How Arrest Records Affect Background Checks | Criminal Records Search

We are living in the age of information. A criminal records search is one of the most important pieces of information for employers. That means that employers can take special efforts to vet the kind people who they take in for future engagement. The commercial world is currently ungovernable without the proper application of strict measures, risk mitigation, and compliance. Therefore, you should also take great care in complying with federal, state and company policy when you are hiring future personnel. That is why you must understand some critical policies that apply in checking arrest records for prospective employees.

When a person is arrested and booked, that event goes into permanent records. It does not go away. Regardless of whether individuals are guilty or not, an arrest record could negatively affect their employability depending on where the arrest took place. The arrest, however, isn’t just recorded as an arrest. It should be classified further depending on the immediate judicial outcomes of the arrest. The arrest could be classified into the following categories:

• Dismissed Charges
This is probably the most employment-friendly arrest record that people can earn. It means that for some reason, negotiated or obligated, the charges against a suspected individual were dropped. It most probably denotes innocence, mistaken identity or civil pardon by affected victims.

• Not-Guilty Arrests 
This record insinuates innocence. It is also very good compared to other outcomes. However, it means that the police and the prosecutors were not convinced of the suspect’s innocence but were defeated in court trials.

• Pending Case Arrests 
This record should not be taken lightly. The hiring process is tedious, time-consuming and expensive. Why would an employer take the risk of hiring a person who could end up getting convicted?

• Arrests that Lead to Convictions 
These arrests are the most detrimental to employability. In fact, despite the numerous statutes made to protect people from discrimination on the grounds of previous arrests, criminal records don’t count in any of them.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows employers to obtain and use arrest records in their hiring processes. However, you must be careful to comply with state laws and anti-discriminatory laws.