Wednesday, September 18, 2013

California Public Criminal Records

By Ben Kingsley


In California, background screening is quickly becoming a standard practice in many workplaces and even businesses across the world. Organizations perform background checks as they are always on the lookout to mitigate their risks. Performing background checks is an effective and easy way for them to do so. In background screening, the records heavily relied on are criminal records as such records indicate any felonies or misdemeanour done by an individual thereby helping employers do the decision-making fast and with assurance. California criminal records can be acquired through the Department of Justice or California Attorney General.

Pursuant to California's Public Records Act, any Californian has the right to access public information maintained by local and state government agencies, including the Department of Justice. California, however, restricts access to certain records such as criminal and arrest records to legitimate law enforcement agencies, authorized applicant agencies, and those persons named on the records only. Requests from people whose purpose is neither any of these will not be accommodated.

If you wish to request access to such records for genealogy research or background checks, you may have to settle for an informational copy. The Department of Justice or the California Attorney General cannot issue a certified copy for criminal records to persons outside the restrictions imposed by California's jurisdiction. An informational copy contains the same information as that of an authorized copy, but will have a legend across the face stating that it is not a valid document and therefore cannot establish identity.

Like any other record demands, an application form must be secured first and completed for the request to be processed. When appealing for a criminal record, you have to get a Live Scan form and fill it out with your significant personal information. Such form can be downloaded online or directly from the Department of Justice's website. Once the form is completed, it should be submitted to such agency together with an image of your Live Scan fingerprints. Fingerprint images are required since criminal record searches are fingerprint-based. Payment for the criminal record request must be through check or money order made payable to the Department of Justice. The processing fee is $25. The estimated processing time takes weeks to months. Unfortunately, such office cannot accommodate rush requests.

In the State of California, only those with a valid reason such as employment can obtain access to such records either through the agencies stated above or through courts. Since California has implemented many rules in obtaining criminal records, doing background checks can be quite an arduous task. In this case, you may have to settle for an informational copy. However, if such copy does not seem to be adequate for your research or background check, you can actually try to pull a quick record review online.

Today, with Internet as the trend, procuring records can already be done in the comfort of your own home. With a computer and an Internet connection handy, you can already get the criminal and arrest records public you need in an expedited and convenient manner. Simply search for record providers online, do a quick background check on the record provider you're eyeing on, and start your record search. Instead of the usual processing time that takes weeks to months, these independent online service providers can give you the records you need in just a matter of minutes. Truly, utilizing this method will save you money, time, and effort.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment