How can a business benefit from a criminal background check?
A criminal background check is a critical component of any employment background check.
They can reveal vital information about a person before a decision is made about whether or not to make a hire. They involve a search through court databases on the county, state, and federal levels to determine an individual’s criminal history.
All sorts of relevant information about a person’s criminal record appear on a standard criminal background check. Any criminal conviction, whether a felony or misdemeanor, will appear on a background check, as will any periods of incarceration or criminal cases that are pending or underway. Checks will also turn up an active warrant out on an individual.
While some background checks reveal arrests that did not lead to criminal convictions, most do not out of respect for those exonerated in court. Many checks also report if a person is registered as a sex offender anywhere in the country.
Minor infractions and petty offenses may or may not show up on a criminal background check, depending on the rules where the incident took place and how much time has passed since the incident. These infractions include drinking in public, jaywalking, and other minor offenses. In some jurisdictions, minor infractions do go into a candidate’s records so they do appear on background checks, while in others they do not. In accordance with federal law, after seven years no such infractions can be checked for.
Criminal background checks are extremely common among hiring managers because they are easy and effective. They can take anywhere from a few hours to three days to complete, depending on the scope of the investigation. A quick scan of federal databases is a quick process, while in-depth searches at the county level are a bit more involved and can take a few days.
A criminal background check report will include detailed information about the nature of each item on a candidate’s record, allowing hiring managers to make an informed decision.