Manila Courts And Straightline International

Steven Brownstein actually gets things done. He has spent more time travelling around the world to courthouses than anyone else in history.
As he stays humble about his efforts, it is important that this blog gives him credit where it's due.
Recently he returned from a week in Manila visiting the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC), the Makati RTC, the Mandulayong Municipal Trial Court, and the Pasay City Trial Court.
Why, I asked do you go?
"Because," he replied, " there is no better way to get an understanding of how a system workd than seeing it operate first hand."
"I've been in this business (pre-employment screening) long enough to know that there are many shortcuts to obtaining criminal records. Most research companies are apt to use them (as time is an issue in background checks - everyone expects instant turnaround time). But there are no shortcuts. Every time you use suspect services you, yourself, leave the door wide open to litigation."
"But, I go to the courts around the world. I make the contacts. We're taking about 100's of cities worldwide. Most major cities on all the continents."
"I think Benjamin Franklin would be proud of me.
"I had to ask Brownstein, "Why Ben Franklin?"
"Simply," he said, "Franklin was one of the greatest Statesmen of all time."
So Steven Brownstein travels around the world and learns court sytems.
He takes that knowledge, shares it with the background screening industry, uses his contacts made for reliable results of international criminal record requests.
Steven Brownstein - A Johnny Appleseed of criminal record retrieval.

Straightline International's Background Check Learning Center

Be a criminal record researcher anywhere in the world.

In this day and age with worldwide unemployment at unprecedented highs what might a person do to get ahead?

Education is one solution.

And educating oneself about how to do criminal record research is something that can be taught online through training programs that Straightline International offers to 3rd world countries.

Its NGO office can guide an interested person through the methods and red tape that would otherwise discourage the most eager student. Once the applicant has finished the course the graduate will be well on the way to starting a new career.

If you are interested in learning more about  Straightline International's NGO background check student learning center contact phyllisn@search4crime.com

Steven Brownstein - A Real Criminal Records Researcher

Steven Brownstein is the real McCoy.
There are many want to be's but it takes more than a wish, a desire, an E-Mail ad campaign, or a We Bite to make a real criminal records researcher.
The other week Steven Brownstein reci=ceived an order to find an ' illegal fishing' case on a subject from 10 or so years ago.
The applicant couldn't remember he date(s). Just something like 10  years ago; he was detained, and ended up paying a fine of maybe $500. Or mybe it was bail. He couldn't recall.
Steven Brownstein, knowing the jurisdiction and it processes started at the Federal district Court. There are fish sanctuaries nearby. Maybe he was picked up by the U.S.
But searching the dockets and files for the last dozen or so years proved nothing.
So it was onward to the Superior Court. 
A computerized check of the files showed nothing.
Hmmm, he wondered where this $500 payment went.
Steven Brownstein then went to the Dept. of Public Safety (DPS).  Maybe there was an arrest and no charges brought to court. He might have posted bail. At least that was what Brownstein hoped for. No hanky panky, hopefully.
DPS had no records of the individual being arested nor the subject having been detained or questioned.
One could surmise it wasn't going so well and call it quits.
But not steven Brownstein, a real criminal records researcher.
Wracking his brain, a thought came to him.
Maybe Fish and Wildlife stopped him.
And you know what, that was what had happened.
After a hand search of records (Fish and wildlife has only been compuertised for several years) up popped the name and the illegal fishing 'citatation' and a fine of $500 paid 9 years ago.
Had the researcher been other than Steven Brownstein, you the person needing this information (and document) would have been out cold.
And that's what he means when he says there are many lessor researchers in the business.
They're out to take your money. Fast. With little or no work nor effort on their part.
Brownstein says that if you're willing to part with your cash so easily, shame on you.
Our advice is that if you need a real researcher and Steven Brownstein is the REAL DEAL, contact him at his companies, Straightline International or The Background Investigator at 1-866-909-6678.  Call him directly at 1-670-256-7000.  Rememeber, Brownstein is in Saipan, about 15 hours time zone difference from the USA.

CBS Posts AP Report That Gets It Wrong About Background Checks

CBS got it wrong. That's after AP got it wrong.  Maybe There Ought To Be A Correction.

Regarding an artcle entitled, "AP IMPACT: When your criminal past isn't yours"
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501366_162-57344346/ap-impact-when-your-criminal-past-isnt-yours/

I'm  not sure who the source was, but the comment, "It hasn't helped that dozens of databases are now run by mom-and-pop businesses with limited resources to monitor the accuracy of the records," misses the point as well as BAD MOUTH hard working Americans in the background screening industry. Show me the proof.

LET"S LOOK AT THE ISSUE:

ALL records are kept in databases. The courts have one. The police have one.

What background checking company monitors the records of the original sources of records they acquire?

Why should they? Can't trust the government to keep the record straight?

Fact is,  when it came to criminal records from the courts, everyone, BIG GUYS, and SMALL FRIES bought from the same sources more times than you imagined.

They had a runner (researcher) that searched the databases at a particular court and sent back a report to the company with a clear or found criminal (case) record.

Most counties only had a few (if any) runner/researchers. They were all well known. They were used by almost everyone.

The background check companies regularly check (audit) the researchers. They audit their work by sending work to them (knowing what the criminal case record should be - unless it has been expunged) and comparing it to their known results.

And if a discrepancy is found in a subject's record, to this day, researcher's are asked to do further investigation and find perhaps gather additional identifying information.

But background check companies sending researchers KNOWN CASES of IDENTITY THEFT cases  or asking to IDENTIFY EXPUNGED CASES that aren't expunged from the records and asking researchers to sort that mess out?

NEVER.

Given there are improper USES of DATABASES, the Federal Government has made certain that we know that. It created the FCRA.

About a decade ago,  The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) was formed. http://www.napbs.com/

The NAPBS gives MOM and POP's the opportunity to share and get information from the same sources (including the FCRA) as the BIG GUYS.  And there are plenty of MOM and POP enterprises that are PAID members of the NAPBS.

As a sidebar, if it weren't for background checking companies, the issues of court clerical erors and identity theft might never have come up.  Go back more to the late 90's and the identity theft issue started in Ohio with an identity theft, a background checking company, a Sheriff's Association, and a lawsuit.

Meanwhile, the background checking industry always relied on the small MOM and POP to gather the criminal records they needed for their reports.
The internet changed a lot (but not all) of that with online access to court records.  Many small businesses were left without business as the 'big guys' dropped them faster than a hot potato preferring to do their own online searches instead of paying the few dollars per search that was the going rate at the time.

Then came scraping. This is not a new technology.  Research would show that the U.S. Court records (PACER) have been scraped for more than a decade by many companies. The use of scraping as a competitive edge by the BIG COMPANIES anxious to please their customers with faster service has made this product what it is today. Smaller MOM and POP's buy their scraping from the BIG GUYS.

Scraping actually utilizes the live data provided by the source ( in most cases, by a court).

The databases themselves are the problem.  There's errors in most all.

But it's the correction of inaccurate records where the lawsuits lie. The story even mentions a BIG LAWSUIT:

... "(A) settlement, which received tentative approval from a federal judge in Virginia last month, requires HireRight to pay $28.4 million to settle allegations that it didn't properly notify people about background checks and didn't properly respond to complaints about inaccurate files.

HIRERIGHT is by no means a SMALL MOM AND POP company.  Except maybe by comparing them to Microsoft or Wal-Mart.

I have to consider then as false the assessment that the problem discussed in the article is databases run by MOM and POPS.

I take offense at knocking the MOM and POPS of this country.

I read the article as a  'correction of error' problem and not a 'scraping or database' issue. 

Senastionalizing the story did not help protect the innocent person harmed by identity thieves or innacurate records kept at the originating source.

Let's look out for the MOM and POP  businesses. I know of one LARGE  pre-employment screening company that grew out of their garage. Maybe a software company, coffee company, and a newspaper or two had humble beginnings, too.