One of the most critical aspects of pre-employment screening is criminal record verification. It helps organisations to offer a safe and secure working environment to their employees.
Criminal verification typically involves verifying a person's criminal history to assess his or her credibility and trustworthiness. While conducting a criminal background check, organisations scrutinise the details of a person very carefully so that they do not end up recruiting the wrong candidate.
In this post, we explore the concept of criminal verification in more detail, along with the essential things that you need to check while doing this.
Things To Check While Doing A Criminal Record Verification
Criminal background verification is generally required in situations where an organisation needs to know about any significant illegal activity, including fraud, embezzlement, violent or sex crimes, etc., before making a final employment decision.
While employers may have different screening goals based on the nature of the work and positions they’re filling, below are some of the things they need to check while doing a criminal background verification.
An-All Inclusive Litigation Search Of the Court Records
The first thing to check while doing a criminal record verification is the court records. These are verified and authenticated documents to help you validate the credibility and record of the employee and make sure that the candidate is not involved in any crime. You can mainly look at the information from below:
i. Criminal Suit-Magistrate Court
ii. Criminal Suit-District &State Court
iii. District Civil Courts & Tribunals
iv. High Courts
v. Magistrate Court & State Court
vi Supreme Court
The key objective behind this kind of comprehensive search is to ensure the appointment of candidates with a clean history. Also, check these databases to gather information about a candidate’s criminal history, such as misdemeanour criminal convictions and any pending criminal cases.
It is important to keep in mind that various criminal record checks may reveal different offenses, depending on the searched court records. For example, one state’s criminal records database might only report criminal activity in that state’s criminal court system. However, employers can choose to search multiple states based on where the candidate has lived, to search for illegal activity records in more than one state.
Checking Records at the Police Station
Another critical thing to check while doing a criminal background verification is to inspect records at the superintendent of the police's office and the local police station, as applicable, based on the address of the candidate and local/state regulations.
However, many times an individual with a criminal background in one part of the city or state could relocate to another place within India and appear to have no criminal record on a local police verification. It is, therefore, essential to go for criminal background verification through a formal process and expertise of a professional or else it will be a futile exercise.
Crime Watch List
Crime watch list is a comprehensive database that you can look at to verify if any data matches one of the potential candidates you're planning to hire or not.
The candidate's credentials should be thoroughly run through the crime watch list to verify the complete history. And in case a match is found, criminal records should also be checked.
International Criminal Records
International criminal record searches is another critical thing to check here. Look for any crimes and offences that may have occurred where your potential candidate may have lived before.
However, what information you find here will depend on the country itself as each country has its laws and regulations that must be followed.
Credit Default
Apart from the above checks, it is imperative to check the candidate's financial history, whether he/she has ever defaulted during the payment, and verify whether the employee plays any role in handling the client's funds.
If there is a match or you find candidates who have defaulted on credit payment, put them under question while hiring.
Civil Litigation
While doing criminal background verification, it is also essential to check the candidate's possibility of civil litigation.
Even if there is no full-fledged criminal record against the person, a criminal check of the employee can verify all the details of civil litigation, if any.
Overall Reputation
Checking the employee's reputation in all the previous organisations, he/she has also worked at add a vital data point while doing their criminal record verification.
If the candidate was involved in any crime or embezzlement, this gives the company a fair idea of whether to hire them or not.
To Conclude
Criminal background verification is typically not restricted to a particular city or region but works on a PAN India basis. It is quickly becoming a critical verification of the overall pre-employment background check process.
If you are unsure how to go about it, it is best to consult a professional background screening partner such as AuthBridge that can advise you in such matters and keep you safe from any possible legal troubles.