The problem with criminal records: Discrepancies between state reports and private-sector background checks

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley 7/23/23 Abstract of paper: Criminal records are routinely used by employers and other institutional decision-makers who rely on their presumed fidelity to evaluate applicants. We analyze criminal records for a sample of 101 people, comparing official state reports, two sources of private-sector background checks (one regulated and one unregulated by federal law), and qualitative interviews. Based on our analysis, private-sector background checks are laden with false-positive and false-negative errors:60 percent and 50 percent of participants had at least one false-positive error on their regulated and unregulated background checks,…

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