How can I do a background check on someone? (arrest & conviction record)

November 23, 2015 8:39 AM

I run a nonprofit and believe there is a need to learn the arrest and conviction record of one of our volunteers, including misdemeanors that occurred in another state. So, I'm trying to learn how to do an inexpensive background check on him. There are number of online services and I'd like to know which one is the best or if there's a better way.

I don't need to know his credit history.

posted by someonesomewhere to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

I have used HireRight. Several years ago the place I worked for needed to run a few background checks and I shopped around a bit to find a place that would do 1) the kind of checks we needed for 2) a reasonable cost 3) without any kind of long-term contract. There may be better or cheaper services but HireRight worked just fine to do a few one-off searches.
posted by phunniemee at 8:45 AM on November 23, 2015

What state? My last employer did the background checks through the (Washington) State Patrol directly, or so it appeared from the form.
posted by Sunburnt at 8:51 AM on November 23, 2015 [2 favorites]

Each state should have their own public record tool. For example, when I did exactly what you are doing in Minnesota, I simply used the MNCIS website.
posted by TinWhistle at 9:18 AM on November 23, 2015

Response by poster: We're in New York state. An incident I want to learn more details about occurred in New Jersey.
posted by someonesomewhere at 9:22 AM on November 23, 2015

Try here.
I do background checks at work and spend a lot of time googling stuff like "criminal records New Jersey".
posted by artychoke at 10:48 AM on November 23, 2015

I have had my background checked as a volunteer multiple times, and in all cases
A.) I was notified ahead of time, and
B.) everyone in the same position went through the same background check

I feel vaguely uneasy that you seem to be planning a secret background check on a single individual. (Or are you?) I know the EEOC regulations wouldn't apply to a volunteer position, but it might be worth a call to your lawyer to find out the best way to handle this, so you don't accidentally violate somebody's rights (or give the impression of doing so, which is just as bad for a nonprofit).
posted by instamatic at 12:40 PM on November 23, 2015 [9 favorites]

instamatic's concern is mine as well. It may very well be that it's perfectly legal and you have a legitimate business need for this, but the way you go about it might also be important.

If it's something disclosed by the volunteer to you in a "you can check out my story" kind of way, that's one thing; a third-hand suspicion you haven't discussed with the volunteer might be another. One easy way to get this information (assuming the first case, you didn't say) is to just put it on them - ask for documentation of what they told you for verification.

If it's the second case, I'd be more inclined to start with counseling the person about what you've heard and asking if it's true. You can ask them at that time for their consent to verify their story.

Sorry I don't have a literal answer to your fairly direct question. It just seems like if you haven't done this before, you might not have thought of that.
posted by ctmf at 1:10 PM on November 23, 2015

The payroll used by my wife's employer advertised a background check service. When they tried it, it turned out to be only a referral deal and the handoff was so awkward they balked. However, it may be that you can do this thru a company you deal with for some professional service.
posted by SemiSalt at 3:56 PM on November 23, 2015

I've used HireRight. It costs around $50 per person, depending on how many searches you want to run. It takes a few days to get the results. You can do most of the stuff for free with a bit of Googling and digging on your own.
posted by slogger at 1:19 PM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]