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The Truth and Reality Behind Criminal Vetting

The Reality Behind Criminal Vetting

Criminal Vetting is a necessary part of the process of hiring an individual to work for your company. Your professional relationship with employees must be built on mutual trust. You are required by law to make honest efforts to ensure your workplace’s safety for employees and customers. You can also avoid damage to your property and business by making an effort to hire employees who do not have a history of irresponsible or criminal activity. Many types of background checks are available, including:

Not all of these are necessary—a lot depends upon what kind of environment your employees are working in, what kind of security is involved, and whether they are regularly interacting with children, among other things.

A few more issues to consider when requesting information about someone are

  • You must obtain permission from the person you will be investigating.
  • Arrest records are not the same as criminal records.
  • An in-depth screening can also involve warrant records.

Criminal vetting or criminal background checks are sometimes controversial. Much of the digital data collected and stored is unreliable or incomplete. This is where Peopletrail’s actionable insight and human touch comes n handy. For example,

  • Local governments keep records of criminal activity within their boundaries, but it is not always reported at the state level.
  • Federal crimes are not always reported to the state or county where the crime took place.

Many employers rely on investigative agencies who are trained to delve into the information available to them and sort through what is relevant and catch information that might be incomplete. Some of the tools used in these investigations include

  • State, Local, and Federal criminal records. These may not always match up.
  • Warrant and arrest records. It might be useful to know if a potential employee has warrants out or if they have been arrested but not convicted of a crime (or series of crimes).
  • Records of 911 calls from prior addresses. These calls can provide information about any unsavory activity that might have occurred in their home.
  • Interviewing neighbors and former employers. References might be requested and provided by the candidate. Still, it can also be useful to discuss their character with people who have not previously agreed to contact them.
  • Drug testing. This can assess a person’s potential reliability.
  • Credit reports and other financial records. A person who has trouble managing their own finances will probably have trouble managing yours.
  • Motor vehicle records. Certain types of motor vehicle violations may give you a reason to question a potential employee’s reliability.
  • Eviction history. Another indicator of a person’s reliability, you may want to know if someone is frequently evicted. This usually predicts future trouble.
  • Worker’s Comp claims history. A worker who has a history of making claims could be problematic.
  • Polygraph testing. Although famously unreliable, polygraph testing is used to assess a person’s trustworthiness.
  • Civil lawsuit history. Like worker’s comp claims, a person who has a history of being a party in civil suits could cause trouble for your business.

Regardless of what type of investigation you would like to order, it is important to make sure that you have the most up-to-date and reliable information.


Request a Consultation on Criminal Vetting for your Organization.

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