A person with criminal background might prove to be harmful in an office or as a tenant. Taking in a criminal or employing one might disrupt the atmosphere and prove to be a hindrance. Hence, criminal background checks are something of a necessity in these days of high crime rates.

Also, when an applicant is being interviewed for a job, it is practically impossible to assess the person completely based on the resume and the way the person is portrayed in front of the interviewer. A criminal background check would reveal all the person's secrets such as criminal history, substance or drug abuse, driving history, credit history, and sexual abuse history that could help the employer decide before letting the applicant come on board. This might make the employer liable for a lawsuit if the other employees find the new one to be of a bad sort and have to face abuse in the office from that individual.

Most investigation companies can provide a statewide search to the employers. This ensures there is no criminal record history registered with the state court. The courts must maintain manuals containing the criminal records data of all the criminals in that state. Although this data is not open to the public, investigators can access these through special permission since their search would be legal and within the rules defined by the court. The records maintained by the state, county, federal and private organizations are all accessible to these investigators.

Although many companies advertise to be able to provide nationwide searchs. it is not exactly possible. This is because a worldwide database is not yet available that can be accessed by the public or the investigators. The only nationwide records are available with the FBI and not open to anyone outside the bureau. It is common belief that crime committed would not be far away from where individual lives, so a nationwide search might not be as important as a statewide search.