Criminal Record Check Article

What is a Criminal Record Check?

A criminal record check is a record of a person's criminal history, generally used by potential employers, lenders etc. to assess a person's trustworthiness. The information included in a criminal record check varies between countries and even between jurisdictions within a country.

In most cases a criminal record check will list all non-expunged criminal offenses and may also include traffic offenses such as speeding and drunk-driving.

In some countries the criminal record check is limited to actual convictions (where the individual has pleaded guilty or been declared guilty by a qualified court) while in others a criminal record check may also include arrests, charges dismissed, charges pending and even charges of which the individual has been acquitted.

The latter policy is often argued to be a human rights violation since it works contrary to the presumption of innocence by exposing people to discrimination on the basis of unproven allegations. This is why it is important to closely analyze the results when doing a criminal record check.

Always look at the disposition to determine if the person was actually convicted of the crime being reported on the criminal record check. If, on the other hand, you want to know about any charges against the applicant, even if they were not convicted, you may want to obtain an arrest record in addition to the criminal record check.

If you have any questions e-mail us at info@uscriminalrecord.com or call 714-441-0083