Background checks via a service provider like CheckPeople are probably the best way to delve into someone's past, background, and character. These services use public data and reports as sources. Usually, data repositories, the federal or state governments, and private companies generate background checks automatically.
What Does a Background Check Include?
The information typically included in a background check is the person's date of birth, age, any other names they go by, and names. They can also include the names and the addresses of their relatives, civil records and judgments, arrests, crimes committed, traffic tickets, online presence, social media information, bankruptcies, and marriage records.
Almost all Information is Public
By law, almost all of this information has been made public, and anyone willing to spend time looking for it will find it. Some jurisdictions allow people to search their web portals. It isn't so simple in others, which sometimes require you to go to their county courthouse and search on location. A court runner can do this too.
By public record, one normally means vital records such as birth, death, marriage, and divorce, traffic tickets, bankruptcies, lawsuits, and other civil issues. On the other hand, we typically associate criminal history, arrest records, criminal records, and other crime-related data with a "background check."
Identity Verification and Applicant Information
Background check services and consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) get most of their data from applicants. Housing and job applicants submit applications, resumes, and other screening forms. The agency will have this data verified or rejected if the applicant was dishonest. They will search birth records, credit headers, the DMV, and other third-party sources of public information.
Sometimes the information provided by applicants is misleading, which can slow the recruitment process down. Many employers that want to maintain low staff turnover turn to an online hiring portal to minimize the risk of errors.
Financial Records
Financial records are a rich source of information about bankruptcies, outstanding debt, payment and credit history, and liens. Some of these issues could render someone a poor candidate for a job in finance, for example. Landlords and property managers assess credit records that might indicate someone will be unable to pay rent. Reporting agencies supply credit reports, but you can also use alternative rental history data sources to assess risk.
Employment and Education Background Checks
Background check services often try to contact companies and schools directly to verify an applicant's employment and education records. The process of employment verification includes information about salaries, job tasks, and responsibilities, job title, and rehire eligibility. If the previous employer is only accessible via a verification database or not accessible at all, getting employment information can cost more and cause the hiring process to drag on.
Some employers are not willing to give details about a former employee due to the risk of vicarious liability. These details might include their job performance or work ethic. Academic institutions are not always easy to get in touch with for the purposes of verification. This is why most education and employment history verifications are limited to the position or positions one has held, simple salary data, degrees, dates of enrollment, termination dates, and graduation dates.
County and State Records
Reporting agencies will search local, county, and state records to find information about whether a job candidate has a criminal background. The information found at the county and state level is typically more accurate than a federal search because not all courts report to federal databases regularly. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Survey of State Criminal History Systems, criminal records in some states are still neither complete nor accurate. This is because it can take months or years to obtain and then enter criminal records in databases.
In addition, arrest records and court case dispositions don't always match. A background check service will evaluate information on the county level to verify data. Processing an applicant might become more expensive and time-consuming.
National and Federal Records
A sex offender and national criminal background check can furnish records from the corrections department about misdemeanors, felonies, and sex crimes. One can also access federal criminal history information from the district courthouse. The Department of Homeland Security and the Treasury Department will inform you your candidate is not allowed to work in the United States if that's the case.
