There is a misconception between employers and their Human Resource professionals that a National or Nationwide criminal inquiry yields all criminal history information on a subject. 

Those that utilize those search methods only are potentially lacking key criminal data on their prospective employees.  Therefore, it’s imperative for employers to know that there are four additional levels of criminal information available, each described below.

County, State, Federal, and International each provide different levels of detail and information about an individual's criminal history. 

Human Resource professionals should ensure they understand the differences between these levels and be cautious when using this information in the hiring process.

County Criminal

A County criminal search is the most common level used by employers.  These inquiries search only a specific jurisdiction within a state and therefore, do not consistently capture all convictions. 

In New York, for example, County courts do not hear misdemeanor cases at all.  Misdemeanor cases are heard at the local, town, or city court level instead. 

If an employer is only utilizing a County criminal inquiry in New York, then they are only obtaining felony conviction information.  Occasionally, there will be a felony conviction within the County court records. 

The only time this happens though is when a conviction started as a felony, was pled down to a misdemeanor, and then was closed all in the same court.  This does happen every so often, but it is not common. 

Pled down cases are generally sent to the lower court for hearing from the County court in New York.  The vast majority of misdemeanors are not captured by a County criminal inquiry in New York.  However, in most other states they are. 

State Criminal

While you might think obtaining felonies only is alright, CI has seen convictions such as criminal possession of a weapon, forgery, criminal impersonation, operating under the influence, endangering a child, and plenty more classified as misdemeanors and not captured by a County criminal inquiry.

See the full list of Missed Misdemeanors we’ve compiled. 

Employers want to be aware of their State's court record system to determine if a County criminal search is enough. 

This point also circles back to our introduction about utilizing more than a Nationwide criminal search. 

Nationwide criminal inquiries gather as much information as they are able to from some County courts, and compile it all into one place. 

That sounds great, but when you take a closer look, you realize that, and you don’t know when the records were last updated. 

The information could be two days old, or 18 months old, and the employer has no way of being sure. 

Also, not all counties within the US are included.  It is best practice to use a County criminal inquiry in all locations that your subject has lived.  In some states, though, that process can be streamlined by using a State criminal inquiry.

New York, New Jersey, Vermont, and North Carolina are four states in the US that have a State criminal search that encompasses at least as much as a county search would but includes more because of their geographical scope, and their records are updated frequently, almost in synch with the county.  

The advantage to State criminal inquiries is they have access to the entire state's records for just a little more than the price of a county search. 

State criminal inquiries will usually capture both misdemeanors and felonies, as they have access to all the specific state’s courts information. These inquiries help streamline the onboarding and investigation process. 

State criminal inquiries generally have a faster turnaround time than counties; however, some jurisdictions are expensive. 

For example, in New York, the New York State Office of Court Administration (NYS OCA) currently has a fee of $95 plus financing fee per name associated with utilizing their database for criminal history inquiries.  The NYS OCA doesn’t include fuzzy logic either, which means if the court clerk inputs the subject’s name incorrectly, the employer will miss the record. 

Many employers, especially Non-Profit organizations, don’t realize this hidden cost until it is too late.  Commercial Investigations LLC recognized this issue, and created a proprietary inquiry for New York criminal records specifically. 

Our inquiry, Cursory Indicator New York™, is a criminal history search through our proprietary data, instead of the NYS OCA’s data.  Commercial Investigations LLC has a relationship with law enforcement that gives our investigative staff access to their criminal data. 

Cursory Indicator New York™ is able to take a “cursory” view of a subject to determine if there is any adverse information in their history.  If the subject has no adverse information in their record, Cursory Indicator NY™ is complete and there is no need to run additional searches or incur additional costs. 

Federal Criminal

For certain job positions, the next rung in the criminal level ladder, which is Federal, may be advisable to run.  Federal criminal inquiries search for Federal level crimes in Federal district courts. 

Federal level convictions include crimes such as drug trafficking, embezzlement, carjacking, kidnapping, or any crimes committed across state lines.  Due to the severity of these crimes this inquiry should be considered. 

However, employers don’t always choose to run Federal criminal inquiries because they don’t believe it is worth the expense due to a lower rate of adverse information when compared to the County criminal or State criminal inquiries. 

Although, cybercrimes are the fastest-growing crime category in the US, and they too fall under the Federal umbrella.  Therefore, more and more organizations are adding this level of criminal records to their background investigations.  

Federal criminal inquiries really shine when employers use them for upper level positions, and those with genuine levels of trust required. 

Positions that deal with children, government jobs, and anything that deals with crossing state lines should have a Federal criminal inquiry included in the background investigation package. 

While a Federal inquiry may not be required for all positions, it can provide valuable information for the positions that need it most.

International Criminal

Finally, the least used criminal inquiry level used by employers is International.  These inquiries are used for people who have lived or had extensive stays in one or more countries. 

International criminal inquiries can get complicated and expensive quickly, so it’s best that employers have a professional they can lean on in these situations. 

The reason these inquiries are complicated is that each country has its own unique method for storing, searching, and obtaining information. 

Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA) need to have a wide network of partners to be able to capture all available information on a subject.

If you’re an employer that requires International criminal inquiries, having a professional involved can prove to be valuable, as they can help control the cost of court fees in each country (since they vary widely) and to have a team help navigate through the confusing processes. 

Many employers do not have a need for this inquiry, but it is still valuable to know the specifics surrounding them and that they are readily available through most Consumer Reporting Agencies.  

As you can see, there are five main criminal history levels that contain different information and have their own methods for obtaining it.  Employers and hiring teams should understand the various levels, so they can capture the full picture on a subject.  

When employers do not use the correct inquiries, they sacrifice valuable information that could end up hurting the business in the future.  

Partnering with a professional background investigation provider is the only way to be certain the information you are receiving is accurate and compliant. 

We recommend reviewing your background investigation process to determine what information you are obtaining on your candidates. 

Then, give us a call to ensure you are getting a thorough criminal history of both misdemeanors and felonies in New York, and at a reasonable cost.