One of the most frequent questions we get when presenting our live Internet Investigative Research MCLE seminars regards "comprehensive criminal background searches." Seminar attendees are almost always surprised, and disappointed, when we explain that, despite all of the ads on the Internet suggesting the contrary, there is no such thing as a national criminal records database - at least not one that most of them can access.

Numerous sites on the Internet tout their "Nationwide Criminal Records Searches" or "Full Background Checks" (ranging in price from $14.95 to $49.95). While these sites might have some sort of criminal record information from all 50 states (and some territories, protectorates, etc.), they do not necessarily have records from every jurisdiction in every state. While New York state does make a criminal history report available to those who petition the state directly, New York WILL NOT sell access to its statewide criminal records to third-party vendors for resale. Vendors claiming to include criminal history information for New York might only have access to a limited number of court or law enforcement records. However, individuals can order a statewide Criminal History Record Search (CHRS) from the New York State Office of Court Administration. (Details are available from the link list/map below.)

One exception to sites that over-promise on their "Nationwide Criminal Records Searches" is SearchSystems, which offers "nationwide" and "statewide" criminal records searches. They are very clear about what is and is not included in their searches.

The closest thing we have to a national criminal records database is the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database (available to federal and local criminal justice agencies, as well as some select, authorized, non-criminal justice agencies). But even the NCIC database is not a complete collection of criminal records information. We’ve been told by some law enforcement officials that because the NCIC relies on local law enforcement agencies and courts to report information for inclusion, its database it is not "complete." For example, the same law enforcement sources have told us that agencies in smaller jurisdictions often do not enter warrants for criminals if the jurisdiction is unwilling or unable to pay for the criminals’ extradition back to their jurisdiction for trial.

The NCIC database currently consists of 21 files. There are seven property files containing records of stolen articles, boats, guns, license plates, parts, securities, and vehicles. There are 14 persons files, including: Supervised Release; National Sex Offender Registry; Foreign Fugitive; Immigration Violator; Missing Person; Protection Order; Unidentified Person; U.S. Secret Service Protective; Gang; Known or Appropriately Suspected Terrorist; Wanted Person; Identity Theft; Violent Person; and National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Denied Transaction. The system also contains images that can be associated with NCIC records to help agencies identify people and property items. The Interstate Identification Index, WHAT IS THIS? which contains automated criminal history record information, is accessible through the same network as NCIC.

Even with these extensive files, the "FBI acknowledges that its NCIC database is limited, noting that it contains only about 50 to 55 percent of all available criminal records..."

Misuse of the FBI National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is subject to additional? federal criminal and/or civil penalties. The federal Privacy Act of 1974 states: (3) Any person who knowingly and willfully requests or obtains any record concerning an individual from an agency under false pretenses shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than $5,000. [5 USC Sec.552a(i)]

Misuse of criminal history record information obtained through NCIC violates the Code of Federal Regulation, Title 28, Section 20.25: Any agency or individual violating subpart B [State and Local Criminal History Record Information] of these regulations shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $11,000 for a violation occurring on OR after September 29, 1999.

In 2014, a private investigator was arrested for bribing a New York city policeman to gain access to reports from the NCIC database. The policeman was also arrested. Both were charged with participating in a conspiracy to commit bribery and to access a federal database without authorization, one count of bribery, and one count of unauthorized database access, among other charges.

The FBI does offer an "Identity History Summary" search and a "Background Checks for Employment or Licensing" search for use under specific circumstances.

Many states do provide a mechanism to retrieve statewide criminal history reports to the public. Where available, the type and amount of information included in these criminal history reports and the process and cost of requesting them varies from state to state. We have created this directory as a resource to help you locate the official state sources for criminal record information. (Remember that federal criminal charges will not be included in these state databases.)

The post State by State Directory of Official Sources for Criminal History and Criminal Records Searches appeared first on Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) in California, MCLE Los Angeles, CLE Orange County, Irvine & San Francisco.

The FBI’s UCR Program is a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of more than 18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies voluntarily reporting data on crimes brought to their attention. Since 1930, the FBI has administered the UCR Program and has continued to assess and monitor the nature and type of crime in the nation. The program’s primary objective is to generate reliable information for use in law enforcement administration, operation, and management; over the years, however, the data have become one of the country’s leading social indicators. Criminologists, sociologists, legislators, municipal planners, the media, and other students of criminal justice use the data for varied research and planning purposes.

In 2013, law enforcement agencies active in the UCR Program represented more than 309 million United States inhabitants (98.0 percent of the total population). The coverage amounted to 98.8 percent of the population in Metropolitan Statistical Areas, 92.9 percent of the population in cities outside metropolitan areas, and 93.5 percent of the population in nonmetropolitan counties.

The data are notoriously dense. National Public Radio (NPR) notes that, "The FBI collects clearance statistics for its annual 'Uniform Crime Report,' but it doesn't break those numbers down by jurisdiction. That makes it hard for people to compare local police departments' clearance rates, or track them over time." To make the data more accessible, NPR has created a tool to locate information about the clearance rates for crimes in a particular geographic area.

The FBI UCR data can be searched by location name (e.g., Boston, MA) or agency (e.g., Colorado State Patrol).

Currently the tool includes only available data through 2013. NPR plans to add 2014 data when they are available.

NPR offers a number of caveats for users to keep in mind when using their crime reporting search tool.

• The quality of American crime statistics is notoriously uneven, and these are no exception. Sometimes cities fail to report, or their data are rejected because of errors. For instance, this database shows the New York Police Department clearing zero homicides in 2011 and 2012 — which was clearly not the case.
• These data follow the standards of the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. One of the idiosyncrasies of UCR Summary data is that clearances are credited to the year in which the crime was cleared, not the year in which it was committed. As a result, it's sometimes possible for a city to clear more murders than were committed in a year, for a clearance rate above 100 percent.
• Some cities will claim different clearance rates, based on another federal statistical standard known as the NIBRS. We decided to stick with the more widely-used UCR Summary standard, to allow people to compare like with like. (Here is an explanation of the differences between UCR and NIBRS.)
• We've left out clearance statistics for sexual assault, because experts in the field have advised us that reporting inconsistencies make those data too unreliable.

The post How Many Crimes Do Your Police ‘Clear’? | New Tool Allows You to Find Out appeared first on Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) in California, MCLE Los Angeles, CLE Orange County, Irvine & San Francisco.

Once expunged, record of those convictions would no longer be available to members of the public or prospective employers requesting Minnesota Public Criminal History reports. Law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and judges would still have access to complete criminal records that would still include the expunged convictions.

The Minnesota Judicial Branch's Self Help Center offers a colleciton of expungement resources. The law took effect January 1, 2015.

The post New Minnesota Expungement Law Allows for Sealing of Certain Criminal Records appeared first on Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) in California, MCLE Los Angeles, CLE Orange County, Irvine & San Francisco.