There are a variety of elements to consider when determining which criminal background check is the most cost-effective and If you are conducting a criminal background investigation for a client, you would like to use a layering technique.
Layering is formed of three independent and unique searches, which are combined to create the final effect wherein the so-called layering effect is composed of three types of criminals:
- a County Criminal
- a Single State Criminal
- a Federal Criminal
This shows that you are beginning with the smallest jurisdiction and progressing to the largest and there is a normal criminal background check hierarchy of county, state, and federal jurisdictions however, this is contrary to conventional opinion, as these jurisdictions do not normally communicate with one another.
A crime committed at the county level will not show up in a search for federal crimes, and vice versa, and criminal charges can be filed in state court, but only for felonies committed in counties and because offenses are underreported to the state and local level, the layering effect has developed.
The Significance and Benefits of a Permanent Residencial ID
Starting with the findings of the Residence ID Trace and the geographic information obtained from the applicant’s employment application and/or resume, you can begin to construct your criminal background check wherein you are practicing economic responsibility for yourself by avoiding checking out addresses that are more than 15-20 years old when you set a 7-year limit on geographic activity where this is a widely accepted time span.
My recommendation is to use an instant Multi-State Offender instead of the immediate Single State Criminal if the candidate has resided in more states and the Multi-State Criminal search also includes the multi-state sex offenders search, so you will have more comprehensive protection this way.
There is, however, a caveat to it that you should be aware of, Multiple State Sex Offenders searches inside a state jurisdiction would only return results for that state if the state has included a Date of Birth in its sexual offender data. Therefore, we propose that you also run a non-instant sexual offender’s search that is focused on one particular state.
Some colleagues might disagree, but conducting a criminal search is an important and sensible business practice and I agree that federal crimes are committed infrequently some estimates put the figure at only 1-2 percent, but I would prefer not to put the client at risk by allowing him to take the chance.
According to my Personal Experience!
Many years ago, a client requested a background check on an applicant who had been found guilty of selling a few tons of cannabis, when I think back on it, this background check stands out in my mind since it was the only time that 2 percent equaled 2 tons, and it reaffirmed my belief that such layering effect performs as designed.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that the courts are seeking evidence that an employer used reasonable due diligence when it came to conducting background checks on potential employees, of course, the term reasonable is always open to interpretation in the legal context.
As a business owner, I would prefer to go into court with the knowledge that my company took a thorough approach to perform a criminal record check while remaining fiscally responsible, rather than bypassing a phase to save a few dollars on a state criminal search.
