|
| |
|
|
 |
|
|
Please Note: No information on
BackgroundFerret.com is intended as legal advice. If using these
reports for employee or tenant screening, BackgroundFerret.com strongly
recommends that you consult with a legal professional. A legal
professional can help insure that you are in complete compliance with
all federal, state, county, and local fair housing laws as well as all
other applicable laws governing the use of public records. For links to
the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Housing Act, please refer to
our Free Resources page. |
| |
-
What information is
needed to request a criminal background check and how quickly will I
receive the results?
-
How far back does the data from your
criminal records go?
-
What is the difference between a
felony, a misdemeanor, and an infraction?
-
Should I request a statewide or a
county-level criminal search?
-
Why is there no statewide criminal
background search in some states?
-
Do I need a person's permission to run
a criminal background check?
-
Is is legal to reject a potential
employee or rental applicant for having a criminal past?
-
How consistent do I need to be when
running checks on potential employees and rental applicants?
-
Are driving records included in the
results of a criminal background check?
-
Are any criminal background checks
100% foolproof?
|
|
|
Please feel free to contact us with any
other questions you may have:
email:
support@backgroundferret.com
phone: |
|
|
1. What information is
needed to request a criminal background check and how quickly will I
receive the results?
The applicant's first
name, last name, name and date-of-birth are the minimum requirements to
run a criminal background check in most cases. If the social security
number is needed for a particular search, the word (REQUIRED) will
appear next to the social security number field on the request form for
that search. Please refer to the detailed descriptions of each search
to see which additional information is usually returned with each type
of search.
When requesting a
criminal background report, always use the person's legal name
because that's how the courthouses will most likely have it listed. Do
not provide nicknames. Don't use Bob instead of Robert or Bill instead
of William, unless that is their legal name. It does not matter what
everyone calls someone; what does matter is their legal name. Some court
records may not contain the defendant's date-of-birth and/or social
security number, so be sure to enter the name exactly as you want us to
search it. There is a separate charge for each name searched -
including alias, previous, and maiden names.
The turnaround times
vary by which search you order, so please read the full detailed search
description of the report that you are ordering to determine how quickly
you will get the results back. For detailed information on a search,
including how long your report will take to process, click on the name
of the search or the "more..." link to read the full search
description before ordering.
<back to top> |
|
|
2. How far back does the
data from your criminal records go?
When you order a county-level search, you
have the option of ordering either a seven or ten year search. For
statewide searches, please refer to the detailed search description
provided with each search for the depth of information, turnaround
times, and to see how far back the search goes. For detailed information
on a search, including detailed information on what type of records are
searched for each type of report, simply click on the name of the search
or the "more..." link to read the full search description before
ordering. If you still have questions, please contact us at
support@backgroundferret.com
or call us at toll-free at
during normal business hours before ordering.
<back to
top> |
|
|
3. What is the difference
between a felony, a misdemeanor, and an infraction?
 |
Infractions are typically
the least "serious" of the three types of offenses listed and
usually are offenses for which the punishment is a fine. |
|
|
Misdemeanors are more
serious because they can be punishable by a fine and/or jail
time - but usually less than a year in jail. State-level,
high-level, and gross misdemeanors are some of the names that
usually indicate more serious offenses than simple or low-level
misdemeanors. |
|
|
Felonies are the most
serious crimes. Although there are exceptions, the general rule
of thumb used by many is that felonies are offenses which more
often carry a possible sentence of a year or more in
jail. This does not mean that everyone who is found
guilty of a felony is sentenced to a year or more in jail. It
also does not mean that everyone who spends a year or
more in jail has ever committed a felony. |
Two common misconceptions about
misdemeanors and felonies:
|
|
There is a common misconception
that all drug offenses are automatically felonies. This is far
from true. Very often, the amount of a drug that someone has
helps determine if the offense is a felony or a misdemeanor.
Other factors may include the type of drug and whether or not
there was an intent to sell, manufacture, or distribute it. |
|
|
If a person is convicted (found
guilty) of a misdemeanor or even a felony, it does not always
mean that he/she is sentenced to a prison term. Many people,
especially first time offenders, may be given other options such
as treatment programs, probation, fines, and/or community
service. |
<back to
top> |
|
|
4. Should I request a
statewide or a county-level criminal search?
Statewide criminal records are collected electronically, either directly
form the state or from different counties with a state (any exceptions
are noted in the detailed search descriptions). Thousands of employers,
apartment communities, and landlords across the country use electronic
statewide criminal checks every day because of the scope of their search
and because they can almost always be returned much quicker than
manual record checking. The limitation of this type of search is that
because the legal justice system is large and so complicated, it is
sometimes possible that a record may not be properly communicated to the
state by a county. There is also the possibility of data entry errors
within the legal system itself when recording someone's personal
information. Even given these worst case possible scenarios, statewide
searches remain an excellent way to check an area much larger than a
county level search - and at a lower cost.
Statewide criminal searches are usually best for checking:
|
|
The history of applicants whom you have no reason to believe
have a criminal history in a particular area. If you know that
an applicant has or probably has a criminal history in a
particular county, you may want to consider following up a
statewide search with a manual county-level search. |
|
|
To see how you may be evaluated by a company or landlord that
uses the same type of statewide electronic criminal background
checks. |
|
|
Records that are included in the search description. Because the
type and depth of information included in the statewide searches
can vary greatly from state to state, it is important to read
the full search description to see if it covers the areas and
type of records that you need searched. |
Manual county-level criminal background checks are generally considered
to be the most accurate and current because they are performed by a
trained researcher collecting information directly from the
courthouse(s). This personal onsite attention by a professional
researcher increases the chances that if a record exists that it will be
found. The limitation to this type of search is its scope: Texas alone
has over 250 counties, and it would be too expensive to send a
researcher out to every single courthouse. Plus, the records for a
criminal offense are generally kept at the courthouse in the county
where the offense was committed and prosecuted - which is not always the
same county that the applicant lives or works in. For certain types of
crimes, an offender is more likely to drive away from their hometown to
decrease their odds of being caught or recognized. Because many people
travel so freely through different counties on a daily basis, it may be
difficult to determine which county to search for general screening
purposes.
Manual county-level criminal searches are best for checking:
|
|
Criminal history records in a state with no statewide search
alternative |
|
|
Misdemeanor records in states which have felony-only statewide
searches |
Finally, it should be stressed again to read the search descriptions
carefully. BackgroundFerret.com offers a variety of searches that vary
in the types of records that are returned. If you have any questions
about the coverage of a search or which search may best suit your needs,
please contact us at
support@backgroundferret.com
or call us at toll-free at
during normal business hours before ordering.
<back to
top> |
|
|
5. Why is there no
statewide criminal background search in some states?
The difference is the way in which each
state stores its information and how publicly accessible they make that
information. Until fairly recently, many states either did not have an
electronic statewide search available to the public, or each county with
the state had their information in varying formats. Under such
restrictions, performing a statewide search just was not realistic. Some
states also do not allow publicly available databases.
<back to
top> |
|
|
6. Do I need a person's
permission to run a criminal background check?
Although criminal records are in most
cases considered to be public records, you sometimes do need a person's
permission before running a criminal report.
If you intend to use the information
provided through our services to make a decision that could negatively
affect another person's ability to secure employment, insurance, credit,
or housing, then you must first inform the subject that you are
obtaining a Consumer Report, and obtain their written authorization.
Many employers and apartment communities
have found that letting the applicants know that a signed release is
needed has extra benefits: good applicants are encouraged that you are
concerned about keeping your workplace or property crime-free, while bad
applicants will sometimes withdraw themselves from the application
process, saving you valuable time and money.
<back to
top> |
|
|
7. Is is legal to reject a
potential employee or rental applicant for having a criminal past?
First, check with a legal professional
(preferably one that specializes in your type of business) to make sure
that denying an applicant based on a criminal record is legal in your
locality. Criminal History is not one of the classes of protected
categories under federal law. Thousands of employers and apartment
communities across the country currently use a prior criminal record
history as the basis for rejecting an applicant. There are many ways
that these communities incorporate criminal background checks into their
screening process.
If you intend to use the information
provided through our services to make a decision that could negatively
affect another person's ability to secure employment, insurance, credit,
or housing, then you must first inform them that you are obtaining a
Consumer Report and obtain their written authorization. If used for
these purposes, most interpretations of the the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (FCRA) suggest that you can only consider the past seven years of
the applicant's history, except for convictions - which can be
considered no matter how long ago they occurred.
Some communities only reject applicants
for putting false information on the application; if an applicant
checked off that they have had no felony convictions and it turns out
that they did, then the applicant is rejected. Other communities deny
any applicant if they have a prior conviction of a nature that may put
their other tenants at risk. For example, such a community may decide to
reject an applicant for arson or assault, but not for tax evasion.
<back to
top> |
|
|
8.
How consistent do I need to be when running checks on potential
employees and rental applicants?
EXTREMELY consistent. This
can not be emphasized enough. To avoid discrimination lawsuits, you must
set up a consistent screening process that you follow for ALL
applicants. Many people want to run a criminal background check only on
applicants that they "have a bad feeling about". Unfortunately, this can
open you up to a Fair Housing or Discrimination lawsuit! In many cases,
you should run criminal background checks on all of your employees,
potential employees, or rental applicants, or none at all.
Consistency can not be stressed enough in
this regard. You should have a written policy that you keep on file that
is as detailed as possible that explains any reasons that you would
reject an applicant - such as bad employment references, a previous
negative rental history reference, income requirements, criminal
history, etc. Again, if possible, it is good advice to have a legal
expert that is familiar with discrimination, employment, and/or housing
laws to review your policy.
If you do plan on using criminal
background checks for employee or tenant screening, make sure you are as
specific as possible when detailing exactly which type of offenses you
would reject an applicant for.
<back to
top> |
|
|
9. Are driving records
included in the results of a criminal background check?
Unless otherwise noted in the search
description for a particular report, a driving offense will only show up
on a criminal report if it is serious enough to be considered a criminal
by the state or county where it occurred. For example, speeding tickets
usually would not show up on a criminal history reports, but vehicular
homicide and many driving-under-the-influence and
driving-while-intoxicated offenses would. As with other criminal
records, it also depends on if these offenses are considered
infractions, misdemeanors, or felonies and whether or not those type are
records are included in the type of search that you have ordered.
If you are looking specifically for
driving records, you may want to directly contact the Department of
Motor vehicles in the appropriate state as most states store driving
history records separate from the criminal justice system records.
<back to
top> |
|
|
10. Are any criminal
background checks 100% foolproof?
No, absolutely not. There are several
reasons that a criminal offense may not show up even using the best
search methods. These include: data entry errors or omissions within the
legal system itself, a county's failure to report all of their data
properly to the appropriate state agency, or cases in which the criminal
has successfully used a false identity when processed through the legal
system.
While no system is foolproof,
BackgroundFerret.com is committed to providing the most accurate and
up-to-date information possible. Every report is checked against the
original request multiple times during the screening process to avoid
data entry discrepancies on our end. And BackgroundFerret.com has the
reach, scope, and experience of a dedicated team of researchers who have
a long history of criminal background check screening - long before such
reports were even available on the Internet.
<back to
top> |
|
|
Criminal
Records
