How the National Criminal Database Enhances Your Background Screening Process

Thorough background screening requires more than a single-source search. That’s why MRA offers our National Criminal Database approach to efficiently identify where deeper, court-based research is needed for a more complete and accurate report.

The National Criminal Database is a powerful research tool. It includes:

• Social Security Number trace
• National criminal database search
• Sex Offender Registry search
• Exclusion list review

This powerful tool enables your background-checking company to efficiently search for criminal convictions that belong to your candidate.

Social Security Number Trace

The Social Security number trace reveals address history related to your candidate’s Social Security number. This can help reveal address history that your candidate (nefariously or accidentally) did not report. At MRA, we will then follow up to see if those are areas where your candidate actually resided before adding additional searches to your report.

Criminal Database Search

A criminal database search helps locate crimes that occurred outside the jurisdictions your candidate resided in (for example, when traveling out of state). It also helps make sure you get all of the convictions within your candidate’s area of residence. A possible conviction on the National Criminal Database can cue your background-checking vendor to push back to find why a conviction was not returned from the courts.

It is important to pair a database search like this with a court records search, and it is also very important for you to know, when vetting your vendor, whether the information they are reporting to you comes from databases or court records, as database records are not reliable for making employment decisions. At MRA, we only report convictions from court records. We use the criminal database search as an enhancer to make sure we are looking in all the right areas.

Sex Offender Registry Search

A sex offender registry search is helpful because it reveals if a candidate is required to register as a sex offender. Every conviction for a sexual offense will be reportable within your search scope. However, sexual offenses often come with a requirement to register as a sex offender for a certain number of years or even for a lifetime. When your candidate’s sex offense conviction is outside of the search scope, but they are currently registered as a sex offender, this search will help MRA report to you the candidate’s registration.

Exclusion Lists

Different industries have requirements to search niche exclusion lists like the System for Award Management Excluded Party list, the Office of Inspector General list, Interpol Most Wanted list, or the FDIC Enforcement Decisions and Orders list. Over 100 of these types of lists are searched when you add MRA’s National Criminal Database search to your report.

This is not a search you want to skimp on! When you add it, your background check will be more complete. Reach out today for more information on running our National Criminal Database search on your candidates.

Talk to an MRA expert about updating your background check practices today.