Why are records given out as Criminal background of Non Convictions?

You need to explain this further. What records were given to who on what basis?

Why are records given out as Criminal background of Non Convictions?
I do not understand why more information is needed. When I have looked up criminal background checks on myself & others in Harris county Texas. I find information about crimes that were dismissed or in my case No Billed. It is given during a criminal background check as if they or I are guilty. You look closely to see that it was not guilty or dismissed or No Billed. I think if this information must be given it should be given as non criminal background information or better yet not at all.

The reason why more info is necessary, is because we do not know the circumstances of the check.

A general background check should only list convictions. A criminal background check might also list arrests depending on who is doing the check.

So, providing such info is not usual. That's why knowing who asked for the records and what entity provided them and what conditions were given for the request is important info. It may be possible that the reporting agency overstepped and you can have your record fixed. I can't begin to know without more info.

I think it a no brainer that only convections should be part of a criminal background check.
Maybe other law enforcement people may have need for arrest of non conviction info.
Under what other conditions do you think non conviction information is needed?

No it is not a no brainer

1. you will see more info on yourself on a official police check than a employer will

2. a government agency may even see more than you will on a back ground check if trying to go to work for them

3. a company that requires a national security background clearance in the US will see more information than those that do not require it

4 if this was a private background check, one that is paid for over the internet or though a PI they don't operate under the same laws as the report you get from the police and many things will show up on theirs that will not on a official report.

So explaining who is getting the report, and for what reason is important, and where the report is coming from.

So what is so hard about answer our questions if you want a real answer.

It is a NO BRAINER, give us more info if you want a real answerr

No it is not a no brainer

1. you will see more info on yourself on a offical police check than a employer will

2. a government agency may even see more than you will on a back ground check if trying to go to work for them

3. a company that requires a national security background clearance in the US will see more infomation than those that do not require it

4 if this was a private background check, one that is paid for over the internet or though a PI they dont operate under the same laws as the report you get from the police and many things will show up on theirs that will not on a official report.

So explaining who is getting the report, and for what reason is important, and where the report is comming from.

So what is so hard about answer our questions if you want a real answer.

It is a NO BRAINER, give us more info if you want a real answerr




I see by the responses that people are awhere that non convictions are given out as if they are guilty but just not convicted.

The why I was looking for was legal such as a law that requires to give out dismissed and other non conviction … in doing so it is saying they believe one is guilty thought not convicted.

The reason why more info is necessary, is because we do not know the circumstances of the check.

A general background check should only list convictions. A criminal background check might also list arrests depending on who is doing the check.

So, providing such info is not usual. That's why knowing who asked for the records and what entity provided them and what conditions were given for the request is important info. It may be possible that the reporting agency overstepped and you can have your record fixed. I can't begin to know without more info.




Circumstances

I wanted to adopted children about 10 years ago. A friend looked up my criminal record as if I wanted to rent an apartment. Why would they need to know non conviction information?

I do not want my record changed or not given only but all others.

I know it might be too much to wish for but I would like conviction information not to be given out if sentence is completed so one can have a better chance to make it in life. As long as one has a record it becomes almost impossible to have a life.

If it is not uncommon to give out non conviction information out as if it in conviction information but again I say why? What law compels the law to give non conviction information out as if it in conviction information?

Ok, Did you see the actual report this friend obtained? Did you see the information he provided to get the report? The answer to your question is that it is NOT common for ANY information to be misrepresented on any background check. So without knowing what info was listed and how the report was obtained and from where the report was obtained, we don't even know for sure whether the information was misrepresented.

Don't you get it? Your original question asked why records are given out with false info. We can't tell that they were. You are claiming that you received a background check that contained misrepresentations of the facts. Your question asks if this is normal and the answer to that is no. So the next logical question is what you do about it. And that question can only be answered with details about the check.

Why are records given out as Criminal Background of Non Convictions?

Referring to charges or non charges that were ended as Non convictions.. Or not guilty

Let me see I have worked for the justice department and a couple state police agencies over the years, I have ran 100's of not 1000's of background reports on people.

So I will be rude, you have no idea what you are asking and are not clear, and don't like truth answer for some reason.

There are two types of background searches in general

1. official government ones gotten from the police
2. non official but accepted ones from private background companies.

The non official ones may or may not have all the correct info, but can also show arrests without results, They merely gather info.

The official ones merely show convictions for employent outside of government positions.

I am trained in NCIC reports.

So get off your uneducated high horse and we may actually teach you something

Why are records given out as Criminal Background of Non Convictions?

referring to charges or non charges that were ended as Non convictions ..Or not guilty

Didn't you bother reading what I wrote? Again, normally they are not. So if they were in your case, what do you want to do about it?

So I think SCOTTGEM you’re saying that the report for an apartment should not have included Non convictions in the report. The report was a one liner back then 10 years ago by the way. Just enough to scare the viewer.

Presently I can look up My No Bill from 20 years ago. It has possible charges but no details which leave the imagination to go wild. I asked them give documentation or to remove it. They sent me information to expunge it. It would cost a couple hundred dollars and time. That might do for me as an individual but continues the problems for others. Those with Non conviction should not have to go through extra efforts. Yes I understand that our x president had it do it for him but the information still got out later.

FR_CHUCK is saying non official ones may or may not have all the correct info, but can also show arrests without results, They merely gather info. This is what bothers me it seems this would cause problems for any one.

Correct official police reports gotten from the police or government agency will not show any non convictions to anyone other than government agencies.

** there can of course be mistakes but it does not happen often. '

There are 100's of private background check companies, most work online. Also some companies hire PI to do a complete background. If for example when the arrest was made, it was part of the public data, it could have been picked up by a dozen internet companies that saved it. Since the arrest is true, they may give that info out. They are not required to say what the result of that was, but can merely report you were arrested.

Thus the issue, most applications do not ask if you were arrested, just convicted,

But yes, private background companies can find and give out any data they can find out about you.

Many PI companies will do very detailed internet searches on you, With a name, you can often find anything you posted, such as posts to other peoples pages ( where you sign their page) even posts on this site is searchable by Google.

So yes if they did not get this though the government, but a private firm, it may contain anything they can find.

And of course they have most likely sold and resold that info a dozen times to other background companies

So I think SCOTTGEM and FR_CHUCK both appear to be saying that government agencys will not show any non convictions to anyone other than government agencies.

With this in mind I will attempt to ask again the same question to the Texas Harris County Clerk

Why are records given out as Criminal background of Non Convictions?

Thanks Much Steve1951x

So you are saying that the report you received was obtained from the Harris County Clerk's office? This again points out why we needed specifics. I've never heard of a County Clerk's office providing a background check. Background checks are never that localized because they would only find info for that area.

This means that your friend either did not do a standard background check or that the agency they obtained the check from either got misinformation or posted the info incorrectly.

And, again, I must ask if you saw the ACTUAL report or not. Before you go off half cocked (as you did here) and attack the County Clerk's office you need to have proof of exactly what the report said. You also need to to be sure of the source of the report. You also need to know exactly what question your friend asked that resulted in the information. Its possible that the way the question was posed caused the answer to be misleading for a different question.

The Texas Harris County wed Criminal Background Check is assessable to anyone at anytime.

Ok, so here is what it says:

HARRIS COUNTY RECORDS, ONLY
Searches return Harris County data, only. No federal or other County's records, or Justice of the Peace or other Municipalities Class C Misdemeanors will be searched.

ACCURACY
Data returned relies on the information obtained and entered. Inaccurate data obtained or entered will result in erroneous data returned. Please, provide as much criteria as necessary for more reliable results.

If data is returned, click the "ADD TO BASKET" icon to save background data for the specified individual. If First Name, Last Name and Date of Birth are entered and no data is returned, a Certified Letter of Disposition may be requested by providing additional required information. Only public criminal cases (causes) will be shown via this search.

------------------------------------------------------------
So, some comments here. I haven't a clue why ANYONE looking to do a background check for employment, tenancy, adoption etc. would use this service. Since it specifically relates to records from within the county only, it will miss any issues outside the county. So its value as a background check is extremely limited.

And, again, we don't know exactly what was listed to know whether it was a misrepresentation. Finally, I have to ask, why you went through this whole thing here. Clearly, the issue is specific to this service. So I'm not sure what value there was in posting here when you should have just gone to the clerk's office with your grievance.

I thought it must be normal to get Non Conviction information as part of a Criminal Background Check based on My Friends search one liner which I got 10 years ago and the present availability now at Harris County.

Most Criminal Background Checks are likely found something where one lives I would think.

If I remember my Friend said 10 years ago that another type of request might get more information but we never went any farther with that.

About 16 years ago I was trying to apply for an apartment and the lady said she found only one thing in my Criminal Background Check. She did not say what but I assumed by her reaction she got full details of the non conviction. She said there was nothing about a second problem that I told her about that I was not guilty of so she granted me an apartment.

Thanks for the info Steve1951x

That appears to be only a search of their data base, so yes of course if you search public records at the court house, it will show up. That is not NCIC report or even a real criminal justice background search. It is merely a search of that specific court house records.

So yes, I can walk into any court house and do a personal search of that court records and find out a lot of things not on reports. So they allow the records to be searched online.

So yes, that type of report will show any and everything on you

Most Criminal Background Checks are likely found something where one lives I would think.


I'm not sure I understand what that means, but most background checks are done with companies that compile information from many databases over an entire country, maybe internationally. People move around a lot so searching only local records is ineffective.

I think the main issue here is that you have a misunderstanding of just what a background check is.

No a real criminal background is a national ( or at least a state) background check that shows all convictions, it is not a local thing. A local courthouse check will show divorces, law suits for civil issues, maybe even issues with your grass being too tall. ( I ran one on someone once and it showed all those things)

That is merely a court house records search, not a criminal background search.

A real issue with understanding correct terms. As used in law enforcement

Now a company can check anything they want, many will check for law suits, credit reports, and driving records

So a company is free to check anything they want

Why are records given out as Criminal background of Non Convictions?

The Response from Harris county is

Good Afternoon Mr.

All cases filed in Harris County District Clerk's Office will display on our system as a part of our records as required by law. However, you may need to consult with an attorney for legal advice regarding your case.

Thank You,

I see no reason why I need to be different than anyone so I must deal with It as situations concerning my non conviction occur.

I was hoping to get the Law sited but I guess I will let It go for now and trust that there is such a law in Texas that requires that they give out No Conviction information.

Is that the question you asked? I thought we explained to you that wasn't a valid question. Maybe if you worded the question correctly you would get a better answer.

I have asked a new question.

Could you cite the law that requires all cases filed and not just those completed as Convictions?


According to the Texas Government Code section 51.303, a district clerk shall record all acts and proceedings of the court. If an individual has been charged with an offense, our records would reflect that charge and any disposition (outcome) of that particular case. In your case, the offense was no billed. You may qualify for an expunction which would require any agency with information regarding the case to delete that information from any records the agency maintains.

However, our office is not at liberty to provide legal advice. Please contact your attorney.

See, by asking the right questions you get a better answer.

If I understand the law correctly Texas Government Code section 51.303 it says the county clerk should record and make information available but It still does not say all records be available in a Criminal Background Check.

(1) Why are records given out as Criminal Background of Non Convictions?
The Law?
(2) Could you cite the law that requires all cases filed and not just those completed as Convictions?
Texas Government Code section 51.303?

Perhaps I must assume they do not want to spend the time to separate Conviction information from Non Conviction information for a Criminal Background Check.