Tag Archives: Background Checks

guns

Feds Order 4,000+ Guns Seized Over Background Check Issues

Posted on by

The largest number of Gun retrieval requests in 10 years, the FBI issued more than 4,000 requests for agents from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives to seize guns from prohibited buyers, due to invalid background checks.

Image result for Devin Patrick KelleyThe Texas mass shooting by gunman Devin Patrick Kelley revealed a shocking revelation that a flaw in the background check system allowed a very troubled man to purchase a firearm. Kelley used a rifle which he legally purchased to gun down 26 victims at a rural church in Texas.

The FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) vets millions of gun purchase transactions every year.

The FBI was overloaded with more than 200,000 background check requests for gun purchases this BlackFriday, setting a new single-day record. A background check for gun purchases must be completed within 72 hours of the sale.If the background check is not complete within the 72-hour time limit, federal law states the sale is valid.

 

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is a United States system for determining if prospective firearms or explosives buyers’ name and birth year match those of a person who is not eligible to buy. It was mandated by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Law) of 1993 and launched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1998.

Under sections 922(g)[16] and (n)[17] of the GCA certain persons are prohibited from:

  • Shipping or transporting any firearm or ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce;
  • Receiving any firearm or ammunition that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.[18]

A person prohibited from owning a gun is one who:

  • Has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
  • Is under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
  • Is a fugitive from justice;
  • Is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance;
  • Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution;
  • Is illegally or unlawfully in the United States;
  • Has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions;
  • Having been a citizen of the United States has renounced U.S. citizenship;
  • Is subject to a court order that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner;
  • Has been convicted in any court of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence”, a defined term in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33)[18]

Image result for gun sales in the United States.

Currently, federal law requires background checks (through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System) only for guns sold through licensed firearm dealers, which account for 60% of all gun sales in the United States.

It is not immediately clear how many gun seizure requests were successfully executed out of the 4000, or how many weapons were actually removed from ownership. Multiple firearms can be purchased in a single transaction meaning that the number of guns may very well be much higher than the number of seizure requests.

 

Devin Kelley

Texas Mass Shooter Devin Kelley Passed Background Check

Posted on by

Devin Kelley,  who police say murdered 26 people on Sunday, November 5th, 2017, opened fire on congregants in First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

Kelley used an AR-15 style rifle and according to CNN, a law enforcement official indicates “Kelley purchased the Ruger … rifle he used in the shooting from an Academy Sports & Outdoors store in San Antonio.”

Who is Devin Kelley?

Devin Kelley

 

In 2010, Devin Kelley served in logistics readiness in the US airforce at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.

In 2012, he was the court-martialed for two counts of Article 128 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, assault on his spouse and assault on their child.  He served a year in prison and received a bad conduct discharge in 2014 an Air Force rep said.

Devin Kelley Passed A Background Check

The discharge reportedly did not show up as a prohibited offense on his background check.

Kelley purchased the Ruger AR-556 last year which he used in the attack. It is unclear why or how he repeatedly passed federal background checks while purchasing firearms, including the Ruger.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday morning that Kelley had previously been denied a state license to carry. The gunman was not eligible to carry a firearm let alone purchase the assault rifle he used to gun down churchgoers. The charges Kelley faced against him are the equivalent of a military felony.

After the attack, Kelley was found dead in his car from a gunshot wound. It has not yet been determined whether the wound was self-inflicted or not.

Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt told reporters Kelley’s former in-laws had attended the church in the past, which may explain why he drove 30 miles to perpetrate this horrid crime. The gunman’s in-laws did not attend the church that day.More then half the victims of the attack were children.

 

 

 

Victims Of The Mass Shooting :

Victims

Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated the attack perpetrated by Devin Kelley is the largest mass shooting in Texas history.

Accredited Background Checks expresses condolences for the families and victims of this crime.

air bnb sex offenders

AirBnB Uses Background Checks to Remove Sex Offenders

Posted on by

If you haven’t heard of AirBnB, you might be living under a rock. The fast growing traveling service is currently worth $30 billion with thousands of hotels copying its’ laid back approach to where people stay when they are visiting a brand new place. The concept started when the founders decided to list their couch on online for people to stay at, and the “couch surfing” site blew up from there.

Things have happened before…

But this concept of having travelers stay in your home has drawn some crazy circumstances that the service is currently trying to regulate. For example, when hosts have rented their entire apartments or houses to guests and have to stay elsewhere, they have some back to theft and wild messes left over from parties. AirBnB is trying to have the situation better for both the hosts and the guests by providing background check services to all those registered on their website. Hosts have routinely gone through the standard background check when renting out their homes, including checking databases of public, state, and county criminal records. They also do local background checks for registered sex offenders.

What else do they check?

Airbnb also checks the OFAC list. The OFAC list, or Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries and regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, those engaged in activities.

But the background checks do have limitations Airbnb warns users about on its website. The site does not guarantee a background check on all hosts or guest. Also, guests who are going to be with the person booking the stay are not checked. And the check is only run once when the user is first registering for the website, so later arrests will not be checked.

statue of liberty

NYC Fails to Review Over 6,000 Background Checks

Posted on by

NYC Fails to Review Over 6,000 Background Checks

This week the Department of Transportation for New York City discovered over 6,000 background checks for city workers have been backlogged and not reviewed before being offered a job. This means thousands of workers for the city have gotten employment without proper review of sex offender registry, county and federal criminal record checks.

How did this happen?

The DOI reports they are finally making headway in shifting through all of these checks, but how did this happen in the first place? “We know there is a serious backlog and are concerned,” DOI Commissioner Mark Peters said in a statement. “This, however, is a result of a very thorough process and too few staff.”

 Each of DOI’s 16 background check investigators is working on an average of 160 reviews, DOI said. With too few staff, hundreds of checks have gone more than three years without being reviewed. This could be a huge issue for New York state should any workers be found with federal crime records or sex offender registry on their checks that the city did not review before offering them positions that have gone to compensate upwards of $100,000 a year.

The Numbers

There are approximately 2,000 city workers who fall into those categories each year, according to DOI. That number has steadily gone up as the city now employs close to 294,000 full-time staffers, a historic high, payroll records show. Further complicating the matter, DOI recently audited two unnamed city agencies and discovered more than 1,000 staffers who were never even sent over for background checks. The employees are now being checked.

 

This has apparently been an ongoing problem for the DOI of NYC but with more employees every year falling through the cracks, where will the line be drawn? “This has always been a problem,” said a former high-ranking DOI official during the Bloomberg administration. “It kind of makes a mockery of the whole system.”

Employment Background Checks

What is in a Background Check?

Posted on by

What is in a Background Check?

The first thing to note about finding out what is in a background check is knowing that answer can be almost anything. It all depends on the KIND of background check your company chooses to run, if you are doing them for pre-employment purposes, or if you decide to run one on yourself you can choose what you want to find out. A standard background check package, also known as our Standard Level Package , will do a National Criminal Database Search (which draws searches from over 550 million records in all 50 states, Guam and Puerto Rico, as well as a Social Security Verification, National Sex Offender Registry Search, and County of Residence Criminal Search (county to be searched in is needed). This package is the most common among employers and is very comprehensive. You can also add a drug test to your background check package here to get a full sense of who you are hiring.

 

Below you will find a full description of our most common background checks, and they do:

Criminal Background Checks

Criminal background checks are the most common search requested and provide an accurate account of a candidates criminal history. A criminal background check should be every employer’s starting point when seeking information on potential employees during the hiring process as to alleviate the risk of criminal activity, unnecessary costs and legal risks. However, not all criminal background checks are created equal. There are three types of criminal background checks which employers can choose from depending on how in depth an employer wants to go.

County Criminal Searches

Based on the candidate’s address history, the County Criminal Search is considered the most accurate and comprehensive criminal background search. At Accredited Background Checks, we utilize a team of researchers to access criminal records directly from the courthouses in the county(ies) you are requesting.  This check provides felony information and may contain misdemeanor or even minor law infraction information.

State Criminal Search

Administrative Office of the Court (AOC) Report or Law Enforcement Repository. Accesses the statewide criminal repository, if available, in a given state. Statewide Criminal Searches cover all counties in a specific state should you not know what county you specifically want to test in, this is especially useful if your candidate is moving from another city within the state of employment. Also certain industries require a State Criminal Search such as health care workers. Accredited Background Checks can inform you if your industry is required to do a state search upon creating an account here.

Federal Criminal Search

A Federal Criminal Search reports the records of crimes committed against Federal criminal laws. This information is not included on a county or or statewide record, (i.e. bank robbery, interstate theft, kidnapping, etc.). This report is especially relevant for screening management and executive candidates for white-collar crimes. This search is ideal for employees with access to secure or financial information, C-level executives, CPAs, and financial and banking staff.

Professional License/Certification Verification

Professional licensing searches research information on individuals who need state licenses or certifications to engage in a professional activity, including medical professionals, Department of Transportation (DOT) employees holding CDL licenses, attorneys, CPA’s and educators. (Licensed professions may vary by state.) Reports may include license/membership type and current status, license number, date issued, expiration date, disciplinary actions and restrictions.

Education Verification

If an employer wants to verify a candidates’ education claims, such as on a resume, the employer can request an Education Verification. An Education Verification is a direct verification of an applicant’s educational records including dates attended and degree, certificate or diploma received at the provided educational institution.

Motor Vehicle Reports (MVR)

If an employer has specific roles within their company that requires driving company vehicles or even personal vehicles as part of job duties, the employer may wish to request Motor Vehicle Report, specially for a driver under the Department of Transportation, this check is required. The MVR gives you the most up-to-date information on license status, class, moving violations, and restrictions. We access information directly through state Departments of Motor Vehicles.

National Sex Offender Registry

The national sex offender registry search is critical for professionals and volunteers who will interact with youth or work in childcare, education, healthcare and human services environments. The search includes sex offender registration records from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. Please note that the types of crimes that require registration vary by state. Therefore, not all individuals convicted of a sex crime in one state may be included in another state’s registry. Know that your results will include what level, out of 3: low risk, moderate risk, and high risk, the offender leveled at should their name come up.

A More Thorough Employment Screening Process with Drug Testing

For added protection from liability or risk to your company, many employers will request a Drug Test in conjunction with a Background Check. Performing a drug test will ensure you are maintaining a drug free workplace and hire more qualified individuals. Employers have a variety of drug testing available that can be chosen depending on the specific duties a potential employee will be performing and/or how in depth an employer would like to test for. For example, DOT Safety Sensitive employees within the Department of Transportation are required to take 5-panel Urine Drug Tests as per CFR Part 40 regulations. 5-Panel urine drug tests screen for basic narcotics such as marijuana and cocaine. However, although the DOT regulation requires 5-Panel urine drug testing, an employer may require as part of their company drug free policy, that all employees must undergo more comprehensive drug testing such as expanded opiate testing including morphine or oxycodone.

Fortunately for employers, Accredited Background Checks, Inc. not only provides accurate and FCRA compliant employment background screenings, but we also provide a more thorough screening process by offering drug testing in conjunction with background checks.

 

At Accredited Background Checks, we aim to provide a complete background reporting solution for employers and companies of all sizes. Whether you’re a local trucking business in small-town U.S.A. or a major international corporation, our goal is to provide you with the tools necessary to make better hiring decisions and lessen potential risk to your organization.

Contact Us Online or give our experts a call at (800)-441-2728 to get started with an employment background reporting solution.