests to look.
Statewide Criminal Checks
It is possible to search statewide for criminal records in 38 states. From a practical perspective, a count level check may be a better option even though a particular state may have a publicly available statewide index, as it may take weeks or months to receive the information. Also, the state criminal indexes receive their data from the counties. If a county fails to report criminal data to the state, the statewide index may not be complete. The most thorough approach is to search at the county level in the counties where the subject has lived.
Statewide searches are available within 3 to 5 days in: AL, AR, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, IL, ID, IA, KS, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NJ, NC, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TX, UT, VA, WA and WI. However, some of these states may require a signed release and do not provide a complete history of felonies and misdemeanors.
A word of warning about statewide criminal records…some commercial public records vendors claiming to provide statewide criminal records are actually providing statewide inmate searches, and calling them criminal searches. If the subject has been placed on probation, released from prison, or is sentenced to the county jail rather than state prison, the search will yield a “no record.” Prisoner locator services are available free from the states’ corrections or prisons departments, and online inmate locator searches for several states can be found at the Corrections Connections site. Visit the States & Counties page for more detailed information.
County Level Criminal Checks
Checking for criminal court records at the county level is the primary method used by HIRE-SAFE. The county courthouse is where the record originated, and therefore represents the logical and accurate starting point. The information is current, which is a requirement of the Fair Credit Reporting Act for employment evaluation purposes. In some counties felony and misdemeanor records are maintained in a combined index, in others felonies and misdemeanor records must be checked separately.
How Records Are Recorded
Crimes are usually divided into three categories; (1) Felonies, (2) Misdemeanors and (3) Infractions. Within these categories can be subdivisions, levels of severity, etc. Generally, a felony is a crime that is punishable by a sentence of 365 days or more in jail, or death. 
Common felonies include: murder, theft, burglary, serious drug possession and distribution, weapons charges, rape, kidnapping, robbery, assaults, etc. A misdemeanor generally is an offense punishable by a sentence of less than 365 days in jail, and includes minor theft, minor assault, some forms of drug possession, harassment and serious motor vehicle violations. An infraction is usually a “ticket” type of offense where resolution is either paying the fine or appearing in a lower court. Infractions are not reportable offenses for employment purposes unless the case is escalated into a misdemeanor.
It is not possible to simply "plug in" someone's Social Security number into a criminal records database and find all the criminal convictions pertaining to that individual. Criminal records are indexed by the name of the defendant. Therefore, getting the correct spelling of the name is critical to obtaining accurate results. If the person had a former name, that name should also be checked. In those jurisdictions where the clerk of court will be performing the research, a full date of birth is usually required.
While the majority of jurisdictions have computerized their criminal records, most do not allow offsite access. Therefore, a researcher must be physically dispatched to the courthouse to search the public access terminals. Many courts do not even offer public access terminals, as they have not developed systems that separate public records data from nonpublic records. Therefore, the researcher may have to submit the request to the clerk and return in a day or two for the results. The court may provide access to its criminal docket index (often in books or microfiche). However, the index usually contains nothing more than dates, case numbers and names of defendants. If the subject has a common name many records will be found for that name that has nothing to do with the subject. Therefore, all case files found on the index with the same name must be examined for a match to date of birth, and sometimes Social Security number or driver's license number. It will also be necessary to examine the case files to determine the charges and the dispositions.
In many locations the only information available is name of defendant, case number, and date. Penal code violations may or may not be listed and disposition is rarely included. If a record is found a court runner will still have to be sent to the courthouse to find out whether the record is relevant to the subject and the disposition. Therefore, the county criminal court records searches available via most online commercial public records vendors should be regarded only as a tool to rule out the existence of a criminal record.
How We Obtain the Information
In the majority of jurisdictions, a human being must be injected into the process in order to research criminal records accurately. HIRE-SAFE contracts with onsite court researches that retrieve the results from the local county courthouse. These “court runners” have a nationwide network of skilled court researchers and have extensive quality control procedures in place.
Some courts will perform a free check over the phone. However, the information should not be relied upon, as the clerk answering the phone may or may not provide correct or complete information. Most courts will respond to written requests; however, it can sometimes take weeks or even months to get the results back.
Some of these databases include felony convictions only, so it is important to check with their customer service unit to find out what’s included. (The help screens are not explicit.) These statewide searches are excellent for due diligence research, when you want to “throw out a wide net,” but they definitely are not a substitute for county level searches.
The US Department of Justice conducted a survey of prison inmates in 1991. They found that crimes were usually committed near the criminals’ homes and that 43% of inmates were in prison for crimes committed in their own neighborhoods. If the subject is a criminal it is likely that a record will be uncovered when all jurisdictions where he or she has lived are checked. However, crimes committed in another county or state without an “indicator” or “pointer” to look there will probably not be found. Arcane and fragmented record keeping systems can make criminal searches seem like navigating through a maze and shoe leather is still required to research criminal records in most locations. However, more online criminal records may become available as governmental agencies discover that they can make money by selling the records online.
Criminal Records and Employment
How to Seal a Juvenile Criminal Record
What the Records Will Reveal
Typical Employee Crimes
Best Practices for Background Screening
cases. You’ll be amazed!
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not just a data source. So why choose HIRE-SAFE?
HIRE-SAFE is committed to building a relationship that is dedicated to performing for the best interest of your business.
States that Limit Reporting of Criminal Convictions HIRE-SAFE automatically researches as far back as possible and reports all criminal conviction information that exists in court records. However, some states have reporting requirements that limit Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA’s) such as HIRE-SAFE to reporting criminal convictions that occurred only within 7 years from the date of conviction, parole or release from imprisonment. Some of these states provide an exception that enables CRA’s to legally report criminal conviction information as far back as court records are kept on file if the Subject’s salary is above a state-specified level. . State Minimum Salary Code California No Exception Colorado $75,000 Kansas No Exception Chapter 50 Article 7 Section 704 Maryland No Exception Massachusetts* No Exception Montana No Exception Nevada No Exception New Hampshire No Exception New Mexico No Exception Chapter 56 Article 3 Section 6 New York $25,000 Texas $75,000 Washington $20,000 Title 19 Chapter 182 Section 040 * Massachusetts limits reporting of misdemeanors to 5 years and does not allow the following crimes to be reported: First conviction misdemeanors for: drunkenness, simple assault, speeding, minor traffic violations, affray or disturbance of the peace.
Helping qualified people with criminal records have access to meaningful job opportunities.
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