自 9 月 11 日事件以来，许多公司已经接受了对求职者进行犯罪背景调查是当务之急的事实。犯罪背景调查可帮助雇主避免工作场所暴力，避免因招聘疏忽而承担责任并减少员工不诚实行为造成的损失。以下是一些统计数据，说明为什么对公司而言，犯罪记录筛查是一项值得的投资：
在职暴力每年给雇主造成 360 亿美元的损失。
每宗工作场所暴力诉讼的平均赔偿金额超过 100 万美元。
37.6%的被调查大学生承认有犯罪史。
30% 的企业倒闭是由员工盗窃造成的。
有许多不同类型的犯罪背景调查，但始终推荐的两种是县和联邦犯罪记录调查。
美国的县犯罪记录搜索适用于所有 50 个州的所有县。这些搜查暴露了州警察的逮捕记录、缓刑、解雇、缓刑和监禁记录。这些搜索可以追溯到 5 年、7 年或 10 年，通常涵盖从社会保障追踪中分离出来的县。不幸的是，县搜索只会揭示在被搜索的县犯下的罪行，而不会揭示申请人可能跨越州界犯下的罪行。
有些违法行为违反了联邦法律，而不是州或地方法律。这些类型的犯罪记录可以在美国地方法院找到。每个州至少有一个美国地方法院，而其他州则分为多个地区。
联邦调查局也将其称为白领犯罪，联邦犯罪包括欺诈犯罪、贿赂、伪造、挪用公款、违反税法、州际违规、恐怖行为、银行抢劫、绑架、贩毒和洗钱。
进行联邦犯罪记录搜索很重要，因为一般情况下，联邦犯罪不会出现在县或全州的刑事检查中。此外，您希望在其他地方找到的某些记录和违规行为有时只能通过联邦犯罪记录搜索才能发现。
典型案例
最近，我们代表我们的一位客户对约翰·史密斯 (John Smith)进行了例行性犯罪者搜查。性犯罪者登记处没有显示此人的记录。但是，应招聘公司的要求，还对约翰·史密斯进行了联邦犯罪记录搜索。对联邦法院记录的搜索确定史密斯先生是一名登记在案的性犯罪者，因此，他没有资格胜任这份工作。
这是一个例子，说明如果雇主不要求搜查联邦法院，他们可能会雇用一名被定罪的性犯罪者。虽然这种情况不太可能经常发生，但如果招聘公司没有要求联邦犯罪记录搜索，雇用此人可能会导致灾难。
background checks on job applicants is a priority. Criminal background checks help employers avoid workplace violence, protect against negligent hiring liability and reduce employee dishonesty losses. Below are some statistics that show why screening for criminal records is a worthwhile investment for companies:
On-the-job violence costs employers $36 billion each year.
The average award in a workplace violence lawsuit exceeds $1 million per case.
37.6% of surveyed college students admit to a history of criminal acts.
30% of all business failures are caused by employee theft.
There are many different types of criminal background checks, but the two that are always recommended are the County and Federal Criminal Record Searches.
County criminal record searches in the US are available for all counties in all 50 states. These searches expose state police arrest records, suspended sentences, dismissals, probation and incarceration records. These searches can go back 5-, 7-, or 10 years and usually cover counties spun off the Social Security Trace. Unfortunately, a county search will only reveal crimes committed in the counties searched, and will not reveal crimes an applicant may have committed across state borders.
Some offenses are violations of Federal law as opposed to state or local law. Records of these types of crimes can be located in the US District Courts. Each state has at least one US District Court, while other states are divided into numerous districts.
Also referred to by the FBI as white collar crimes, Federal crimes include fraud offenses, bribery, forgery, embezzlement, tax law violations, interstate violations, terrorist acts, bank robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking and money laundering.
It is important to run a Federal Criminal Records Search because, generally, Federal crimes will not appear in a county or statewide criminal check. In addition, some records and violations you would expect to find in other locations are sometimes uncovered only as a result of the Federal Criminal Records Search.
Case in Point
Recently, on behalf of one of our clients, we ran a routine Sexual Offender Search on a John Smith. The Sexual Offenders Registry showed no record for this individual. However, a Federal Criminal Records Search was also performed on John Smith at the request of the hiring company. A search of Federal Court records identified Mr. Smith as a registered sex offender, therefore, making him ineligible for the job.
This is an example of how if the employer did not request to search Federal Courts they could have hired a convicted sex offender. And although this situation may be unlikely to occur on a regular basis, hiring this individual could have lead to disaster if the hiring company had not requested a Federal Criminal Records Search.
