The Background Investigator Goes To Botswana
In a continuing series, The Background Investigator goes to various countries around the world to explore the justice systems and bring back to you their findings. This month Faheem Ebrahim visited Botswana.
Here is his report:
Obtaining Criminal Records in Botsawana
by Faheem Ebrahim,
Botswana isn't a country that is much talked about around African nations.
The people of Botswana will tell you, that this is because there aren't as many problems in Botswana as other neighbouring nations, and the people are friendlier.
During my visit to Gabarone, the capital, I certianly found the latter to be true.
A visit to the magistrates court showed a colonial looking building with plenty of character.
The criminal registry was serviced by a local lady who was very accomodating and took me for a tour of the courthouse, and more importantly, showed me the details of the criminal record system in place.
The system was based on microsoft access with a wide option of identifiers, and we tested our names on the system (with both of our consent of course) to ensure we did not have a case filed in the country.
The best part about the system in Botswana is that every court is linked by the same network, therefore even though a case is filed in a different town within the country, they can still view the file in Gabarone - and vice versa.
I was impressed with what I saw, and complimented the team on their setup.
If only some of the larger and more developed nations around the world would take a small country such as Botswana as an example; due diligence checks would be a much simpler process!
I look forward to visiting again soon.
In a continuing series, The Background Investigator goes to various countries around the world to explore the justice systems and bring back to you their findings. This month Faheem Ebrahim visited Botswana.
Here is his report:
Obtaining Criminal Records in Botsawana
by Faheem Ebrahim,
Botswana isn't a country that is much talked about around African nations.
The people of Botswana will tell you, that this is because there aren't as many problems in Botswana as other neighbouring nations, and the people are friendlier.
During my visit to Gabarone, the capital, I certianly found the latter to be true.
A visit to the magistrates court showed a colonial looking building with plenty of character.
The criminal registry was serviced by a local lady who was very accomodating and took me for a tour of the courthouse, and more importantly, showed me the details of the criminal record system in place.
The system was based on microsoft access with a wide option of identifiers, and we tested our names on the system (with both of our consent of course) to ensure we did not have a case filed in the country.
The best part about the system in Botswana is that every court is linked by the same network, therefore even though a case is filed in a different town within the country, they can still view the file in Gabarone - and vice versa.
I was impressed with what I saw, and complimented the team on their setup.
If only some of the larger and more developed nations around the world would take a small country such as Botswana as an example; due diligence checks would be a much simpler process!
I look forward to visiting again soon.
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