There are many great Nationwide Database products out there available to CRA's that are very powerful and broad in coverage. However, employers must exercise caution and only use them in conjunction with county and/or state records if need be. They should never be used alone and if they were your process would be non-compliant.
As a licensed Private Investigator for over 13 years, I have researched records in many county court houses in CA. The bottom line is that the County level is where all cases are entered, housed, and archived. In the world of employment background screening, "County is King." Due Diligence begins by searching county records. But what if you had that scenario where you have an applicant and you only ran county searches where he lived/worked over the last 7 years. Without "tickling" the rest of the country for potential records in other counties, you may be playing Russian Roulette. For Example: If your applicant went to a bachelor party in Clark County, NV (Las Vegas) and was convicted of a crime it would be missed without the use of the nationwide database.
These nationwide databases are comprised of millions of criminal records that are pulled from various state and federal databases, (State DOC's, OFAC Terrorism Watch List, FBI Most Wanted, Sex Offender Registry, etc.). A nationwide database search has become part of the due diligence process and we suggest that all clients/end-users include an Apollo Widescreen, our "nationwide" database search in conjunction with their county searches. The Apollo Widescreen search results could show additional counties with criminal activity for your applicant that could easily be missed by just running counties over the last 7 years. Another example of the uses of these powerful products: If the applicant vacations or travels for fun or work and committed a crime, this search would likely "point to"/ find the appropriate county to add into the search and run, as mentioned previously throughout this blog.
However, In an attempt to write in a way that presents a fair perspective of both the good and the ugly with Nationwide Databases. Yes, they are powerful and revealing, but the use of these databases comes with it's own set of problems so exercise their use cautiously and knowledgeably. The most common primary problems and areas to watch for are as follows:
- Inaccuracies due to poor and/or erroneous data entry (garbage in=garbage out)
- Many arrest records are revealed that do not result in convictions
- Identifiers may be difficult to confirm
- Although many entities report to these databases, many do not as well.
- No standard, uniform procedures of updates amongst the various providers of the data
A good screening company should take this burden off of you completely by generally resolving these issues before they even get to your HR Dept. A CRA that "over-reports" their findings is a liability for you as the end user. Be sure your screening firm is knowledgeable on all relative compliance issues under state and FCRA guidelines.
Our Apollo Widescreen Nationwide Database is comprised of millions of criminal records, sex offender registries for all participating states, terrorist watch list, etc... We sell it to our clients in the following manor only:
This product should be used only as a tool and not as a primary means of searching for records. When used appropriately as a tool these databases can be very powerful and quite revealing. Although, databases are not always accurate and/or updated and they often provide arrest records and not conviction records, they are still very revealing as "pointer tools".
