National Police Checks (or criminal record checks) are mostly done to establish the trustworthiness of a person.
A police check can be great if you are trying to ascertain the criminal history of someone you intend to be involved with. Employers and organisations often require criminal record checks to shortlist candidates applying for an employment position, and to ensure potential employees are of good behaviour.
However, if you have a criminal record and are trying to apply for a position, a police check can be quite devastating. A criminal record can leave you vulnerable and can affect your ability to get a job, your applications for credit, your ability to get a firearms license and much more.
Who Requires a Police Check?
These checks are usually done by:
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employers, to see if employees are risky candidates;
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work placements or volunteer organisations, to see if the candidate in question is trustworthy;
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licensing bodies; or
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Government sectors, who often do a thorough criminal record check before granting Visa documents and/or when approving firearm licensing.
How Long Does the Average Police Check Take?
A police check can take anywhere between 7 to 30 days. In order to ensure your receive your police check quicker, you need to make sure that you provide all the relevant information and/or documents in your application.
What Information Comes Up on a Police Check?
There are three major outcomes of a police check:
Clean Record – Where no criminal records are found.
Non-convictions – These records include minor offences such as arrests, dismissed charges, warrants, fines and pending convictions. Non-convictions can later be turned into convictions if you are found guilty of more serious offenses.
Convictions – These records include offences of a serious nature. Convictions can include a wide range of acts such as felonies, misdemeanours, sex offenses and more. Some convictions, such as sex offenses, can also be included in a background check in order to warn some entities such as schools, parents and more and to protect those that might be vulnerable.
Further Criminal Record Checks
Private investigators often do a more extensive criminal check which provides information that a normal police check would not. These records often include information that is linked to a previous name (such as a maiden name), non-convictions that might have been sealed up or expunged, and even information that is linked to other sources such as newspapers and websites.
Private investigators may also include other details such as personal details if the investigation requires it. Personal details such as marriage records, phone numbers, family and known associates and even social media accounts might be included in the information on a proper criminal record check.
How Pentana Stanton Lawyers Can Help You
Doing a proper criminal record check on someone is a great way to ensure that the people you are dealing with or employing have clean records and are in fact trustworthy. If you are wondering whether someone can be trusted, then it might be a good idea to contact Pentana Stanton Lawyers to do a criminal record check.
On the other hand, if you are struggling to obtain employment due to a criminal record, then you can contact us, and we can determine what options are available.
If you’re looking for family lawyers, speak to our experienced staff today.
