What is a Federal Criminal Search?

Federal criminal records are often forgotten about. Many people think a national criminal search is a federal criminal search. This is simply not true as a federal criminal search comes from a different set of courts and will not be found by searching state, county, or national data bases.

The misconception is that federal criminal searches pertain to white collar crimes only. In reality federal courts cover many types of offenses that will not be tried under local or state laws. Crimes under federal blog postjurisdiction can include bank robbery, kidnapping, counterfeiting, embezzlement, tax evasion, trafficking illegal substances, humans, guns, and ect. across state lines and crimes that are committed on federal property.

A normal background check for employment will pull a county court search most of the time. Depending on the type of position a county criminal search may not be enough. Statistics show approximately five percent of criminal records are for federal crimes. When hiring employees employers not only have a moral obligation but also a legal obligation to provide and environment that is safe for co-workers and clients.

Federal criminal searches will be helpful when added to any background check. It should not be ran alone due to the narrow scope of certain districts. With over seven thousand courts in the U.S that maintain criminal records employers do not have the time to search every type of court in the country. With the help of a good CRA employers can quickly determine which courts should be researched for a specific applicant. When ran alone federal criminal searches cannot be seen as a thorough background check. They are best utilized when searched with county criminal offenses.

Most employers search the last seven years for criminal history, in some cases employers will search further back.

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