Sunday, March 23, 2014

California Free Criminal Records

By Ben Kingsley


Whether the purpose would be for employment, immigration or visa, and certification or for licensing, background check is one sure way to identify one's history. In California criminal records are restricted by the Department of Justice so the files are only available to law enforcement and authorized agencies. Although there is a restriction imposed, one can access their own personal criminal record; all they have to do is to request for it.

If you are a resident of California but lives out of state, you can submit a manual fingerprint card to the Record Review Unit of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Download the instruction guide "State Summary Criminal Record" and follow the guide thoroughly. It is important that you complete the application form and head over to the nearest authorized agency for fingerprint scan. Once you get the required documents, send in your payment together with your application form to the DOJ Record Review Unit for processing. Residents can download the instruction guide "Live Scan Form" and fill up the application form. They can then proceed to the nearest fingerprinting agency in their district which can be the nearest police department or the sheriff's office and have their fingerprints taken.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) require a processing fee of $25 for each transaction. Other fees included are rolling fees that the local operator might charge for the fingerprint scan. As each fingerprint agency charges differently, applicants might want to check and get in touch with the nearest fingerprint agency and ask for the added fees. Fingerprint agencies tagged with BNR will only process applicants under agencies so it is important to ask this to save you time. The operator also requires the applicants to bring a valid identification card with photo to identify applicants.

In the event that one finds records in their file, they can request or petition the court to have the case sealed and destroyed. The petition, under the Penal Code 851.8 is valid if the applicant is eligible. Eligibility includes the following individuals but are not limited to - (a) people that were arrested but no criminal charges were filed by the prosecutors; (b) case dismissed and (c) acquitted. Although eligibility means one is entitled to have their cases sealed and destroyed, it is still up to the judge to decide whether the applicant is eligible or not. The petition is valid only for one case and will not apply to other cases that the applicant has in their record. Once the judge determines that the applicant is eligible, the case is sealed and destroyed from the court as well as in the records of the law enforcement that made the arrest.

Convicted individuals can also expunge their arrest records to make a clean start. Those who are eligible include - (a) individuals who have completed their probation successfully; and (b) are convicted of misdemeanour or felony offense as indicated in the California Penal Code 1203.4. Gaining an expungement is beneficial, as this would help one start a new life. The expungement allows individuals to gain their state professional license as well as gain employment without prejudice.

If you are looking for information only, numerous online sites offer free background checks or upon payment of a small fee access to the full information. You can check whether the person has any past arrest records or other records that might hamper their work.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment