best background check

Background check veteran Dave Jordan reveals a side of criminal background checks they are not telling you about. Also, discover services that provide the most accurate and comprehensive criminal background checks available.

Criminal Background Check History...

f you are one of the millions of people who are looking to conduct criminal background checks, you may know that the procurement of criminal records is becoming simpler with every day that passes. Recent advances in technology are mostly responsible for this trend, and include digitization of records and massive online storage capacity.

A great example of technology at work are the applications being developed for cell phones, smart phones, net books, and the dozens of available electronic devices. Criminal background check companies develop these apps to allow for access to their databases on the fly, and of course you will need to pay.

The most notorious example of this is Intelius, who released a dating application for smart phones last year that let someone check out a prospective date while exchanging pleasantries or on the phone setting it up. So…if everyone has been turning you down recently, or at least those who are tech savvy, you might want to take a look at what’s on your record.

Did you know that the detailed processing of criminal records is something that hasn’t been around that long? Well, not that longs means prior to 1800. Before then, the enforcement of law basically boiled down the use of guns and trying to stop a crime that was occurring, or tracking the criminal down afterwards. It had very little to do with actually comprehending criminal intent or preventing crime from taking place.

In this day and age, using violence to settle a dispute is out of the question for most people. However there are those who still believe that crime is acceptable and have no qualms about committing any crime. We have criminal background checks to help in finding those types of peoples who may be interacting with us every day.

Sources for Criminal Background Checks…

Criminal background checks range from the basic felony search to a full blown FBi investigation, and what you receive is dependent on several things. These include what your credentials may be and where you are receiving the records from. You should be also asking: What do I want the criminal records for? What am I willing to spend to those records?

All these factors influence the cost of acquiring records, and rest assured they go up quickly as the information being sought increases in detail. The sources of records can be divided into three main groups. These include federal (generally the FBI), state (law enforcement and judicial entities), and the private companies whose job is simplify access to records for consumers and employers, for profit.

The companies that provide access to criminal records for consumers and employers range from being entirely worthless, to delivering extremely current information that is free of ambiguous names, dates, and filler records.

Retail providers in the private sector provide the simplest access to criminal records for the general public. In fact, if you wish to obtain records on somebody else fairly quickly, without paying exorbitant fees to a detective, this is really the only avenue you have access to. Most providers are available online and companies like Intelius and USSearch are some of the biggest players in this field. They offer many different types of searches that include everything from a people search utility to an expert assisted country court records search, which can run into the hundreds of dollars.

Commercial venders of criminal background checks are generally not accessible to the public, and provide services to law enforcement, manufacturing, educational institutions, banks, apartment complexes, and many more. The requirements are stringent and usually require each person being checked to sign a consent form. Plus, an account needs to be set up and maintained, with a past history of background checks that have been run.

Law enforcement and judicial systems in all 50 states maintain criminal records systems. Usually, all criminal records on the state level are included; however a report may include only felonies or details all the way down to minor traffic violations. Access to state-level criminal records vary greatly, and a few states even require someone running a personal background check to submit a full set of fingerprints. Obviously, employers are allowed to access the state criminal background checks system, but only with signed consent and often a fingerprint form.

While criminal records are usually only available for personal searches, rules are changing daily, and in a number of states, you are able to run criminal background checks on anyone within the state, using an online portal.

No doubt you have heard of the NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check Service) in relation to gun buying. This is maintained by the FBI and is one of a few national criminal databases, intended to be all encompassing of criminal convictions from across the entire United States. However, these databases depend on state law enforcement reporting all convictions, and this does not always happen on a consistent basis. The largest branch of the FBI, the CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Services) is responsible for the administration of nationwide criminal records databases. These are categorized by crimes and the nature of the background check request. Criminal Background Checks run by the FBI are conducted through one of theses national databases.

Accessing Criminal Background Checks…

Despite all the vast resources at the disposable of law enforcement and in some cases, employers, obtaining access to comprehensive information on the national level is practically impossible for a consumer. It’s even difficult on the state level, where restrictions are slowly being loosened.

Basically, this puts the hundreds on online background checks in a rather unique position, because they are really the only practical solution that a consumer has, if the aim is to conduct criminal background checks within a reasonable time frame. The biggest problem with this is that most of the online criminal background checks are nothing more than a money-sucking nightmare. This problem is evidenced very clearly when you take a look around the internet and read the thousands of negative feedback reports from consumers.

The reason for this is that central unit for the national decentralized judicial structure is the county court house. There are over 3,100 of those and you can imagine the resources needed to gather information from all of them. Plus, there is no centralized method for record keeping, further complicating the matter. However, this is as much a protection as a pain because it affords at least partial privacy in this instant, digital age.

The Supreme Court has even had a say on the decentralized nature of the court system. In earlier years a rehabilitated person would have been able to make a new beginning elsewhere without the fear of their past wrongdoings clouding the air. Regrettably, there are always people who have no interest in bettering their life, but only in finding and taking advantage of new victims elsewhere.

The reason many of the online criminal background checks are so absolutely incomplete and a waste of time and money is because gathering information from the 3,100 county courthouses is a mind boggling undertaking of vast proportions. Records are constantly being updated at 3,100 separate locations, which then have to be indexed and updated in the various databases.

Basically, a company needs to have resources far beyond the scope of most online services in order to be able to offer even semi-complete information. Most of the companies behind online background checks don’t have the resources or manpower to ensure their records are the most current available.

In the simplest sense, this entails using care and a little common sense when shopping around for an background check service. The simplest way is to search for reviews about a company you would like to use. Another useful resource is online forums. These are great because of the real time, uncensored exchange between users. Take a few minutes and you will be able to toss out most online services that might appeal to you. Unfortunately, background check forums are in short supply, so I decided to set one up here at bestbackgroundcheck.org. Please feel free to vent your feelings, and ask questions.

For those who simply can’t be bothered to take a few minutes to look around, let me give you a few examples that should scare you straight. A good looking ad does NOT mean the service is “good” at what they do. A few months ago, a maintenance manager at a New York apartment building was revealed to be a sex offender who had multiple convictions and 15 years under his belt for molesting young girls. How was he discovered? Well…he kept harassing female tenants who complained to the landlord…actually at fault because he didn’t use a reputable criminal background check.

Moral of the story is…Criminal background checks are completely useless if an inferior service is used that only observes formality, but does no real checking. I have walked in those shoes myself and know the importance of what I mentioned above. I have also spent over 3,000 hours on this and have an intimate knowledge of the online background check industry on both the consumer and employment levels.

Where To Get the most Accurate. Safe, and Comprehensive Criminal Background Checks available today...

I have spent over 3,000 hours researching, reading complaints, and testing dozens of background check services. The many available criminal background checks have been narrowed down to 4 services that are on the cutting edge.

When a service is finally approved, the buck doesn't stop there. I constantly test them and am frequently being provided feedback from folks like you who have used these criminal background checks.

These 4 services have delivered accurate, complete records and good customer service the most consistently of any online background check I have worked with the past few years.

You also need to know that if you go looking (I have), there is at the very least, some negative feedback about practically every single criminal background check available.

However, while these services have some of the best customer service track records available, that is not the sole determining factor. Providing the most accurate service available is just as important and in some cases the two don't match up.

You know how frustrating it is...so let the research speak for itself. Don't waste more time and money on a background check that will have you tearing your hair out!

 

*Please be aware that even the absolute best criminal background checks will not always have the records you need. However, these services are the MOST likely of any online criminal background check to deliver the accurate and comprehensive records you are looking for.