Criminal Background Check

Introduction

A criminal history check is generally included in a pre-employment or employment background check—a legal investigation into a person’s past that helps inform decisions about whether to hire, promote, contract with, or use a person’s services. Depending on the type of criminal background check selected, a criminal record check may search national, federal, state, and county databases to provide information about a candidate’s criminal history.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what you need to know about criminal history check information.

What is a criminal background check?

A criminal background check may search national, federal, state, and/or county criminal court databases to report information about a candidate’s criminal history, such as felony and misdemeanor criminal convictions, and any pending criminal cases.

Different types of criminal record checks may reveal different offenses, depending on the court record that is searched. For example, a search of one state’s criminal records database will only report criminal activity in that selected state’s criminal court system. However, employers may choose to search multiple states and counties based on where the candidate has lived, or if a nationwide search reveals criminal activity in more than one state.

What shows up on a criminal background check?

The information that shows up on a criminal background check can include felony and misdemeanor criminal convictions, and any pending criminal cases. Criminal background checks may also report history of incarceration as an adult, active warrants, and infractions. Infractions may only be reported if they are within the last seven years.

An arrest that did not lead to convictions may appear in some background checks as long as they are within the last seven years; GoodHire excludes them in its screenings to conform to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines.

Criminal background checks may also include a Sex Offender Registry check, which searches registries across all states to report where a candidate may be currently registered as a sex offender.

Some time limitations, based on state and federal laws, determine what can be reported legally on an employment background check. Learn more about how far back background checks go.

It’s important to understand how to read a background check, and what the different terms and abbreviations mean. A criminal history report includes the name of the crime, disposition (conviction, non-conviction, or pending), and disposition date. GoodHire does not report non-convictions.

Following are examples of the types of records that may show up on a criminal history check:

Type of Record	Examples
Felony Criminal Convictions	Murder, manslaughter, rape, kidnapping, arson, theft (values larger than $500), and aggravated assault
Misdemeanor Criminal Convictions	Vandalism, trespassing, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, prostitution, and theft (values less than $500)
Infractions or Violations*	Jaywalking, littering, drinking in public, disturbing the peace, boating violations, building permit violations

Petty offenses that are typically punishable by fines but not jail time, and are not considered criminal offenses. Depending on the jurisdiction, infractions may or may not show up on a criminal history record, but under federal law they may only be reported if they are within the last seven years.

There are many different types of background checks, each of which uncovers somewhat different personal background information. It’s important for both employers and job candidates to understand what kind of information is included in each type of background check, and how that information can be used.

How do criminal record checks work?

Typically, after a conditional offer is extended to a job candidate, it is the hiring manager’s responsibility to order a criminal record check as part of a comprehensive pre-employment check. 

If the employer is using a CRA, the applicant will be asked to provide their name, date of birth, and Social Security number, as well as give consent, as required by the FCRA. The CRA uses an individual’s personal identifying information to search public record criminal databases at the county, state, national or federal level to find any criminal records associated with the individual in the criminal justice system. 

If a match is found, the CRA takes additional steps to ensure maximum possible accuracy before the candidate’s report is delivered to the employer who ordered it. 

Get a criminal background check

If you’re ready to conduct a background check on one or more employees, you’re in good company—95% of employers use employment background screening as part of their hiring process.

GoodHire makes employment screening easy. Our user-friendly dashboard, intuitive workflows, and built-in compliance tools help simplify the background screening process. Let us know how many checks you need, provide some information about your company, then select the pre-bundled package that fits for your needs. 

All of our pre-bundled packages include a Nationwide Criminal Databases search and Sex Offender Registry search. We also offer options to customize your background checks with add-on searches, such as Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) checks, Education Verification, and Employment Verification, for a more complete background check.

Employers that use a background check company, such as GoodHire, to run a pre-employment background check must follow federal, state, and even local laws that regulate employment screening. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) sets out requirements for consumer reporting agencies (employment screeners like GoodHire), as well as rules that the employers who use the reports must follow.

What are the safest places in each US state?

Employment background checks are an important piece of the hiring process and can help you build a team of people that are trustworthy, reliable and professional. Most background checks include a criminal history check, which searches criminal court databases to report information about a candidate’s criminal history. Gaining access to a candidate’s legally reportable criminal records helps you make informed hiring decisions. 

A criminal background check may also be important based on the areas in which your organization is hiring. Crime rates in places across the country vary and you may wish to take this information into account. 

To help businesses understand the importance of criminal background checks, GoodHire analyzed crime data to uncover the safest place in each state in America as well as top US places with the least amount of property, violent, and society crime. 

To conduct the analysis, GoodHire reviewed FBI Crime Data – property, violent, and society crime – and ranked each place by its rate of offenses per 1,000 people for each of the three offense types. GoodHire then assigned a total rank that weighted crimes against persons and crimes against property at 40% and crimes against society at 20% to showcase the safest places in each state and help business owners see the importance of criminal background checks. 

Now, let’s get into the key findings to learn more about the safest places in each state in America. 

The graphic above shows the safest place in each state in America, based on crime rates for the three major crime types. These places, all with a population of 30,000 or more, are highly rated for all three crime types and should be viewed as exceptional places for those looking for a safe environment to live, work, and hire. 

While the overall rankings combine property, violent and society crime rates, some places standout for their excellence in certain areas. 

Dothan, AL, Arlington, MA, Oswego, IL, Independence Township, MI, and Johns Creek, GA rank at the top with the lowest property crime rates among the list of the safest places in each state. 

Additionally, Wallingford, CT, Sammamish, WA, Mason, OH, and Zionsville, IN all boast a violent crime rate of fewer than two offenses per 1,000 people. These areas all rank at the top for the least amount of violent crime among the safest places in each state.  

Finally, when it comes to society crime (defined as crimes against society or victimless crimes, e.g., gambling, prostitution, and drug violations), a few of the safest places by state again stand out from the rest. Montclair, NJ, Arlington, MA, Sammamish, WA, Wallingford, CT and Johns Creek, GA all showcase some of the lowest society crime rates in the country among the other safest places in each state. 

Now, let’s get into the key findings to learn more about the safest places in each state in America. 

While it’s important to understand how combining the three major crime types can reveal the safest places in each state, it’s also useful for businesses and organizations to know which places are most likely to showcase the lowest rates for each different type of crime outside of the safest places in each state list. Understanding this data can reveal geographical crime trends that may be helpful to businesses as they look to hire employees, purchase or lease office space, and make other important corporate decisions. 

In terms of property crime, the data reveals that Dothan, AL, Franklin, MA and Little Elm, TX are the three places in America with the lowest property crime rates. 

The data also reveals a specific trend as Massachusetts and Michigan are each home to three of the top ten places with the lowest property crime rates in America. 

Those places include Franklin, MA, Arlington, MA, Amherst, MA, Orion Township, MI, Independence Township, MI, and White Lake Township, MI.

Next, as we take a look at violent crime, we see that Westfield, NJ, Wallingford, CT, Upper Arlington, OH, Greenwich, CT and Glastonbury, CT are the top five places with the lowest violent crime rates in America.

The state of Connecticut is the big winner in terms of low violent crime rates as it is home to three of the top ten safest places for violent crime in America. 

Those places include the aforementioned Wallingford, CT, Greenwich, CT and Glastonbury, CT. 

Edina, MN, Sammamish, WA, Mason OH, Zionsville, IN and North Andover, MA round out this top ten list. 

The list of the places with the lowest society crime rates (again defined as crimes against society or victimless crimes, e.g., gambling, prostitution, and drug violations) showcases a major trend of safety in America’s Northeast region. 

Brookline, MA, Colonie Town, NY, North Attleboro, MA, Lexington, MA and Brighton Town, NY are the five places with the lowest society crime rates in America. 

Rounding out the top ten are Montclair, NJ, Arlington, MA, Sammamish, WA, Wallingford, CT and Westfield, NJ. 

Lastly, let’s take a look at the full rundown of the safest places in each state in America.

For more information on GoodHire’s research or to request graphics for this study, please contact press@goodhire.com.  

Report Methodology

To rank America’s safest places by state, GoodHire analyzed the most recent FBI Crime Data using the National Incident-Based Reporting System Tables for places with a population of 30,000 or more. The data was analyzed based on property crime, violent crime, and society crime. Each place was ranked by its rate of offenses per 1,000 people for each of the three offense types and was then assigned a total rank which weighted crimes against persons and property at 40% and crimes against society at 20%. Florida and Alaska did not report crime data to the FBI Crime Data Explorer, and because of this, those two states were not included in this analysis.