Background Check - Criminal Background Check Holes

Background Check - Criminal Background Check Holes

Are there holesin vour
criminalbackgrount check?
B y L a u r aJ . B r o w n
"Criminal backgroundchecks,
You've seenads proclaiming
just $9.95!"or "Instantonlineresults:$16.95."
Theseadstypically
promote criminal recordsdatabasesearches,which are fast,easy
and affordable.Unfortunately,there are holes in your criminal
backgroundcheckif you dependon a databasesearchaloneto
screenchurchemployeesand volunteerswho work with children.
To make sureyour searchresultsare reliablethey shouldbe
verifiedby other information,suchasSocialSecuritynumbervalihistoryandcriminalrecordschecksin counties
dation,an address
wherean applicanthaslived.
PA,hasoptednot to
AllianceChurchin Somerset,
Somerset
checks
on volunteerswho
conductinstantcriminalbackground
work with children.Instead,it asksthe PennsylvaniaStatePolice
to searchcriminal recordsstatewideand reviewstatechild abuse
"lt's the sameprocessthe state'spublic
investigationrecords.
"It
schoolsuse,"saysScottReam,executivepastor. costsabout
$20a volunteerbut it's worth it. The biggestand mostimportant
benefitis the safetyof the children."
What's wrong with database searches?
providea fast,efficientway to gathercriminal hisDatabases
tory information. However,the quality of a databasehinges on
who managesit and how oftenrecordsareupdated.Thebestdataoriginatefrom governmentsourcesthat updatetheir
basesearches
filesfrequentlyand allow ongoingaccessto the information,
"Most criminalhistorydatabases
containincompleteinformation - even those that proclaim themselvesto be national or comprehensive,"says Mike McCarty, founder of Safe
firm basedin DanHiring Solutions,a background-screening
"There'sno databasethat'scompleteenough,"he says.
ville,IN.
"Eventhe FBI nationaldatabaseisn't."As a result,McCartysays
searchinga criminal history databasealone may provide a
falsesenseof security.
"hits" or accidental
All record searchescan produce false
canpull up incorrectrecordsfor
Name-based
searches
omissions,
peoplewith commonnames.They'realsoeasyto defeatby someonewho givesfalseidenti$ringinformation.
Eliminate false hits
Privatevendors,such as SafeHiring Solutionsand ADP
typicallyuse a combinationof
Screening& SelectionServices,
44
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name,birth date and SocialSecurityinformationto eliminate
"hits" as possible.\Atrile not perfect,they can
as many false
"Mary Smith"of
reducethe chancethat you accusean innocent
wrongdoing.
searchas part ofyour background
Ifyou includea database
process,
askyourvendorthe followingquestions:
screening
. How many recordsarein the database?
. How many statesdoesit include?
. \Altrichstatesdoesit exclude?
. How frequentlyis it updated?
There'san arrayof searchoptionswhenit comesto checking
a person'scriminalhistory,includingcounty,state,federaland sex
offenderrecords.Shouldyou checkall of them?If not,which ones
will be mosthelpful to you?
Verlfy arrest information
Backgroundscreeningfirms recommendthat you check
county court recordsto verif,i arrest information found in a
search.Countycourtrecordsc0ntainthe mostaccurate
database
and completeinformation.They'll also tell you if the person
pleadedguiltyto a charge,wasacquittedat trial, or ifthe charge
wasdismissed.
'While inforAII searcheshave strengthsand weaknesses.
mation gleanedfrom county court recordsmay be the best, a
searchwon't revealcrimescommittedin adjoining
single-county
countiesor pastplacesan applicanthaslived.
County court records:Countiestlpically maintain the most
accurate,detailed,and up-to-datecriminal records.You'll find
information on felony and misdemeanorarrestsdating back
as far as the county maintains records.The recordsare public
and they can be searchedquickly at little or no cost to the
researcher.In most cases these records are not available
online.If the applicanthaslived in countiesfar away,you'll probin person.
ablyneedto hire someoneto conductthe research
questions
and clarify
answer
employees
also
can
Court
details.If your applicantwas arrestedlast week,the information
might not appearin a nationaldatabasebut it will be in the county
court record.The drawbackis that one personcan commit crimes
in many countiesover the courseof a lifetime.You may need to
searchrecordsin severalcountiesto providean accuratepicture
of pastbehavior.
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Statewidecriminal records: Somestatesmaintain criminal
history databasescontainingfelony and misdemeanorinformation. Thesedatabasesarerepositoriesfor informationcollectedat
the countylevel.Dependingon how oftenthe databaseis updated,
a statewidecriminalhistorysearchmay not includean arrestfrom
last week,but it will include information from multiple counties.
Therefore,it would be more comprehensivethan a single-county
search,althoughnot necessarilyascurrent.
Federalcourt records:Federalcrimes,suchasbank robbery
or embezzlement,won't show up in a county or state records
search.Federalcourtrecordsmighthelpyou discoverweaponsor
drug crimesthat won't appearin other criminal searches.
Records
are availableonline,but you must registerto accessthe database,
which chargesa few centseachtime you view a record.For more
informationvisitpacer.psc.uscourts.
gov.
Sex offender registry search: Checkingyour state'sonline
sexoffenderregistryis a quickway to determineif more extensive
backgroundchecksare warranted.However,it doesn'tprovide
a completecriminal history since the resultsare limited to sexrelatedconvictionsin a singlestate.For example,the sexoffender
registrywouldn't reveala theft or burglaryconviction.
In addition,not all statesreleasesexoffenderinformationor
requirethesametypesofoffendersto register.
Therefore,
resultsof
this searchshouldcomplementcriminalhistorychecksperformed
in the applicant'spreviouscountiesor statesof residence.
SocialSecuritynumber verification: If you perform a Social
Frenunny
200B
Securitynumberverificationon your applicantyou may discover
that your applicanthastried to "erase"a criminalrecordby modifying identifuing information or using another person'sSSN.A
searchwill list additionalnames,addresses,
or birthdatesassociated with the Social Securitynumber your applicant provided.
Expandinga criminal history databasesearchto include those
variantsmight yield additionalcriminal records.
Addresshistory: Determiningwhere an applicanthas lived
helpsyou determinewhich counties'criminalrecordsyou should
check.Expertsrecommendthat you searchrecordsin all counties
wherean applicanthaslived during the past l0 years.
One of the bestwaysto preventholesin your criminal backgroundchecksis to choosea reputablescreening
serviceprovider.
The bestfirms provideaccurateand up-to-dateinformation,plus
they help you complywith stateand federallawsthat governthe
useof backgroundscreeningreportsduring the hiring process.
Laura J. Brown is a writer and
communications specialist with Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company, Fort
Wayne,IN. [brotherhoodmutual.com]
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