Some Slowdowns in County Criminal Background Checks

County Criminal Background checks are a key component to any background checking package.  For those who desire a comprehensive preemployment screening program, the county criminal records search will not only pull the most exacting information from the county courthouse but will also reveal any pending cases.

Pending cases are important.   These are the cases still in the courts where there is has been no disposition.   It is essential to be aware of pending criminal cases.  As an employer the last thing you need is to hire a new job candidate to find that three weeks later he is being carted off to jail or, at the very least, has convictions on his record not in keeping with the hiring threshold criterion of your company.

Country Criminal background checks are generally pulled by hand within the county courthouse.  In some counties around the country there are Internet access terminals, but often there are discrepancies in information.    There are various reasons for the inaccuracies.  Common names are the main reasons that one record gets appointed to the wrong person of the same name.   Sometimes the case files are also inaccurate.

But these discrepancies are almost never found at the court level.  Pulling the records by hand in the courthouse is always the best bet for accuracy and clarity.   Often you will discover the initial charges and what, ultimately, ended up as the disposition.  This is considerable in cases where violence is involved.   When felony violence is plea bargained down to misdemeanors and tickets, as often happens, especially, with domestic violence issues, you, the employer wants to be aware of this.   There are considerations, not only pertaining to the final disposition but with concern for endangerment in the work place.

Typically, county criminal records searches will return anywhere from 24 to 72 business hours.  Sometimes the turnaround  is longer in rural and less accessible areas or in crowded cities where the clerks are inundated with requests.   Time delays may happen more frequently as the states experience budgetary concerns due to the economic meltdown.   Court close for mandated furlough dates and then open to voluminous requests for records.   Sometimes the staff has been reduced, putting extra burden on the remaining clerks.

So when ordering county criminal background checks bear in mind that you may want to early sooner to avoid waiting before hiring your new employment candidate or being forced to hire the candidate on contingency he pass the returning background checks.   The delays are part of our current economic crisis in every state in the country.  But the wait for what may be revealing records about your job candidate is well worth the time.

Check them out before you hire.