Criminals Go To Great Lengths To Hide Their Past. What Could YOU Be Missing?
Let’s face it, most criminals aren’t going to just hand over their records. That would make your job a lot easier if they did! Instead they hide their history by working the flaws inherent to the criminal record reporting system.
That’s why you need a background check partner who understands the ways criminals try to work the system. We’ll discuss the top 3 ways criminals try to circumvent the system and how you can prevent it from working below.
STAY UNDER THE RADAR
Why this works: Employees can commit crimes after passing their background check, and depending on how often you re-check their records, can go on for years without anyone being the wiser.
How to prevent it: Set up a schedule to run background checks on employees and not just your applicant. This way, you will be alerted to any possible criminal activity as soon as possible.
We offer our Quarterly Watch® product for monitoring criminal activity. With Quarterly Watch®, all of your employees get screened multiple times per year through Search America®, our proprietary in-house database, which includes the Sex Offender Registry and is the largest criminal database in the United States.
GIVE A FALSE NAME
Why this works: Typically, criminal records are kept with only name and date of birth on file. Across the country, social security numbers have been removed to protect people from identity theft. Therefore, by simply giving a false first or last name and even a correct DOB, a criminal can avoid detection.
How to prevent it: Run a Social Security Number Trace Report. This report identifies all names and addresses associated with a given SSN. If names on the report are different than the one given by your applicant, this can be a red flag.
MOVE OUT OF STATE
Why this works: Criminal records and sex offender registries are not reported across state lines. State background check reports, including fingerprint based state reports may be missing other criminal records as well.
This happens because the crimes are tried at the county level. Records are missing because counties are not required to report all records, depending on the type of offense.
Human error also plays a part. In the case of fingerprint background checks, some records, such as misdemeanor drug offenses, public intoxication and disorderly conduct, can be missed simply because the crime is a ticket offense in that area and doesn’t require being fingerprinted.
How to prevent it: The best way to prevent this is to not depend solely on fingerprint or state background checks. SELECTiON.COM® has effective and cost-efficient solutions to widen your search and make sure you’re getting the best picture of your potential employee’s history.
We recommend utilizing the SSN Trace Report to identify counties the applicant has previously lived in. From there, it’s best to search criminal history at that COUNTY level in each of those areas. Combined with our Search America® report, this solution is the most popular among our clients.
SELECTiON.COM® has more than 25 years of experience dealing with the many ways that criminals try to hide and we can provide you the tools to feel confident that you are doing everything possible to keep children safe.
Contact us today to see how SELECTiON.COM® can improve your background check process.
NOTE: The contents of this article are not legal advice for your particular situation. You should neither act nor rely upon anything stated in this article without first consulting your own legal counsel.
Susan Porter has been a valued member of SELECTiON.COM® since 2016. Here’s a little more about her.
Aretha Hischak has been a valued member of SELECTiON.COM® since 2014. Here’s a little more about her.
One of the most frequent questions that we receive from our clients is whether their organization has to abide by the terms of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) if they are not seeking an applicant’s credit information.