Using Web Detective Tools to Conduct Criminal Background Checks
As of this writing, a minimum of 20 states in the U.S. have posted their criminal databases on the net. It's only a matter of time before the rest follow suit. One Georgia-based service that performs criminal background checks reported that of 378,000 criminal record checks performed, about 9,900 had a conviction on their record of one sort or another - from forgery, fraud, or theft to assault and battery, rape, and murder. 2% may not sound like worrisome odds, but when it comes to your financial well-being and personal safety - not to mention that of your loved ones - any percent is too high.
Why Perform a Criminal Background Check?
Why might an individual such as yourself - whether for your company's interest or your own - wish to perform a criminal background check on another person? Numerous reasons, actually! Employers considering new employees may want to do a criminal background check on the candidates. Landlords may want to do a criminal check on prospective tenants. Parents may want to perform a criminal record check on their children's teachers, or potential babysitters. Anyone considering moving into a new neighborhood may want to do a criminal background check on their potential new neighbors before closing the deal. With the proliferation of internet matchmaking and networking sites, new friends and potential mates may want a bit more to go on than a profile and a few sweet words before meeting face to face.
Web Detective Services: Time-Saving Tools
Although the advent of the web made checking up on our "friends and neighbors" a somewhat more accessible task - Google their names, pull up websites of former employers, peruse archives of postings to forums and chat groups, examine public records - there was only a limited range of information every folks could find and the process was usually too arduous and time-consuming for most people to bother with - good idea or not.
But now it's easier than ever to find out the hidden truth about the people that impact our lives. As of recently, a flurry of web detective services have arisen that put the formerly overwhelming task of performing criminal background checks on virtually anyone in the world at the average consumer's fingertips.
Important Considerations
Remember that when conducting a criminal background check for the purposes of employment or tenancy, you (the employer or landlord) are federally required, by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to:
And these aren't the only laws and provisions employers and landlords considering performing criminal checks need to be aware of. Federal Civil Rights Law, for one, dictates conditions where asking an applicant to consent to a criminal background check could be a violation of their civil rights. The penalties for failing to adhere to the laws covering criminal background checks on potential employees and/or tenants are stiff. Learn them and then don't mess with them.
That said, concerned neighbors, parents, and most of the rest of us aren't so confined. Which makes it even more imperative that we take responsibility ourselves for the acts we are conducting. Consider the source of each piece of data - is it fact or allegation? Confession or heresy? Was the person charged with a crime and found innocent? Did a convicted felon pay their debt to society and turn their life around and deserve another chance? And perhaps most importantly, try and confirm anything you dig up. Make sure it's true before it colors you.
If you choose not to inform an individual that you're performing a criminal background check on them, at least be impartial and protective of the information you obtain. Everyone deserves at least that.
Additional Resources:
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