You now have the option to search county criminal records for an entire metropolitan area in a single request.  Where statewide criminal histories are unavailable, this is a valuable alternative. For example, the metropolitan area of Los Angeles primarily resides within Los Angeles County, but Orange, Ventura, and San Bernardino counties are also part of the same metro area.   Now, if your applicant’s history is from one of the metro areas you simply choose “Metro Criminal Search” instead of worrying about which individual county would be most appropriate.

Turnaround time will be 48-72 hours in most instances.

ESS put together 39 Metro Criminal Searches for areas where a statewide search is not a viable option. (For more information on the availability of statewide searches, see the Report Availability and “Criminal History Searches: Understanding the Criminal Record Process,” which is in the Fall 2001 E-Update.)

To view the Metro Searches listing click here

Please call if you have any questions, and let us know if you would like to implement Metro Criminal Searches on your ESS reports.

* ESS Now Checking Applicants Against Specifically Designated Global Terrorists Listing
* Sex Offender Search Now Available
* Canadian Criminal and MVR Records available

To see all the Special e-Updates click here

One job applicant had recently moved from Arizona to California to look for work. The phone number listed for her last employer in Arizona went directly to the listed supervisor. It was a California number, but under Reason for Leaving she explained that her supervisor accepted a job in California. She further noted that she too decided it was time for a career change, and so she resigned her position and moved to California.

ESS contacted the supervisor at her current job. She was very professional and articulate and she proceeded to provide specific details about the applicant’s previous job responsibilities and duties. She provided other useful information including constructive input on where the applicant might improve on her skills. She also confirmed the employer was located in Phoenix, which was the only piece of the address supplied by the applicant. The supervisor added, “but I think they moved sometime after I left.”

ESS then proceeded to try and find the employer’s office, but no company by that name could be found in Phoenix. ESS did find three companies with the same or similar name in the surrounding area, and we set out to call each one. One man, who turned out to be the owner of the business, knew the applicant. He had not, however, heard of the listed supervisor. He then proceeded to tell a slightly different story of the applicant’s employment. She had embezzled several thousand dollars from him and disappeared. A couple days later ESS received a call from the business owner. He said, “You know that name you gave me that your applicant said was her supervisor? I just happen to run into her stepfather. He said that’s her mother, and she recently got out on parole.”

Note: We cannot emphasize enough the importance of a complete employment application. In this case, we were able to find the actual business instead of solely relying on an unknown person who no longer worked at the business in question. With a complete business address (including a full street address), ESS can reverse the address and the phone number (if submitted) to find and confirm the source of human resource records.

The applicant in the above case would have been smarter to simply fabricate the name of the employer and state it was out of business. We would have searched our proprietary database, directory assistance, and several other business directories as well as the Internet, but eventually we would have reported No Listing Found, and the applicant might have been hired.

We are able to reverse a street address if provided. We might discover the street doesn't even exist. When an employer’s address is found to be legitimate, we call the current listing and/or listings of neighboring businesses in an attempt to find if the employer was really there and confirm what happened to it. We report these attempts and findings back to you, so that if you choose to pursue the matter, you can ask the applicant for additional information or an explanation.

This new system will allow you to access your reports via the Internet. It will also allow you to have applicants send you applications on-line and then you can order your reports directly from the application.

This is a very major undertaking. We are trying to design in as much information and ease of use as possible to give you the best on-line system available. We are anxious to have it up and running. We will keep you posted as it progresses.

“I feel he would be an outstanding addiction to any organization.”

“Wind her up and watch her go.”

“As a general manager, his duty was to overlook employees.”

“He’s all here, but sometimes he’s not all there.”

Application: Have you ever been involuntarily discharged or separated from a job? If so, explain:
Applicant: Yes. I thought I would call in sick on my last job in order to go water skiing. I passed my boss in his boat on the lake. Soon after that I was looking for a new job.

Application: Have you ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor? If yes, please explain:
Applicant: Yes. I was uncharacteristically drunk one night and broke a window and walked away. Someone else took clothing from the window and I was prosecuted for burglary. The judge dismissed the burglary charge on the grounds of “too drunk.”

Application: Reason for leaving?
Applicant: Deceased

Application: Reason for leaving?
Applicant: Navy had enough.

The Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles recently made a change to the access requirements in obtaining a Motor Vehicle Report from their state.

The name of the your applicant, which ESS submits to the Arizona DMV to retrieve his/her driving record, must now exactly match the applicant’s name as it appears on his/her driver license.  If the first, middle, or last name differs in any way, then we receive a “driver not found” result.  For example, if we submit the first and last name accurately, but the driver license contains a middle initial or full middle name, then we receive a “driver not found.”  The same is true if we submit a middle initial but the license contains the full middle name (and vice versa).

ESS is charged for a record nevertheless, and therefore we must pass the charge to you, as well as the charge to run a new order under the corrected name.

In order to avoid additional charges, we suggest that you personally view the driver license or have the applicant carefully confirm with you the exact name as it appears on the license before submitting the Arizona MVR request. 

To live and work in the United States is a life-long goal of many people living elsewhere.  Our higher education system, open form of government, and standard of living are especially attractive to those from countries with poor economic conditions or repressive governments.   For the most part employers, hungrily competing for the best and brightest, have welcomed the international applicants into the U.S. job market.

For more than a decade, employers have been pummeled by the legal and employment screening industries with reasons for implementing a standard pre-employment background check on potential employees.  Primarily, employers don’t want to face the prospect of negligent hiring litigation.   Financial losses from internal theft and high turnover rates have also convinced employers to pre-screen job applicants.  The development and implementation of pre-employment screening program on U.S. citizens is a difficult enough challenge, but how can employers perform a due diligence background check on people just arriving from other countries?

Immigrants applying for a visa are required to supply a variety of documents, including police records, to the Department of State.  Those applying for employment visas must provide employment and education credentials.  However, experience has shown us that the State Department does not have the ability to thoroughly check the background of all visa applicants.   For years it has been possible, albeit very costly, for an employer to check the background of a newly arrived immigrant.  In recent years the process has become somewhat more feasible to the average employer, yet there are still many inherent problems with the international background check.

A criminal history search, a standard part of any background check, is anything but “standard” in most countries.  Some countries for example, restrict access to criminal history data to the individual concerned and to law enforcement; there simply are no public records of convictions.  Other countries will make data available, but the records are purged after only a few years, meaning a thief could legitimately come back with a clean record only five years after being convicted.  Some foreign courts and law enforcement agencies have been known to be bribable; for the right price, an individual’s criminal record disappears.  

Furthermore, in the U.S., we have an understanding of our judicial system and the laws.  The severity of a crime is described as a felony, misdemeanor, or a lesser offense.  Some countries have a judicial system that does not equate to ours and they may classify some activity as a crime that we do not and vice versa.  This may open a new set of considerations when a criminal record is found. 

The biggest obstacle with the international criminal search is that countries simply do not have the information technology, data storage, or networking capabilities that we enjoy in the United States.  Technology and access to information  is improving in most places; however, even in some of the largest foreign cities a researcher could be forced to travel to many courts or police stations to complete a criminal search comprising the entire city.  The ability to electronically access a criminal computer index that contains records for a significant region is rare outside of the U.S.

Checking criminal records in an extremely remote area is obviously problematic and sometimes impossible because a record repository simply does not exist.  A background check can still be done but it requires dispatching an investigator who is familiar with the area.  The end result would be more of a “reputation report” derived through local sources.  A good investigator will provide reliable and useful information but the price tag could easily go over a thousand dollars. 

Despite the problems and pitfalls, many employers are concluding they can no longer gloss over the background check when it comes to international applicants.  At the very least, if called into a court of law, employers need to be able to demonstrate their decision to hire was based on a reasoned and useful exercise and not on an intuitive guess.

Employment Screening Services now offers its clients the ability to check international criminal records.  The search types and prices vary between countries.  Most searches conducted overseas are done through local specialists who have a thorough knowledge in the ways and means of accessing criminal information in their given area.  These specialists have contacts within the government service offices, judicial systems, and police agencies.  Typically, a local specialist will have connections to specialists in an adjacent area.  Agreements to exchange searches will often result in a criminal record search for a larger metropolitan area or for a cluster of cities in a same region.

Types of International Criminal Searches

Jurisdiction Search.  Based on the address submitted, the source of this search is the single most appropriate government service office (such as the primary law enforcement agency or court system for that location). The search will typically cover an entire city; however, many large cities consist of 4-5 jurisdictions, each with information independent of the other.  In this case, the search will only cover the jurisdiction that covers the submitted address.  Conversely, some multi-jurisdiction cities are not only networked together to cover the entire city, the search may include an entire region, such as a province or state.

Price range: $50 to $150*

Turnaround time: 5-10 business days

Scope of Search: The average search will go back 5-7 years.  The convictions reported are typically equivalent to a Felony in the United States.  Some repositories may also include lesser crimes.

Regional Search. (where available).  A Regional Search will be conducted through a single jurisdiction when available; however,  most regions cannot be searched through a single source and must be completed though a network of on-site private investigators and record retrieval experts.  These individuals make personal visitations, phone, email, or fax contacts with the various jurisdictions that fall within an assigned area.  Depending on the country and area of interest, the Regional Search will either comprise major cities within a given geographic region, or it will consist of an entire state, district, or province.

Price Range: $125 to $300*

Turnaround:  6-12 business days

Scope of Search: same as for the Jurisdiction search

Reputation Report.  Some areas, especially remote unpopulated areas, do not have a repository accessible to third parties. Most international applicants will come from areas with skilled labor and higher education and therefore the Jurisdiction or Regional Search will be available.  If not, the Reputation Report is available.  The Reputation Report may also be utilized in addition to one of the other reports when more in-depth and personal information is needed. This report is developed by a specialized private investigator in the area.  Information in the Reputation Report can vary widely.  Basic information will include any reported involvement in illegal activities or with any criminal element.  Additional information  may include place and year of birth, employment history, approximate income, credit status, last know address, real property, etc.

Price Range: $300 to $700*

Turnaround:  2-3 weeks

*Please contact ESS for a price quote on a specific country.

Information Needed for an International Criminal Check

   1. Type of search
   2. Full name (including mother’s maiden name for Hispanic countries)
   3. Date of birth
   4. City and country (include street address when possible)
   5. Any other information, such as address of employer(s) or school(s) attended  

Other International Services Provided by ESS

Driving records, Credit Reports, and Civil records are also available in most countries.  Please call for a specific quote.

Employment Screening Services automatically attempts to verify international employment and education and conducts reference checks at no additional charge (unless an interpreter is required).  We contact sources via telephone, email, and/or fax.  Our success ratio varies with the business, institution and country, but if we are provided clear, complete, and accurate information, chances are good that we will complete the international verification or reference check within the normal turnaround time.

Please call an ESS representative with any questions.