Monday, November 17, 2003

By Lillian Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

With a credit card and Internet access, anyone can check anyone else's criminal record in Pennsylvania.

The state police have had a computerized record check system in place since 1998, but last year made it available to individuals for the first time, and in February began accepting online credit card transactions. The state police have processed more than 567,000 online criminal background record checks over the past year. About 300,000 were processed by mail during the same period.

Background checks are mandatory for several job categories, including those who work with children and the elderly, said Maj. John K. Thierwechter, director of the Bureau of Records and Identification. Many volunteer groups on their own require background checks. In addition, many employers not required by law to run checks on potential workers do so. And individuals can request checks as well.

"Anybody can run anybody, you don't need the person's permission," said Thierwechter. "People checking their babysitters, their neighbors -- I'm sure in some circumstances it happens."

As a result, the state police have seen a steady increase over the last several years in the number of people requesting background checks. The checks only yield Pennsylvania criminal records.

Before last year, individuals had to request a paper form from the state police and send it in with a certified check or money order. The computerized system was only available to registered businesses and agencies that routinely requested large numbers of records checks.

The system upgrade means that requesters who used to have to wait an average of two to four weeks for mail-in requests often can get an immediate response in cases where there is no criminal record, said Thierwechter. If you go to https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jsp and request information about a person, the computer will spit out a "no record" response in about 80 percent of the cases, said Thierwechter. The check is done by the computer system, not by a person.

If the name submitted hits something in the criminal history database, the requester receives an immediate "request under review" response. That doesn't necessarily mean there is a criminal record, just that the case must be researched by Records and Identification staff. Another 9 percent to 11 percent of requests come up "no record" after the check, Thierwechter said.

It might be that the person had their record expunged but that information wasn't forwarded to the state police, or that the disposition of the case had to be checked. In addition, cases in which several people of the same name come up have to be checked to determine whether the person being checked is the same person who triggered a hit on the database.

If no record is found after the review, the "no record" response is posted on the site. If a record is found, that information is mailed to the requester. In those cases, the time required for the response depends on the amount of investigation required, but typically is faster than with paper form requests, according to a state police release.

Approximately 10 percent of all requests generate a criminal record, Thierwechter said.

Cost of a request on the Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History (PATCH) system is $10, whether by mail or online. Computer processing costs less than human being-and-paper processing, Thierwechter said, but the credit card option was an added expense. All in all, it costs the state police slightly more than $10 to process a request, but there is no plan to raise the price.

There has not been a dramatic increase in requests since the online system was started, said Thierwechter. In 2002, 813,000 requests were processed; the 2003 total is on pace to be higher. He expects the numbers to continue to rise as security concerns increase and people find they can easily access records online.

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