When it comes to criminal background checks, the most complete and comprehensive background check information will come from a variety of jurisdictional resources-courts and information repositories at the city, state, county, and national level. With this in mind, those seeking to locate criminal background check information at every level of jurisdiction will be disappointed as there is no central information repository at the national level. For the purposes of this discussion, we will examine what exists as regards national criminal information, and also how a comprehensive national criminal background check can be conducted to find the same information that one might find if a national criminal background check repository existed.
First things first, criminal background check information is filed at the local, county, state, and federal levels. According to what kind of crime is committed, how it is classified, charged, processed, and convicted will determine where the criminal record goes. Typically, local criminal records denote minor offenses such as public drunkenness-crimes typically let off with just a slap on the wrist. County courts and state courts split the difference between felonies, misdemeanors, and appeals. Federal district courts handle all federal crimes. While all should relay this information to a central information repository or national division of criminal records, they do not as there doesn’t exist one. This is why a search of all jurisdictions should support any national criminal background check.
In lieu of a national information repository for national criminal background checks, is the FBI database of criminal information, otherwise known as the NCIC or National Crime Information Center. This database is a compiled, automated database of criminal justice records, available to only FBI employees and those with special authorization-though authorization is hardly ever allowed. The information listed at this level is indeed, taken from county, state, and district courts and information repositories; but it is only the most important of criminal records and criminal histories that are sent to the FBI database for ongoing reference. Alongside this database is what is called the Interstate Identification Index, which is a system that can instantly share criminal records from state databases for the purpose of the FBI and related criminal justice agencies. This allows them to identify persons that may not be listed in their NCIC.
This said, how can a public entity endeavor any kind of national criminal background search that would give them the information that would otherwise be available in a national criminal background check? The simple answer is that they need to visit a wide variety of jurisdictions to locate all possible pertinent criminal information on an individual to mirror a national criminal background check. While many seekers start at the state level-at the state central information repository-to locate criminal background history comparable to a national criminal background check, thinking that they can get all the information from all smaller jurisdictions (local and county), most often this kind of search is not enough. This is because most often there is a breakdown in the filing of information from one jurisdiction to another. More specifically, state information repositories cannot always stay as up to date as the crimes being processed at the local and county levels; due to both misidentification and also specific crime details. This is why it is crucial to also search local and county courts for the most comprehensive of criminal records search information, as otherwise might be found in a national criminal background check. In the case of local courts and departments, most often you’ll be privy to a handful of offenses considered less serious than others found at the county, state, and federal levels. At the county court level, you will find some of the same sort of crimes processed at a state court, as well as appealed cases. District courts will offer information on criminal records of federal crimes committed, but most often, these will be restricted to particular entities and uses-typically, criminal justice agencies and departments. All of these sources should be visited for a national criminal background check.
While a wide variety of jurisdictions should be involved in any complete and accurate criminal history search for national criminal background check information, it should also be considered that access will most probably be restricted according to legal jurisdiction and the organization of the criminal records being different from one jurisdiction to another. The first of these include a variety of state imposed regulations on how courts in that state consider certain crimes, criminals, offenses, and the nature of the criminal process. In the second of these, it is significant to understand that though each court answers to the same national caste system of crimes, the organization of this structure is not yet fine tuned to be universally numbered, stored, and catalogued. With this in mind, a lot of time, energy, and possibly money will be necessary to locate the kind of information in a national criminal background check.