Folinskyinla

Hi:

From time to time, one see posts here to the effect that the US Border Guards won't have access to UK criminal records. Think again.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/...09232008_4.xml

[note: this is a duplicate to post in the general US immigration forum].

lansbury

They have finally formalized the gentlemens agreement which has been the practice for some years.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Of course, people in the other forum are commenting on what they won't have. To my mind it is all speculation. I've been having the damdest things come up in natz interviews.

lansbury

I know what JBOC is and have worked with it as part of my work at Heathrow. In fact people from my office at Heathrow did 6 months attachments to JBOC. JBOC has police officers (Special Branch/Counter Terrorist Command) in it and it has at least one terminal, probably more since I left, with direct access into all the Metropolitan Police records and intelligence as well as the Police National Computer.

The office I worked in at Heathrow the National Ports Office had even greater access into more systems. It was amazing what "favors" got done over the telephone with information being passed both ways. At least now it looks like it has been formalized and perhaps an element of control over what is passed as well.

Tracym

May I presume that just because a police report in the UK takes a little while (weeks maybe) to process and give to the citizen - that does NOT mean that you folks can't pull it up on a computer instantly?

Marty J

I would be interested to know the answer to this as well. My sister applied for a job with the police not so long ago, and she had to send off for criminal background checks which took weeks and weeks to come back.

I think perhaps not all crimes are recorded as well as others. I've even heard of people who have minor traffic offences coming back with a totally clean police record.

There's also the matter of whether an offence is a recordable offence or not. So while it might be easy to find out if you murdered someone or not, it would probably take longer to discover you didn't pay your TV licence in 1982.

Anyhow, I see nothing in Folinskyinla's article to suggest that the "US will know UK criminal records".

lansbury

Yes it is available online to see and read straight away. With the exception of convictions from before 1981, these were never put on the computer but filed on micro fiche. If you need to see them when you do the computer check you fill out a box with your details and internal extension and in about an hour someone phones you back and reads the detail on the micro fiche to you. None of this wait 40 days lark or whatever ACPO had reduced it to now.

lansbury

Only convictions for recordable offenses become part of your file. Minor traffic offenses are not recordable and therefore you do not have a criminal record if that is all you have been guilty of. The vast majority of traffic offenses are non recordable. Drink drive is a recordable offense. Providing nothing has changed since I retired last year.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

I wouldn't assume that at all.

Tracym

Lansbury said that my presumption was correct - they CAN pull it up instantly.

The original wasn't the best sentence I've evern written... double negatives and all...

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Out of curiosity, will ARRESTS show up? Often on US reports, an arrest will show up -- and if no court case results we sometimes have trouble showing what happened. Just had a naturalization approved where client refused to sign a ticket for broken headlight -- she was taken in and fingerprinted. Nothing further happened. We obtained a letter from local prosecutor saying their records show nothing which means file was either not forwarded or was rejected by them. When we got to the interview, the arrest for "obstruction of justice" showed up. Explanation made, DAO says "much ado about nothing" and approves case. She will be a citizen on 10-09-08.

lansbury

An arrest will show up as a pending case. If it is dropped or goes to trial and the person is acquitted it is meant to come off the record. Just before I retired I noticed some not guilty verdicts showing up in criminal record files. This applies to England and Wales, Scotland has its own laws and record system. In Scotland they have three verdicts, guilty, not guilty and not proven. I can't recall from memory how a not proven verdict is shown in their record system.