Volume IV
3rd Quarter 2004

employeescreenIQ Research Exposes Holes in Instant Criminal Records Databases

By Kevin Bachman

It sounds too good to be true. An instant “nationwide” criminal history check for less than $10? Countywide felony and misdemeanor searches take longer. A criminal court researcher physically walks into a courthouse, and we never know at the beginning of a search what they will find at the end of it. “National Database” searches are instant. They cover a larger geographic area and can be less expensive. They are also less accurate, cover only select parts of the country, provide unclear and inconsistent criminal record information, and offer few means to obtain additional details if needed.

employeescreenIQ recently tested a well respected “National Database” that houses millions of criminal records on prospective employees all across the county. As we continually look to identify and embrace best practices throughout the industry, evaluating this proposed method as a supplement to a standard background check was the necessary due diligence our clients have come to expect. It was our hope that we could find a database that we could use with confidence for our clients who were looking for “vacation criminals” and wanted a little extra security on their reports. We came away very disappointed.

Now, we did not pick a random database to search. employeescreenIQ selected a database that has a broad coverage area nationwide. But because there is no big computer with every countywide or federal court criminal record available, a “National Database,” in the truest sense of the word, is nothing more than a consortium of local county clerk’s offices, state penitentiary offices, etc., that have agreed to share their records. We chose the database that had the most “shared” records.

For starters, employeescreenIQ randomly selected 651 known criminal hits from actual county-level court research just to find 200 that could even be searched by this database. Put another way, this “National Database,” chosen specifically because it was among the largest, only covered about 30% of the country. Most records in Illinois, Ohio, New York, California, Missouri, Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts and Michigan are not available. Thus, two out of every three records found by walking into the courthouse would never be found using this database because the information was not “shared.”

For the 200 known criminal hits that were in searchable areas, more than 35% were missed completely, and the records were significant. Assault. Sex Abuse of a Child. Forgery. Kidnapping. Aggravated Drug Trafficking. Breaking and Entering. Making matters worse, 50% of the known criminal hits that actually were found contained incomplete or inconsistent information when compared to what our researcher found on site at that courthouse.

Even more discouraging is the lapse in time between when a court files records on site and when they are shared with this “National Database.” While we are confident our court researcher will obtain records within 48 hours of the case being adjudicated, many of these same courts only share records with the “National Database” on a weekly, monthly, or even bi-annual basis. Much of the appeal of conducting an onsite hand search is knowing that the most current information will be found.

employeescreenIQ truly cares about the well being and physical safety of our clients and their employees. Because of this commitment, we cannot in good faith offer a “National Database” search as a stand-alone product. We can offer this as an extra tool, but only when countywide felony and misdemeanor searches are performed. In addition, we will follow up with a county level felony and misdemeanor check on any possible hits found using a database. We believe this is the best way to make a hiring decision using the most accurate and updated information possible while maintaining full compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.