Your Guide to National Criminal Plus

Learn what results a National Criminal Plus can provide. Find out how National Criminal Plus can benefit your organization.

What is a National Criminal Plus search?

National Criminal Plus is a national criminal record database search that parses records from a variety of sources. This search enables you to locate potential records outside of typical search locations, such as an individual’s current primary residence. We’ll cover how they work, how they relate to other criminal searches, and their limitations in this article.

Key Takeaways

• National Criminal Plus offers a broad-reaching criminal history record search.

• Criminal database background checks are limited by a reliance on periodic updates and a lack of complete information.

How does a national criminal database search work?

Our national criminal record database search identifies records matching an individual’s Personally Identifying Information (PII). The sources in the database include, but are not limited to: fugitive lists, sex offender registries, and state Departments of Correction inmate lists. If potential matching records are found, they’re confirmed with a secondary search of the originating record source. Searches that can confirm National Criminal Plus hits may include:

• County Criminal History

• Statewide Criminal History

• National Sex Offender Public Registry

What’s the difference between National Criminal Plus and county criminal searches?

The difference between national and county criminal searches comes down to the scope of records received. While county criminal searches return results from specific county criminal courts, the national criminal database search includes a variety of sources from across the country. You can think of national database searches as a wide net to find potential records and county searches as a precise spotlight.

Additionally, if a National Criminal Plus search locates a potential record, a second search at the originating source is required. County criminal history is obtained directly from the originating source, and records found are reported without additional actions.

Do national criminal background checks include all criminal records from across the country?

There is no comprehensive database available for all criminal history across the United States. National criminal databases often include all state criminal record repositories. However, state repositories do not have a consistent reporting timeframe requirement, meaning that those databases may be incomplete or outdated. The expansive nature of a national criminal database search also has its limits.

Limitations of a National Criminal Plus search

Analyzing static repositories can mean that national criminal database searches can become outdated and inaccurate quickly. Accuracy isn’t the only concern with this search, however:

• National criminal database searches rely on the digitization of records, which are not consistent across state or even county lines. For example, since 2020, California has been working to modernize its courts through technology, but results between counties vary.

• Many federal criminal records aren’t included. Exceptions include the National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR) and federal fugitive lists.

• Important case details can be omitted. For instance, a potential arrest record may be located but not include details on the outcome (disposition). This is where the secondary search confirms the potential record and includes more details available from the originating source.

The limitations of this search can be balanced by combining National Criminal Plus with county and federal criminal history searches to provide more reliable data from local jurisdictions.