Common Elements of a Background Check: Criminal Searches

Pre-employment criminal background checks safeguard the global workforce. Organizations of all kinds screen potential and current employees to make sure their workplace continues to be safe for their staff, customers, and vendors. Making a bad hire can result in wasted resources, a damaged reputation, and low morale among your team, and failing to conduct comprehensive criminal searches may ultimately expose your company to liability.

Research your applicants’ criminal records to avoid putting your organization and its employees at risk. When you properly vet applicants for clean criminal records, you protect your company from theft, embezzlement, and fraud. Most importantly, you create a secure environment for everyone to do their best work.

Stats You Need to Know

HR professionals are serious about protecting their employees, and understandably so. According to surveys conducted by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), 85% of HR professionals in 2019 performed national criminal searches on all candidates, while 89% performed statewide criminal searches. Additionally, 15% performed fingerprint-based criminal searches on all candidates, while 66% checked sex offender registries for all candidates. Candidates applying for work at most organizations would have a difficult time hiding any charges or serious offenses.

When Are Criminal Background Checks Essential?

Background checks for employment vary from company to company, but certain industries rely on criminal searches more heavily than others. Criminal background checks are an essential part of the hiring process for the following kinds of positions:

• Working with kids: Employers screen teachers, after-school professionals, pediatricians, and anyone else who works with kids to make sure children are always safe in their company. Professionals like these will also be checked for special training, experience, and licensing.
• Positions requiring licenses and specialized certifications: Employers in industries that require special licensing, like healthcare and law, rely on employees with specific skillsets and strong character. Criminal checks make sure each candidate possesses the integrity and responsibility needed for the job.
• Financial positions: Employers in the financial industry can only afford to hire accountable and honest employees—criminal background checks help to prevent embezzlement and fraud.

What Is Included in a Criminal Background Check?

In order to get a complete picture of a candidate’s history, criminal background checks draw on court records, incarceration records, and sex offender lists to find potential charges, convictions, or prison term information. The deeper your search goes, the more you’ll be able to ensure a safe work environment.

It’s important to remember that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulates certain aspects of criminal employment screenings, prohibiting civil suits, civil judgments, and arrests occurring more than seven years prior from being reported.

How Is Accio Data Involved in Criminal Background Checks?

We help consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) perform more efficient criminal background checks so they can spend less time on the screening process and more time getting new business. CRAs use our automated multijurisdictional criminal database and monitoring to help clients easily manage lists of monitored individuals without ever having to leave the Accio Enterprise platform. We’re changing the way CRAs and their clients perform criminal background checks for the better, helping employers hire safe and responsible workers.