You’ve seen the sites. Search “background checks” or just look for someone’s address or phone number, and up pops a website promising instant background checks.
Their language is compelling—they purport to offer the searcher “peace of mind” when using their services. Some sites advise caution when running the search on spouses or friends because the findings can be “shocking.”
These types of websites promise nationwide criminal checks. They allude to being complete and comprehensive.
Giving the benefit of the doubt, the wording is confusing and nebulous. In some cases, however, it’s an outright lie.
The myth of the ‘one-click’ search
The fact is, there is no such thing as an all-encompassing national criminal check.
In an earlier post, we mentioned that even data from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the gold standard of criminal databases, may not be complete or up-to-date.
And that database, with few exceptions, is only available to law enforcement organizations, such as the FBI.
The criminal databases available to the private sector are significantly more limited. Certain companies aggregate information from various sources, including court and department of corrections records. Their sources of information vary, as does the frequency with which the data is updated. For example, while County A may allow for monthly data downloads, County B may not offer any at all. When running the “national” criminal check, County A may not include an arrest that took place a few days ago. Needless to say, an arrest in County B will never be picked up.
The big red flag
When prospective clients tell us that their background check provider is giving them criminal searches for very low prices, we often know why: their vendor is likely only returning database results.
How do we know?
Some courts charge fees for a criminal search, and those fees generally exceed the cost that these prospective clients are paying for the entire search.
Unless the background check provider is in the business of purposely losing money, they are probably not using primary source information. Most likely, they have an account at one of the aggregators and could be missing records and/or providing information that should not legally be reported.
We highlighted in an earlier post that, when dealing with employment-related background checks governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), information obtained from databases must be verified with the appropriate source to ensure that it is complete and current.
What national searches do well (and what to ask)
That said, there is a value and a place for national criminal database searches:
- They allow for records to be picked up outside of an individual’s disclosed and/or developed address history, where in-person searches are targeted.
- For some clients, a national criminal database search itself is enough. It’s relatively inexpensive and, as long as the information is properly vetted and reported, satisfies their criminal check requirements.
Like most components of a background check, national criminal database searches are slightly more complicated than they appear on the surface. When you’re evaluating your background check program, be sure to drill down and ask questions of your vendor or prospective vendor until you are comfortable that you are getting what you need.
