Thursday, May 5, 2011

Background Checking's Centrally Located Criminal Search Flawed

When you check central courts, and central courts only, the habit (and now NAPBS guideline) of omitting background checks at outlying courts can look pretty irrersponsible.

Especially if the subject applicant has a misdemeanor record at one the outlying courts.  Or how about multiple misdemeanor records at an outlying court?

Take Arizona, for instance. 

Many incorporated cities or towns have a municipal court, also known as a city court or magistrate court.
Municipal courts have criminal jurisdiction over misdemeanor crimes and petty offenses committed in their city or town.

They share jurisdiction with justice courts over violations of state law committed within their city or town limits.

Also,  each county  has precincts, containing that county's justice of the peace courts.

Generally, these precincts are larger than city or town limits and typically incorporate an entire city or town, and pieces of other communities as well.

Although these geographical boundaries can be changed.

Justice of the peace courts hear traffic cases and certain criminal and civil cases, including domestic violence and harassment cases.

So you want to miss Domestic Violence cases? DUI's? Assaults? Petty Theft?

I'd think not.

So where Arizona is not online, say Maricopa County, here is a brief 'what you're missing' summary:

There are 25 justice courts in Maricopa County that hear a combined caseload of approximately 400,000 cases each year.  (That's over 1,000 cases per day, if they worked every day!)

These include the full range of civil and criminal traffic offenses, including DUIs, and  other types of misdemeanor allegations (e.g. shoplifting, writing bad checks, violating restraining orders) and, like other trial judges, also handle requests for orders of protection and injunctions against harassment.

Sure you want to miss these, they all require a seperate search, Tempe, Paradise Valley, Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa?

You can use Arizona's online system or Maricopa County's site. 

Either way you are missing over 1 million (1,000,000+) residents of these cities and towns that might have committed a misdemeanor crime closest to where they live.

Increase the E&O insurance, mate, it's getting warm in here!

I applaud the NAPBS for their guideline. It took a lot of hard work by many to even agree what to agree on. So hat off for their hard work.

And this is not NAPBS' fault.  The record search at only the central court location was alive and well way before their creation.

Mainly because researchers in Ohio did not want to drive to the outlying courts and (and this is a big AND) screening companies did not want to pay extra for the search.

Competition was tough. It still is.

Maybe someone will come up with a better way.

But, the consumer (i.e., the employer) meanwhile will pay.

In fact. so will you and I.

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