Laws Surrounding Access to Criminal Background Checks

There are many times when you might have a background check performed on you or when you will need to conduct a background check on someone else. Most commonly, background checks are performed for job candidates, particularly in fields that are considered positions of trust or high security. Typically, a background check will include information such as employment verification, credit rating, and any criminal history.

There are numerous types of background checks, including employment references, education verification, verification of identity and address, credit history, and criminal history. There are some laws surrounding background checks and privacy rights. The main one is the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which regulates the use of consumer reports when being used for adverse decisions and requires notification of the applicant. For example, if your background check turns up a fact that prevents you from being hired by an employer, the employer must send you a pre-adverse action disclosure, the FCRA's summary of rights, and a notification of adverse action letter. As a consumer, you also have the right to decide who accesses your credit report and must provide consent.

Much of the information included in criminal background checks is considered public records and can be accessed online and through records companies. You can choose to pay a small fee to access these records yourself.

How Criminal Statistics are Collected

Crime statistics are utilized to quantitatively measure crime in societies. However, they may not always be accurate, since often they only include the crime that was actually caught. Different measures are used to estimate crime, including surveys, insurance records, and police records. Most official statistics are compiled from law enforcement agencies, but may not be entirely accurate since some crimes go unreported.

Statistics are most commonly collected on the offences, the offenders, and the victims. Reported incidents tend to be more accurate on less frequent but more highly reported crimes — such as homicide and armed robbery. Since laws vary from one jurisdiction to another, crime statistics may be difficult to compare.

In the US, the Uniform Crime Reports is performed by the FBI, and the National Crime Victimization Survey is conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Recording practices vary from one law enforcement agency to the next. For instance, traffic offenses that are caught and ticketed are often reported as part of the statistics, but unproven statistics given in a general survey of the public usually will not.

Counting rules will vary; however, most follow some basic guidelines. First, there must be proof of an offense; second, multiple reports about the same offense are generally counted as one offense; third, if multiple offenses occur at once, only the most serious is counted. Illegal activities that have no punishment, such as suicide, may not be counted as an offense, though assisted suicide or suicidal attempts are.

Much of the information from criminal reports is considered public record and can be accessed by the public through record offices.