This week we will be focusing on the different types of criminal records with our Director of Compliance, Benton Mobley. Criminal records are a vital part of the screening process. The information found by criminal record searches helps employers identify potential risks associated with a new hire, however many employers are still open to risk. Why? They are not using the right criminal record search. That’s right, there is more than one search, employers actually have three to choose from. This post will be focused on the most accurate of the three – County Criminal Records.
County Criminal Record Search
There is a common misconception that a national criminal record search is the best search available, it does have its perks and contains information from across the nation, however it does not contain the most accurate or updated information available. That search would be the county criminal record search. When talking to Benton Mobley, our Director of Compliance, he explained why a county search is the most important search out there, “County Searches are the most important part of the screening process as they are where all criminal records are housed. County court houses act as the main business center of a city in they contain everything from speeding records to murder convictions.”
What does this mean?
It is the most accurate information available to employers. When a crime is committed it is directly reported to the county court house, which is why county records are so accurate. Mobley credits county courts as the original source, “It is considered the best because you are going right to the source.” He explained this in turn is why the other searches are not as accurate. From the county it is passed up the ladder to state and eventually to a national database; the information unfortunately can hit some bumps along the way and does not always make it there in a timely fashion or in some instances at all. “All records go through the county courts and are distributed up from there, when others get involved there is bound to be error. We have seen situations where even mandated information did not make it up the ladder.” He said.
Updating Records
A criminal record search will reveal a variety of information including: arrests, convictions and dismissals. Meaning an arrest may turn into a conviction at some point. Employers need to able to rely on accurate information but also up to date information. So say an employer ran a state search and an arrest record was reported – in the meantime something new may have happened with that case that had not made it to the statewide level yet. Without that information you may make a hiring mistake.
Expert Advice
County searches are an essential part of the screening process; even being the best search for criminal records it does have its downsides. Mobley explained that this is where as a vendor we are here to help. “Knowing the court system goes a long way. We are the experts for the client. By knowing how the courts work (i.e. fees, quality of record, state systems) we help our clients in the most cost effective manner – in others words we get them the most bang for their buck.” This includes finding the best criminal record search for the client; it may not always be the county search.
Stay tuned the rest of the week as each day we will cover a different criminal record search. Each post will include expert advice and a clip from our Director of Compliance’s criminal record presentation. By Friday you should have a better idea of which criminal record search is the best one for your needs. Have any comments about the presentation or criminal record searches, please share below!