Criminal Records More and more employers are doing background checks on prospective employees. Often this is as simple as requesting a copy of a person’s criminal record. Other times it involves a credit check or other background information. The Department of Public Safety is most often the source of criminal record information. This information is only released to the subject of the record. The information is also available through the court system since court proceedings are public records. The exception is in cases where the files have been sealed by the court. These are not open to the public BUT the felony arrest or conviction will still appear on the DPS report. Many times a person is given a suspended imposition of sentence, meaning that if they successfully complete their probation and any other provisions given by the court (like 40 hours of community service), the sentence (for instance jail time) will not be imposed. The court (judge) often tells them that the sentence will not show on their record. It will still show up on the DPS record as a conviction. If the court record is looked at it will show the terms of the sentence. Until 1996 juvenile records were not entered into the Department of Public Safety database. Therefore any conviction of a juvenile prior to that should not show up on their criminal record. It often does anyway and DPS record staff removes it when they see it. They do not always catch it. Since 1996 these convictions are entered and will show on the record. It seems that many times people are told that their record will be expunged if they meet certain criteria. The person I spoke with at the records center at DPS said that in the 11 years she has worked there this was done once. It is very expensive and requires retaining a lawyer, going to court and showing why the expungement should be done. It is not done without compelling reasons. This is the only case where it will not show on the DPS record. The conviction will drop off of the report 10 years after successful completion of probation. The record is maintained in the database and will show on the Complete Criminal Report, generally asked for only when the person is going for a law enforcement job or something similar. What we should tell our clients is to be truthful on applications and during interviews. Dishonesty on the application or during the interview is valid reason for termination. Convictions can show up in unexpected places and lead to trouble. The client may want to have a copy of their judgement that they can give to the employer so the employer will understand the terms of the sentence. Clients with convictions or other problems in their background should be informed about the Fidelity Bonding program. It is free to the client and the employer and is "honesty insurance" for the employer against any losses caused by the client while on the job. Look at http://www.labor.state.ak.us/bonding/bonding.htm for more information on bonding.