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Getting Your Criminal Record Expunged
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Verify That Your Criminal Record is Expunged
Everyone has a past, some more checkered than others. Your former indiscretions should not dictate the rest of your life, however, especially if you have changed your ways and matured. When you are in the process of applying for a new job, there can certainly be the fear that your colorful history will tank your chances for landing the position. You may not get the apartment you want because your record shows an unsavory past. Your options? Work to have your criminal record expunged. But how can you be certain that your record really has been expunged? Only a private detective can tell you for sure.
Understanding Criminal Record Expungement
A great number of job applications and rental applications will ask whether or not you have a criminal history. You want to be able to say “no” to this question, but will that be the truth? A thorough background check done by a potential employer or landlord will highlight any lies you may have told in the course of applying for a position or apartment. If you are applying for a certain type of job – such as in health care – you may be barred from pursuing that field because of your record, even if you’re a different person now. And a record could prevent you from moving into the community in which you would hope to live.
The act of expunging your record means to seal, hide or essentially destroy your criminal record, making it look as though the criminal act never took place and that you were never charged with a crime or convicted of a crime. State laws of course vary when it comes to which arrests and convictions can be expunged. In the state of Michigan, records of past crimes can be removed from public inspection by the court. A true expungement means you can honestly say that your criminal record is clean.
Not everyone is eligible to have their criminal record expunged, however. People who can have their record expunged are typically first-time offenders, were a juvenile at the time of the conviction, already served their sentence, had a drug offense, or had an arrest or misdemeanor conviction and not a felony conviction. If you do not fit into these categories, but you have been told that your efforts to have your record expunged were successful, be suspicious about whoever helped you achieve the expungement. It may not be on the up-and-up, and you don’t want to get caught saying you don’t have a record when you definitely still do. Working with a private investigator to do a thorough background check will truly determine whether your criminal record has been expunged or is still available for others to see.
Confirming Your Criminal Record Expunged
Some background check companies are not thorough, some are not legit, and others fail to delete your criminal records from your background check. Background screeners are required not to report on expunged records because they don’t technically “exist.” While expunged records may not legally be reported, if your background check pulls up a notation of an expunged record, you are still unlikely to know about it from your background check company. Even if your case was deferred, dismissed, or discharged, it is still available as a public record, which means any potential employer or landlord could learn about the case.
Background screening is a big and growing business. And many companies are offering automated background checks. Because background check companies also draw their information from multiple sources, what is available in one place may not be available in another. Most states, courts, and agencies do not provide public notice that a record has been expunged, potentially leaving the expungement in one database but the criminal record active in another database. If the screeners do not carry out their own verification of expungement, arrests and convictions could remain in the databases that they access – and the information will be reported.
Ideally, you worked with an attorney to remove your criminal record from the all proprietary criminal databases when your record was finally expunged or sealed. But you still need to confirm that the information about your record is still nowhere to be found. A private investigator – rather than an automated background check service – will confirm the facts about your background check, your record, and your expungement. Avoid clearinghouses that promise to expedite the modification of your criminal record. When you want thorough work, trust in the expertise of a professional investigator who has the tools and experience provide the most accurate and detailed information.
Why Hire ASG?
The experts at ASG take great pride in the thorough combing and meticulous reportage of your background check, and we know that you need customized and not automated information. It’s essential to your livelihood and overall existence to confirm with 100 percent certainty that your criminal record expunged, and that you now have the ability to honestly say to others that your record is clear.
Our investigators are intimately acquainted with the rules and regulations of background checks, screenings, databases, and the act of expungement. We will tailor our investigation of your expungement efforts to confirm that your public record says what it should say, and has no chance of betraying you because of one overlooked database or files. ASG specializes in expungement confirmation. Contact our team today to discuss your questions and concerns.
