Tighter rules for criminal background checks urged
Lawmakers and police agencies are being urged to tighten regulation of criminal background checks to prevent the disclosure of irrelevant and potentially reputation-shattering personal information.
Canadians are routinely denied jobs or volunteer positions over unfounded allegations, suicide attempts, and charges that were later withdrawn, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association says in a report released over the weekend.
It says people “who have paid their debt to society find that they are facing years of social and economic exclusion. “Those who have attempted suicide or successfully defended themselves against baseless allegations are being kicked out of school, excluded from employment and isolated from their communities on the basis of non-conviction records and police contact.”
In one case cited by the report, a charity was denied a renewal of its liquor licence because its manager’s record showed he was once charged with assault, even though the charge was withdrawn.
The manager, whose son is participating in a student-exchange program, is worried whether he’ll even be able to host a visiting student.
“It’s an extremely frustrating situation to be in and it feels extremely unjust, especially because this was a case where there wasn’t even a prosecution put forward,” he said in the report.
Similarly, a report last month by B.C. privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham found that people are “wrongly denied employment opportunities and are being stigmatized and discriminated against” over unproven or irrelevant information.
The civil liberties association found no consistency across the country in what information is provided in a police check. Some jurisdictions supply only criminal records. In others, police might include casual police contacts, 911 calls, mental health apprehensions and acquittals.
A “patchwork” of privacy and human rights legislation across Canada means protection against employment discrimination isn’t guaranteed, the report said.
As a result, “depending on where a person lives, receiving an acquittal or having a withdrawn charge can be more personally and professionally damaging than a formal finding of guilt.”
The report said there is a trend of police being asked for more checks. In Calgary, for example, the number went from 75,400 in 2003 to 93,000 in 2012. In Ontario’s York Region, there were 28,000 police checks in 2003 and 71,700 in 2012. But Yet there is little social science evidence in research, the report said, that criminal convictions are a reliable predictor of someone’s likelihood to commit an employment-related criminal offence, the report said. What has been shown is that stable employment, income and housing play are significant roles in reducing recidivism reoffending.