In recent years police background checks have be come very necessary as part of the process of screening for suitability. It has become essential for applicants seeking jobs, opportunities to volunteer, education opportunity and also for admission in many trades and professions. Police background checks are also known as the “criminal record” or “criminal reference checks.” These are mostly required by law or practice where an applicant or incumbent in a position of trust will have regular or unsupervised access to vulnerable individuals such as children, disabled, elderly or where he or she will have access to money, confidential information and vulnerable property. Police background checks are also necessary for accountants, bankers, payroll positions, cashier, childcare workers and volunteers, physiotherapists, police, school staff.

It is important to protect vulnerable individuals from any harm or the employers from any theft. A company, agency or a school runs at great risk if it is negligent in checking the applicant’s background. Failure to do so might result to a physical or psychological harm to the co workers or charges and particularly to the kids or the elderly clients who are very vulnerable.

At the same time it can also result to heavy financial loss to an employer or agency or even its clients because of fraud, theft or property damage. It might also expose the agency or the employer to civil liability for the harm that might have been foreseen and prevented if they had provided more information. When the applicant provides too much information’ s about him or her may also violate the privacy of an applicant and this might lead to unfair rejection.

At times the information’s disclosed in a police background check report might be misused by the prospective employers, landlords. So there is a danger in providing either too much of information or too little information. Many individuals have an opinion that a police background checks are limited only to convictions for criminal offences. They also assume that if they have not been convicted of a crime or any other serious offences, that the report will come back negative.

The increase use of police background checks to screen the applicants for suitability has been raising privacy and human rights concerns. And this is reaching the news media tribunals and the courts. It is better that these checks are being charged instead of given free, as the free ones many not be very reliable.