Author Archives: Criminal Background Check

Outsource Your Criminal Background Check Requirements

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Businesses & Organizations across the country are trusting CriminalBackgroundRecords.com with their Criminal Background Retrieval Needs, Find out how to Join Them!

Information Enterprises, inc. CriminalBackgroundRecords.com site has been pioneering the criminal background check industry for almost a decade.  During that time the site has been constantly evolving to meet the requirements of its customers and the background retrieval industry.  If you are looking for a trusted partner to perform your background checks, you won’t be disappointed with CriminalBackgroundRecords.com.

Below is a snapshot of what background checks and solutions the site is currently offering the marketplace.

Our current individual product offering is as follows:

*To qualified companies and organizations we also offer other products like Eviction Record Checks, Credentials Checks, and Professional Verifications including Education & Employment Verifications.

**All our Criminal Background Checks come with a free National Sex Offender Check, free America’s Most Wanted Criminals List Search, and free International Terrorist Background Search.

Our current screening solutions are:

  • Employment Screening – available to any business & organization based in the USA
  • Tenant Screening – available to every landlord, leasing agent, realtor, property manager, apartment management company & owner in the USA
  • Applicant Screening – available to any legitimate organization based in the USA

We also offer custom made background check solutions to the US Federal Government, All 50 US States, all 3,143 counties and every city, town, parish and local government in the USA.  Our government codes are as follows:

  • CAGE/NCAGE CODE:  4EY40
  • NAICS:  561611
  • SIC:  7375

This has been a CriminalBackgroundRecords.com News Publication – All rights reserved
CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is “An Information Enterprises Solution”

Now Serving USA Government Agencies Federal, State, County, City, Town and even Parishes!

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Information Enterprises, Inc.
CriminalBackgroundRecords.com
DUNS:  126910582
NAICS:  561611
SIC:  7375
CAGE CODE:  4EY40

With our high quality premium criminal background checks we have become a great source for the US Government to fulfill their background checking requirements.  We already have multiple government agencies from the military to local government organizations taking advantage of our robust criminal background check and state of the art ordering system including our intuitive front-end interface

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com data storage features, central control capabilities, monthly billing, administrative usage monitoring and customized reporting makes us a confident choice for government entities looking for quality, flexibility and security.

Our criminal reports are formatted for easy interpretation, printing and storing.  View, store and access all your previous and current transactions online whenever you want.

Reasons why we are a great choice for federal, state and local government entities:

  • Running criminal background checks online through our proprietary system is easy
  • Our criminal reports are professionally formatted for easy interpretation
  • Running statewide and national background check only takes seconds to complete
  • You can validate a social security number as an add on to a background check
    • This add-on search will also give you address history details
  • Manage multiple offices in different locations with our central control feature
  • Our data storage features are numerous and include detailed order history reporting
  • We are already registered in CCR (Central Contracting Registration)
  • We have a current and valid certification with ORCA (Online Representations & Certifications Application) and our certification can be found at:  https://orca.bpn.gov

“Serving Local, State & Federal Governments”
Products include:  County Criminal Background Check, Statewide Criminal Background Check,
Multi-State Criminal Background Check, National Criminal Background Check,
Employment & Education Verifications, and SSN Validation & Address History Traces
Along with other Background Checks and Add-On Searches

Information Enterprises, Inc.
Government Agents/Entities interested in our products & services please send inquiries to:  bd@InformationEnterprises.com
One of our government specialists will then contact you and give you a free consultation

Visit us at:  www.InformationEnterprises.com or www.CriminalBackgroundRecords.com

This has been a CriminalBackgroundRecords.com News Publication – All rights reserved
CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is “An Information Enterprises Solution”

Central Billing for Multiple Background Check Accounts

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Now Offering Central Billing for Multiple Accounts
Along with Administrative Usage Monitoring, Reporting & Control
For Large Companies and Organizations in the USA

Due to large demand of central control for criminal background checks, employment screening and tenant screening in the USA, CriminalBackgroundRecords.com has created a new environment now available for companies and organizations operating in multiple offices, areas and states.  These clients wanted multiple accounts/users, and central administrative usage monitoring and reporting.  This is now possible with CriminalBackgroundRecords.com and is becoming a much more popular background screening solution with large processing customers throughout America.

This is how it works and how we customize this solution for well qualified customers:

  1. Define how many individual user accounts need to be setup along with which background checks each of them are allowed to perform.
  2. Each user account needs to fill out our Monthly Billing application form as each User ID needs to be registered (we walk each individual user through this process if need be).
  3. We setup a Master Account that can monitor and view the transactional usage & other activity on all the individual user accounts from one view.
    • We will create the Master Account for you or whoever is going to be overseeing/monitoring your transactions including all your criminal background check orders.
  4. We will send you a monthly invoice each month that includes all of the individual user accounts on it.  Very simple, just one bill each month for all activity.
  5. If your goal is to start running background checks in such a system ASAP, we will have a business development representative work with you on setting up all your accounts and other necessary prep work.  Remember significant volume discounts are available so please ask about our pricing.
  6. We can have all your user accounts, master account, billing etc., all setup within a few days!

This opportunity is extremely valuable to large corporations, organizations and government agencies that have or want individual user accounts across multiple offices or states.  This new platform gives your organization the flexibility of multiple user accounts and the security and oversight that comes with central control (through usage monitoring and all encompassing reports).  CriminalBackgroundRecords.com delivers this new platform complete with central invoicing, administrative access and only one bill to pay each month which includes a breakdown of all individual user account activity.

For more information regarding this new platform or to sign up for it, please contact our Business Development Team at:  bd@infoeinc.com or bd@CriminalBackgroundRecords.com

This has been a CriminalBackgroundRecords.com News Publication – All rights reserved
CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is “An Information Enterprises Solution”

Tenant Screening Background Check

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How Criminal Background Checks and Verifying Your Applicants SSN

Fits into Your Tenant Screening Model

Tenant Screening and Resident Screening also known as Applicant Screening or Rental Screening is the process of discovering whether or not a potential renter meets an already established rental acceptance criteria.  This article seeks to explain that criminal background checks and social security number validations discover information about an applicant that could reveal data inconsistent with that provided on a rental application.  It will also bring to light the benefits of adding these additional screening components to your existing tenant screening processes, and how they can aid in keeping your community safe while at the same time preventing costly evictions, lawsuits and even property damage.

Why should I pay for Criminal Background Checks as part of my Tenant Screening process?

Performing a statewide criminal background check or national criminal background check used to take more than a day to complete, making it difficult for apartment unit leasing agents to make quick decisions on perspective tenants.  Now most applicants apply to many rental properties before moving in to one and do not have the patience or the liberty to wait more than a day to find out if they have been accepted. If you are one of those residential communities that never ran criminal checks because they took to long, it may now be time to re-consider.

These days property owners, apartment managers and landlords have the dual responsibility of running both a profitable operation and providing a safe environment for their residents to live in.  They understand that running a profitable apartment rental business and keeping their community safe are not conflicting initiatives.

What is Considered Negligent Leasing in the Apartment Industry Today?

When a lease is signed prematurely it can result into negligent leasing.  To avoid the risks associated with premature leasing it is recommended that you complete a series of background checks including a criminal background check and social security number validation on your applicant(s) prior to signing a lease.  These background checks can reveal applicant fraud and past criminal convictions that are considered rejectionable offenses and can be filtered out prior to leasing.  Verifying the information disclosed on a rental application is the responsibility of the party leasing the apartment unit.  Conducting employment verifications internally or outsourcing them is also highly recommended prior to leasing.

Recidivism in the form of repeat offenders can be discovered by running a simple criminal background check prior to signing a lease.  You can reduce your exposure to real risks present when screening new tenants by running criminal background checks.  Properties trying to avoid theft, violence and property damage by previous offenders can accomplish this by running a criminal history check on applicants before accepting them and signing a lease.

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com makes the criminal background checking process easy and does it by meeting the demands of realtors, landlords, property managers, property owners and apartment leasing agents in the USA.  Adding a criminal background check and social security number validation to your applicant screening model will benefit your overall goals of profitability and community safety.

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com provides criminal background checks and social security number validations in the form of professional informational reports.  We do this online for a reasonable fee, and provide exceptional service to all our clients.  We offer criminal background checks at the state, county, and national levels and grant generous discounts to qualified businesses and organizations throughout the United States of America.

We only serve the American Marketplace.

This has been a CriminalBackgroundRecords.com News Publication – All rights reserved

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is “An Information Enterprises Solution”

Employment Screening Background Checks & FCRA Compliance

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The staff at CriminalBackgroundRecords.com has heard from human resources managers, individuals and other corporate personnel throughout the United States regarding issues pertaining to employment screening practices.  What we have found is that there is a lot of confusion and uncertainty regarding the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and what real life employment screening practices need to do to remain or become compliant. The top issues on this list include how to appropriately use public records like criminal background checks in the business world, how to protect yourself from applicant fraud, and how to ensure that your company has procedures compliant with applicable law relating to hiring, firing or promoting of employees primarily as defined in the FCRA.  This article addresses these concerns and demonstrates why using a background check provider like CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is a wise choice in today’s market place.  The availability and feasibility of quality criminal background checks, along with social security validation, gives employers the ability to effectively screen applicants within their desired timeframe demanded by the industry.

Today there is another tool available to employers in addition to criminal background checks.   This tool is the social security number & address history trace.  This important new component to a sound employment screening model is known as an SSN Trace, SSN Validation, or SSN Check.  This quick search can determine if the SSN being used by an applicant is in fact valid, and to ensure that this applicant is in truth who they claim to be.  Performing a criminal background check today in conjunction with an SSN Validation and address history trace is a wise choice.

Commonly asked Employment Screening Questions:

  • Do all employers need to have applicants or employees sign a release form before performing a background check? YES, and must give disclosure (FCRA – 1681B).
  • If an applicant/employee requests to review a copy of their criminal background record, does the employer need to show or provide a copy of the criminal record to the applicant? NO, under federal law you are not required too, unless there is an adverse action.  However, state laws vary; for instance Massachusetts Law gives all employees full access to their files at their place of employment.
  • If an employer takes adverse action on an applicant or employee because of a criminal background check, does the employer need to give notice stating that a criminal background check has adversely affected them? YES, employers must notify the applicant.
  • Are employers required to keep criminal background checks on file? Currently this is up to the judgment of the employer.
  • Knowing that a county criminal search is the most trusted criminal history check available in the USA today, why do employers run instant state or instant national criminal background checks first and not county checks? Coverage – They want a larger area covered to enhance their chances of finding a record if in fact one exists.  Speed – A county search can take days to complete and in order to not create a bottleneck in employment screening processes, the faster searches are preferred.  NOTE:  The quality of instant criminal searches has dramatically improved over the years.  Statewide instant criminal background checks & the National instant criminal background check if accessed through a provider like CriminalBackgroundRecords.com are now very reliable.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) & Background Checks (Public Records) for Employment Purposes
(Sections 604, 606, & 615 of the FCRA explain the responsibilities of using consumer reports for employment purposes.)

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com adheres to part 2 of section 613 of the FCRA
CriminalBackgroundRecords.com (a site owned and operated by Information Enterprises Inc.) has customers that use its criminal background checks for employment purposes.  For such customers the site maintains strict procedures to ensure that whenever a criminal history record is found in conjunction with legitimate employment purposes, that it is confirmed through a county background check to ensure that the record in question is in fact current and accurate.  These policies are in place so that employers can be confident that the criminal information they are receiving is both complete and current.

The FCRA is designed primarily to protect the privacy of consumer report information and to guarantee that the information supplied by consumer reporting agencies is as accurate as possible. Amendments to the FCRA — which went into effect September 30, 1997 — significantly increase the legal obligations of employers who use consumer reports. Congress expanded employer responsibilities because of concern that inaccurate or incomplete consumer reports could cause applicants to be denied jobs or cause employees to be denied promotions unjustly. The amendments ensure (1) that individuals are aware that consumer reports may be used for employment purposes and agree to such use, and (2) that individuals are notified promptly if information in a consumer report may result in a negative employment decision.   Federal Trade Commission – Details and URL found at the bottom of this document

Most of today’s employers perform criminal background checks on their applicants.  They also pull other consumer reports as part of their pre-employment screening processes.  And some employers even perform background checks on current employees (usually for reassignment, promotion or retention purposes).  Not all employers are the same, for instance; one employer may only want a reference check while others may want to see driving records and criminal history reports.  For security jobs or high level positions usually an investigative consumer report will be ordered.  This report differs from the others in one key aspect; it includes interviews with the applicant’s friends, neighbors, and associates which addresses the very character of the person.  An investigative consumer report has separate legal issues concerning it.  These investigative reports have stricter compliance issues than regular consumer reports like credit checks or criminal history checks and therefore have specific guidelines associated with them that are spelled out in the FCRA (You can read them in Section 606 – Disclosure of investigative consumer reports).

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com actively incorporates compliance issues into its product offering, and constantly is enhancing the quality of its background reports.  A sound screening policy that we would recommend to employers is to run a social security validation check along with a statewide or national criminal check first and then if a record is found (that would adversely effect the applicant) to then run a county search where the record was found in.  This ensures you are getting the most accurate and complete record available before making any employment related decisions based in part or in whole by the public record information we provided.

Bundled Employment Screening Background Check Packages are now available from CriminalBackgroundRecords.com and include combinations of varying criminal background checks and a social security validation & address history trace.  Each option includes a free National Sex Offender Check, Terrorist Database Search & USA Most Wanted List Search.  Please visit us online at:  www.CriminalBackgroundRecords.com where you can become a member for free and start accessing quality criminal background checks today, over the Internet in minutes!

If you are interested in reading more about employment screening background checks practices and the use of consumer reports; we recommend that you, employers, and human resource professionals throughout the United States read the following article from the Federal Trade Commission under “Facts for Businesses” titled:  “Using Consumer Reports:  What Employers Need to Know” found at the following URL:  www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/credit/bus08.shtm

This has been a CriminalBackgroundRecords.com News Publication – All rights reserved
CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is “An Information Enterprises Solution”

Monthly Billing with Net Terms – Member Benefits for Criminal Background Check

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Monthly Billing with Net Terms Now Available
Also, More Reasons Why it is a Good Time to Become a Member of CriminalBackgroundRecords.com

If you are a new user of our online criminal background checking system or a long time customer, this article is worth a read.  You may be able to get more out of CriminalBackgroundRecords.com than you are currently aware of.  We want you to know that we are not a static company, but an evolving entity that is constantly making upgrades to our website, transactional system, criminal background retrieval processes, criminal reports, billing options, customer services, quality controls, security safeguards, customer confidentiality and information protections, infrastructure, general operations and all other relevant parts of our business.

Payment Options
We offer a variety of ways to pay for a criminal background check on our website.  As a convenience to you we accept PayPal, Google Checkout, Credit Cards including Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express, and now accept Company Checks through our new monthly billing service.

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com Monthly Billing Service
As a monthly billed member of CriminalBackgroundRecords.com you will get Net 15 payment terms.  This should help your company’s cash flow and make life easier for your accounts payable department.

Example:

  1. You place multiple background checks in January
  2. At the end of January we send you an invoice via email for orders you placed in January
  3. Then you have 15 days from date of invoice to pay the bill (February 15th would be your due date).
  4. That’s it!  You can process criminal background checks 24/7 every day of the year!
    1. As a monthly billed member you can view previously placed orders, old invoices, and have access to other useful information like employment screening documents.

Employment Screening
For people using our background checks for employment screening purposes, they will have access to industry forms and other documents as a courtesy to help them remain compliant with current laws and regulations regarding issues pertaining to hiring, not hiring, promoting, retaining and reassigning potential or active employees.

Here are some of the forms and documents we provide to our clients:

  • Employer Certification – Required when requesting consumer reports for employment purposes.
  • A Summary of Your Rights Under the FCRA
  • Sample Employee Release Forms like Adverse Action Letters
  • And informational pieces like “What Employers Should Know”

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com has taken a proactive role to help keep its members compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and all other laws pertaining to employment screening and the proper use of consumer reports like criminal background checks.  Although we do not offer legal advice as we are not a law firm; we do value our clients and want them to remain compliant with current laws affecting their business and so we offer certain informational pieces to promote awareness and due diligence.

Reasons why it is a good time to become a monthly billed member – A List of Benefits

  • Speed.  We free up your valuable time with our online background checking system
    • Once you log into our site the data entry required to run a criminal search is minimal
    • Most of our criminal background checks can be performed instantly
  • Account History. We store your order results for 60 days and make them only available to you. This allows you to access and print out previous orders.
  • Convenience.  You can order background checks 24/7 any day of the year
  • Transactional. Run a criminal background check with SSN Validation & Address History Traces
  • Choice.  Run national background checks, statewide, multi-state and/or any county in the USA
  • Payment Options.  Pay with either PayPal, Google Checkout, Credit Card or Check
  • Paperless.  Have invoices emailed to you while taking advantage of our Net Terms
  • Storage.  Enjoy your own allocated storage space on one of our servers
    • Store invoices, previously placed orders, account information and more
  • Human Contact.  Get direct access to a client specialist and our customer service team

*CriminalBackgroundRecords.com has policies and procedures in place to help thwart its customers from using its furnished reports for any illegal use and/or purpose including unlawful discrimination, identity theft, violation of privacy, and defamation of character.

Feel Safe running a Criminal Background Check on CriminalBackgroundRecords.com

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Our Security Features and Why our Clients Trust Us.

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com has been conducting criminal background checks over the Internet for over 7 years and has never had a breach in its security safeguards.  Not only is our transactional information encrypted and kept confidential, we also implement third party solutions to further enhance our overall security efforts.

We also have in place the following Security Safeguards:

  • We have been a long time user of Scan Alert’s Hacker Safe product; (recently changed to McAfee SECURE). This product helps us protect our customers from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.  Our site is tested and certified every day to make sure we pass the rigorous McAfee Secure Security Scan.  You will notice the active McAfee Secure logo on our homepage along with today’s date, this shows that the site has passed all security tests as of today.
  • We encrypt the information captured and transferred over the Internet on our site.  We have a GeoTrust Secure Site Seal on our site indicating that the information you send to this site is secured using SSL encryption — the industry standard method for safely transferring information over the Internet.
  • Firewalls (both software & hardware).  Sensitive data like our customers personally identifiable information is kept secure and confidential and only released for billing and other functions necessary for fulfilling your background check search request.
  • Trust.  We are an Accredited Business with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). We have been a member since 2002.  Currently our BBB Rating is A+ (the highest possible ranking).
  • Internal Procedures.  Limitations on personnel password access to our servers, databases and other critical systems are strictly enforced.

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is serious when it comes to securing and protecting the data sent to and from its website.  CriminalBackgroundRecords.com feels the best way to protect its customer’s online identity is by protecting the information they enter on the site including their personally identifiable information. Due to the sensitive nature of the information captured and sent on CriminalBackgroundRecords.com, all transactions are stored in non-publicly accessible areas and are transmitted in encrypted form.

We employ these and other security safeguards to help protect all personally identifiable information our users provide to us from loss, misuse, and/or unauthorized alteration. As a transactional website we handle the facilitation of Credit Card, PayPal, and Google Checkout orders and do so with current SSL Encryption technology.  Whenever we ask you to transmit sensitive information, such as a credit card number, your address etc., that information is encrypted and not decipherable until it reaches its final destination.

For more on CriminalBackgroundRecords.com Security Features visit the sites Security Page at:  www.CriminalBackgroundRecords.com/security.html

This has been a CriminalBackgroundRecords.com News Publication – All rights reserved
CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is “An Information Enterprises Solution”

E-Verify Citizenship and Immigration Status – Criminal Background Checks & Social Security Verifications

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Proving Citizenship and Immigration Status
Criminal Background Checks & Social Security Verifications
And a peek into the US Citizenship & Immigration Services

On March 1, 2003, service and benefit functions of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) transitioned into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS).  The USCIS which can be found online at:  http://www.uscis.gov/ outlines their E-Verify system which is free to employers and lets them know the employment eligibility of new applicants/employees. However, it appears that they do not allow you to use the system until after you hire the applicant.  If you have questions about E-Verify then you can reach them in Washington DC at: 202-272-8720 (E-Verify is part of the SAVE Program).  The E-Verify search tells you if someone is eligible to work in the US by giving their current immigration status.  This check should be used by employers as a tool to sift out ineligible employment prospects.  CriminalBackgroundRecords.com and its parent company Information Enterprises, Inc. like this program because it is an extra tool for employers that helps to eliminate social security number mismatches, improves the accuracy of wage and tax reporting, protects jobs for authorized U.S. workers, and helps U.S. employers maintain a legal workforce.

Currently CriminalBackgroundRecords.com offers an SSN Validation & Address History Trace product that is separate from our criminal background checks.  Although this search will not tell you if an individual is legally authorized to work in the USA or what their current status is with the Immigration Office (USCIS), it is still very valuable.  This check can be performed very quickly and will verify when the social security number was issued, where it was issued, to whom it was issued to and will show names and addresses associated with it.  This SSN Search is now commonly used in conjunction with either a statewide criminal background check or national background check.  Our criminal background checks do sometimes return social security numbers within the records themselves for validation.  However, this does not happen every time as criminal court records have historically been archived by date of birth and not social security numbers.  Still, neither our national criminal background check nor SSN Search will tell you if someone is a US Citizen or what their current Immigration Status is.  Having a social security number does not prove that you are a US Citizen, nor does it act as a singular qualifier proving your eligibility to work in the USA.  You would have to contact the USCIS (formerly the INS) directly for confirmation.  The only other option available is to physically get a copy of the individual’s birth certificate or certificate of naturalization showing that either by birth or legal process this person has become a US Citizen.

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com offers the following FREE searches with all its criminal background checks:
We include a Most Wanted Background Check with each Criminal Search.  This pulls information from the following sources:  Top Ten FBI Most Wanted, FBI Most Wanted Fugitives, US Marshals Most Wanted, US Secret Service Most Wanted, Americas Most Wanted and other state departments of public safety.

We also include a Full Terrorist Background Check with each criminal background search.  We check the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury with every criminal search.

In addition to the two free searches above, we also include a National Sex Offender Registry Check (including all 50 states) with each background search.  Each state in the nation has a sex offender registry which maintains a database of sex offenders.  The information stored varies from state to state, but in general most state sex offender background reports include high-risk offenders and persons who have been convicted of, found guilty of or plead guilty to committing or attempting to commit sexual offenses.  Many of these records include mug shots & photos when a match is found.

Here is a more detailed breakdown of what is covered in our Sex Offender Search

High-Risk Sex Offenders – Individuals with real recidivism concerns from all 50 US States.

Sexual Predators – Sexually violent offenders & persons obtaining or seeking non-consensual sexual contact with another person and/or has committed sex crimes, such as rape or child sexual abuse.

Department of Corrections – Convicted sex offenders who were under the supervision of the DOC.

Crimes Against Children – Kidnapping, felonious restraint and/or child abuse, including people convicted of, found guilty of or plead guilty to committing or attempting to commit sexual offenses and other crimes against children.

This has been a CriminalBackgroundRecords.com News Publication – All rights reserved CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is “An Information Enterprises Solution”

Interact with staff, background industry experts and more through our new BLOG!

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With this new Blog, end users of criminal reports, industry people, and information technology persons can all converge on one front to address their questions, concerns and ideas.  The word “blog” is just a shortened word for “web log” that has gained in popularity and now is considered a word of its own with its own meaning.  Blogs have become increasingly popular on the Internet and have allowed people who are far away from each other to come together on a website they share a mutual interest in.  Sharing ideas, commentary, news and concerns regarding the background retrieval industry (with people all across the USA) is now possible and very easy to do.  So please visit us at blog.CriminalBackgroundRecords.com and start voicing your opinion today.

Blogs are found on many websites and are usually maintained by an individual, company or organization that adds regular ongoing entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other information for others to read.  CriminalBackgroundRecords.com’s new interactive Blog now allows browsers and users to ask questions like, “What happens when someone goes to court for a proposed crime?” or “what is the difference between a felony, misdemeanor or infraction offense?”  With the new fully functioning blog, people can educate each other as to what a felony, misdemeanor, and infraction are, as well as how certain sentencing works in the USA.

This online blog is for everyone from criminal history searching experts to someone wanting clarification on their own criminal record.  Now there is a platform and place to voice criminal background industry questions.  A place to find out what exactly makes up a criminal conviction record to why a criminal record can be different than an arrest record.  It is a free place to learn, question, and confront common truths and misconceptions pertaining to the criminal background retrieval industry.  Get educated on police policies, US court system operations, US department of corrections and US law.

The USA is comprised of 50 individual states representing 3,143 counties.  At CriminalBackgroundRecords.com you can conduct a county criminal background check in any county in the USA.  You can also conduct a criminal background check at the state level in 48 states.  National criminal checks are also available and include additional free searches like a national sex offender check and terrorist list search.

Below is a breakdown of the major criminal background checks available in the USA
(all of which can be searched at CriminalBackgroundRecords.com)

County Criminal Background Check:
A county search is the most current, accurate and complete search available in the US today.  However, you need to know the state and county you want to perform this search in; otherwise it will not be effective.  This search entails having a professional court researcher manually pull the complete record in question for you.  It typically takes a day or more for your search results to come in.  County criminal background checks go back seven years and include felony and misdemeanor conviction records.

Statewide Criminal Background Check:
The statewide criminal background search is the most popular criminal background check used today in the USA.  Statewide criminal checks are available in forty-eight states.  This search includes all commonly looked for information including department of corrections info, bodily characteristics, sentence info, case number and court records (including felony convictions and misdemeanor offenses).

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com online statewide criminal searches include a free national sex offender report, free terrorist database criminal background check, and a free US most wanted criminal database search.

Multi-State Criminal Background Check:
Multi-State criminal searches can cover two or more full states and usually include additional free searches like a sex offender registry check, the terrorist database search (which is maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and lists such international terrorists sometimes called Specially Designated Nationals or SDNs), and a free criminal check of the US Most Wanted list including FBI, Secret Service and Americas most wanted criminals.

National Criminal Background Check:
CriminalBackgroundRecords.com has an instant national criminal background check which consists of 46 US states.  This search includes a national sex offender check and other free criminal background checks made available to the US market as public records.

Understanding common criminal industry terms and what they actually mean…

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Police Records vs. Criminal Records vs. Background Checks vs. Criminal History
vs. Conviction Records vs. Court Records vs. Arrest Records

What does it all mean?  Are the terms above used interchangeably? Or, are they different?  Is a police record the same as a criminal record?  Are arrest records listed in an online criminal report?  When you are looking up someone’s criminal history, are you really looking for a background check?  And, if so, what information do you think you’ll get back from that criminal background investigation?  CriminalBackgroundRecords.com thinks it is important to break down these common terms, and better explain what to expect in the background search process, as well as what to expect when viewing a criminal background record.

When looking for a criminal background history, the most commonly used search terms are as follows…

Police Records | Criminal Records | Criminal Conviction Records | Background Check
Arrest Records | Criminal History | Criminal Background Search | Court Records
Felony Records | and Corrections Records

First, we will break down some common phrases used in the background retrieval industry and explain both their “real meaning” and their “commonly understood meaning”.  We will parse out the real and the actual from the rumors and the hearsay.

We want to help breakdown these terms to their core meaning in order to better educate the large market of people looking to perform some kind of background check.  CriminalBackgroundRecords.com wants to deepen its customers and potential customers understanding of criminal records, how they are obtained, how they are stored, how they are searched, and what to expect in your criminal report search results…

Since we currently only cater to the US market, we will begin with US law.  In US law, “a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.”  This means that if someone was arrested by the police for a supposed crime, then went to court, and then was found, “Not Guilty” than this record simply stays an “arrest record” NOT a criminal record.  Using an arrest record as part of a decision to hire, fire or otherwise harm or harass an individual is wrong, and also opens you up to huge legal risks.

Criminal histories/backgrounds are maintained and updated by many varying sources.  Typically, criminal history information is first generated by law enforcement agencies such as your local police departments.  Local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and other police agencies usually maintain their own internal databases. On the state government level, state police, state troopers, highway patrol, correctional agencies, and other law enforcement agencies also maintain separate databases. Law enforcement agencies often share this information with other similar enforcement agencies and this information is usually made available to the public in various ways.  Again, as discussed in the paragraph above, a police record may just be an arrest record, and until an actual criminal conviction for say a felony offense is made, there is no criminal record.  Making decisions solely on arrest records is not a good idea.

Sex Offender Records are considered Criminal Records
Registered sex offenders have information about their crimes readily available in state sex offender registries.  With each instant statewide or national criminal record search, CriminalBackgroundRecords.com includes a free national 50-State sex offender check.  That means that whether you run a criminal search in Texas, Florida or the entire US, you will get a national sex offender check in addition to a criminal check in Texas, Florida or the entire country.  All of CriminalBackgroundRecords.com instant criminal searches come with a free national sex offender check.

The Department of Correctional Services in many states make criminal records available to the public, and are certainly included as part of a state or national criminal search with CriminalBackgroundRecords.com.  In most cases, juvenile records/files are protected, and their criminal information is typically sealed and not made available to the public.  Correctional information will tell you if someone has served time in prison, currently are incarcerated as inmates, physical characteristics and of course their current status.  CriminalBackgroundRecords.com will give you correctional information, in all our search types, wherever it is available.

State Government
Some states have official “statewide repositories” that contain criminal history information contributed by county, municipal, and other courts within the state.  Court records are the best source for criminal case information concerning an individual.  These state repositories are usually accurate if the state requires supervision of the uploading of criminal data from the local courts (we hope this will be the norm soon). Some states make reporting to a central repository a voluntary activity.   With each state having differing criminal record uploading procedures or no criminal record uploading at all, the information obtained from these repositories can be incomplete.  However, with that said, there have been huge positive steps made in this area of criminal history searching, and for the near future, this means of acquiring and searching criminal records at the state level is getting better and better.

Federal Government
The federal government maintains extensive criminal histories and acts as a central repository for all agencies to report their own data.  The NCIC (National Crime Information Center) is one such database. Generally, and with few exceptions, the records compiled by the federal government in the NCIC are not made available to the public. Some websites and criminal data re-sellers claim to offer an NCIC record search.  These claims are most always fraudulent.  Before ordering a criminal report online, be sure to read the description of the search you are ordering prior to placing your order.  If a company or website does not reveal the description of the search you are interested in ordering, it is probably best to stay clear from ordering from that provider.  The rule of thumb on this is simple; if clear, up to date, descriptions of a criminal search are not available, then that provider is most likely using an old, incomplete database that may or may not have the criminal data you are looking for.

What are the “Terrorist Database Background Check” and “Most Wanted Search??”

All of CriminalBackgroundRecords.com instant criminal checks include a free terrorist database search and “most wanted” list search.  Below is the breakdown of what these two free criminal searches are and what to expect in your search results.

Terrorist Database Background Check:
We check the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) of the U.S. Department of Treasury with every criminal search. OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on United States foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, and those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. As part of its enforcement efforts, OFAC publishes a list of individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries. It also lists individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. Collectively, such individuals and companies are called “Specially Designated Nationals” or “SDNs.” Their assets are blocked by law and American individuals and companies are generally prohibited from dealing with SDNs. Results have full name, date of birth if known, address, country, title, program, remarks like AKA’s. These records are screened individually and carefully, and reported to the proper law enforcement entities when a match is made.

Most Wanted Criminal Search:
Comprised of several state agencies most wanted such as: Top Ten FBI Most Wanted, FBI Most Wanted Fugitives, US Marshals Most Wanted, US Marshals Major Cases, Alabama Department of Public Safety, Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Kansas Most Wanted, AFT Most Wanted, US DEA Wanted Fugitives, DTIC Fugitive Top List, US Secret Service Most Wanted, Americas Most Wanted, Connecticut Department of Public Safety and Texas Most Wanted.

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com hopes this article helps its browsers and users become more educated in the criminal data industry, and more informed as to what exactly to expect in a criminal report, and why a criminal report from one company/website can differ from another company/website.