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1 [1] (April 22, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveozg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congre Won I Fesedrch Service I ~ or ning legi I live I ta ~ 'e 914 April 22, 2024 Access to Criminal History Record Information for Non-criminal Justice Purposes In the interest of allowing states to screen people who might work in professions where they would be responsible for caring for vulnerable people or where public safety concerns are implicated, Congress has passed legislation to allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to facilitate the exchange of criminal history record information (CHRI) between states for authorized non-criminal justice purposes. CHRI includes descriptions of arrests or other formal criminal charges and any dispositions of the charges, such as dismissal, acquittal, conviction, sentencing, correctional supervision, release, and expungement or sealing orders. This In Focus is a primer on how CHRI is exchanged for non-criminal justice purposes. Laws randn Access to CHR I Under 28 U.S.C. §534(a), the Attorney General (AG) is authorized to acquire, collect, classify, and preserve identification, criminal identification, crime, and other records and to exchange such records and information with, and for the official use of, authorized officials of the Federal Government, including the United States Sentencing Commission, the States, including State sentencing commissions, Indian tribes, cities, and penal and other institutions. A provision in the 1973 appropriations for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) granted the FBI the authority to exchange CHRI with state, local, and tribal governments for licensing or employment purposes if access is granted by state law and it is approved by the AG (P.L. 92-544, codified at 34 U.S.C. §41101). P.L. 92-544 is the primary vehicle facilitating state access to CHRI. Other federal laws allow states to access CHRI without an enabling state statute. Examples include the following: * 34 U.S.C. §20962 authorizes criminal history records checks for individuals employed, or under consideration for employment, by a private or public school or an educational agency who would work with or around children. * 34 U.S.C. §40102 authorizes criminal history records checks for applicants who would provide care to the elderly or individuals with disabilities, or who are responsible for the safety and well-being of children. * 34 U.S.C. §41105 authorizes criminal history records checks for applicants who would provide direct care to individuals in nursing facilities or through a home health care agency. * 34 U.S.C. §41106 authorizes criminal history records checks for individuals seeking employment as private security officers. Other statutes require federal agencies to conduct background checks for certain positions: * 34 U.S.C. §20351 requires facilities operated by or under contract with the federal government that provide child care to conduct a criminal history background check for employees and contractors. * 49 U.S.C. §44936 requires the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to conduct background checks on individuals in the aviation industry who are involved in security or who have access to aircrafts. Exchanging CHR Most CHRI is maintained by states in their own repositories, but the FBI facilitates the exchange of this information through its Interstate Identification Index (III, or Triple-I). III allows states to exchange CHRI by maintaining an index of identifying information (e.g., names, birth dates, fingerprints) of individuals with CHRI accessible through III. If a query of III indicates that an individual has a criminal history record, the requesting state will be pointed to the relevant state(s), and/or the FBI, which maintains CHRI for people convicted of federal offenses, so it can obtain the records for the individual. III was initially established to allow CHRI to be exchanged for criminal justice purposes, but over the years there was growing interest in allowing access to III for non-criminal justice purposes. While all states currently allow CHRI to be exchanged with other states for criminal justice purposes, state laws vary regarding dissemination of CHRI for non-criminal justice purposes. Congress passed the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact (P.L. 105- 251, compact) to establish a legal framework for interstate exchange of CHRI for non-criminal justice purposes. States that ratify the compact agree to provide all unsealed CHRI for any authorized non-criminal justice purpose. As of October 2023, 24 states and the District of Columbia solely participate in III (III states). III states provide duplicate CHRI to the FBI so that in instances when a state has CHRI on the subject of a search but cannot release the information due to its laws, the FBI responds with the CHRI in its possession. (When states submit CHRI to the FBI, it becomes a federal record and the records are disseminated based on federal laws and regulations regarding criminal history records checks.) The FBI provides all CHRI, other than arrests without a disposition