Do online background checks really work?
A growing trend with the employment screening industry is the use of commercially compiled databases, also known as instant background checks or “national criminal database searches.” These types of checks are quicker and cheaper but lack accuracy and credibility and put employers at a greater risk of fines and lawsuits from the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
What are the most common types of criminal background checks?
A criminal history check reveals detailed information regarding an individual’s county, state, and federal criminal history. Each record varies by the type of information it searches for and the results that are returned.
1) County background checks, or county criminal history search results, include information about criminal cases filed only in the county ordered.
2) State background checks, or statewide criminal history search results, include information as reported to a state by counties within the state. Results may include case number, offense type, date of offense, disposition date/specifics, and confirmation of the current disposition.
3) Federal background checks, or federal criminal history search results, include criminal court record information that can be accessed via one or more of the 94 U.S. Federal District courts across the United States.
How does DISA know what jurisdictions to check?
DISA accesses a database that consists of more than 180 million criminal record files, which have been compiled from a variety of sources, including local law enforcement, statewide criminal record repositories, departments of corrections, state parole and probation records, local public records sources, etc. to identify pointer data to be verified at the source. DISA also uses data sources to compile counties where a person may have lived. The database file may uncover multiple states/jurisdictions where the applicant had no previous address history. These products serve as a pointer used to determine the jurisdictions in which an individual has lived, worked, or attended school for purposes of criminal history ordering.
Are there different types of background checks?
There are two different types of background checks; instant and comprehensive. Instant background checks, also known as “national criminal database searches” provide general information pulled from a commercially available database. These searches aren’t corroborated against any official county court record. Although they are quick, they can often return with error-filled information, since it’s not derived from a verified source. Comprehensive background checks, like DISA’s, involve multiple National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) FCRA certified employees confirming that all information aligns with the person who is being checked. These individuals also must hold a private investigator license in order to legally be able to research and verify information about the applicant. This process verifies that the information is accurate and is not information from an alias with the same name as the applicant being screened.