Background Check Application Forms
Many employment and volunteer opportunities require a criminal background check. Summerside Police Services processes record checks for residents of the City of Summerside.
To obtain a criminal background check, you must visit Summerside Police Services at 270 Foundry Street and fill out an Information Consent Form. You will also be asked to show identification.
Typically, it takes two business days to process a record check. There is a processing fee of $50.00 to be paid at City Hall. When you come back to pick up your letter at Police Services, you will be asked to show proof of payment and your identification again.
Background Checks for Volunteers
If you require a background check to be a volunteer, you follow the same process as above, but, bring a letter from the organization you wish to volunteer with in order to waive the $50 processing fee.
Vulnerable Sector Check
A vulnerable sector check is a special type of criminal record check
required for applicants who will be in a position of trust or authority
over children, the elderly, the disabled, or another vulnerable group.
Additionally, Police Services will conduct a name-based search of
the national repository of criminal convictions and a query of the
pardoned sex-offender database. In some cases, applicants may be
required to submit their fingerprints if there is a match based on
either name or a combination of gender and date of birth to a pardoned
sex offender record.
- If fingerprints are not required, Summerside Police Services will process this check within two business days.
- If fingerprints are required, Summerside Police Services will
process them. If it is for employment, you will be required to pay an
additional $25 which can be paid at City Hall. The processing for the
fingerprints could take up to 1-2 weeks. When you come back to pick up
your completed Criminal Record check, you will be asked to show
identification and proof of payment.
Note: Summerside Police Services only provides this service to residents of Summerside.
Groups and Organizations Requesting a Vulnerable Sector Check
Below is the criteria for doing vulnerable sector checks.
Please ensure the document being created for this request meets the
guidelines set below in the highlighted areas. The police service has
the final say as to whether or not it meets the criteria. Also if the
document doesn’t have an original signature we will not process and the
individual will be sent back to the
organization for this or other missing info.
Thanks and I appreciate your cooperation on this matter.
Deputy Chief Sinclair Walker
Summerside Police Services
902-432-1206
We will no longer be doing vulnerable
sector checks unless we are provided documentation from the requesting
organization stating why they require this service.
- We will no longer be doing vulnerable
sector checks unless we are provided documentation from the requesting
organization stating why they require this service.
- It is an offence to conduct a vulnerable sector check if the position does not meet the requirements of the Criminal Records Act.
Types of criminal background checks
Criminal record check
A
criminal record check will determine if a person has been charged or
convicted of a crime. There are two ways to check if you have a criminal
history:
- Name-based criminal record checks
- Using names and dates of birth is the most common way to check a person's criminal history.
- Name-based
criminal record checks are done checking against the RCMP's Canadian
Police Information Centre (CPIC) system. They consist of a check of the
National Repository of Criminal Records based on a person's name and
date of birth. It may also include searches of other national and local
databases.
- Name-based
checks have weaknesses in verifying a person's identity due to some
last names being the same, differences in spelling, use of nicknames,
legal name changes and the intentional changing of names to avoid a
record of criminal history.
- Certified criminal record checks
- When
name-based criminal record checks do not provide a definite way of
confirming a person's identity, you may be asked to provide
fingerprints. This is known as a "certified criminal record check."
- A
fingerprint search of the National Repository of Criminal Records is
conducted by RCMP's Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services
(CCRTIS).
- A
very small number of people have fingerprints that cannot be processed
electronically. In these exceptional cases, the police service will
submit a paper copy of your fingerprints.
- The
use of fingerprints for criminal record checks is based on informed
consent and includes sharing the results of that information to a third
party named by you on the application form.
- The
fingerprints submitted to CCRTIS for criminal record checks are only
used to confirm your identity. At no time are fingerprints added to a
database where they could be subject to search.
Police information check
It
is also known as a police certificate, background check, record check,
or reference check. Contact your local police to learn more.
Vulnerable sector check
Did you know?
- It is an offence to conduct a vulnerable sector check if the position does not meet the requirements of the Criminal Records Act.
- The hiring organization must make the request for a vulnerable sector check. The person being checked provides consent but does not make the request.
- There
is no federal legislation that requires any organization to conduct
vulnerable sector checks. Contact your provincial or territorial
government for more information.
- Results of vulnerable sector checks are only made available to organizations located in Canada.
A
vulnerable sector check is a police information check plus a check to
see if a person has a record suspension (pardon) for sexual offences.
Vulnerable
sector checks were created in 2000 to protect children and vulnerable
persons and is governed by section 6.3(3) of the Criminal Records Act. Policies and procedures related to vulnerable sector checks can be found in the Dissemination of Criminal Record Information policy and the Ministerial Directive Concerning the Release of Criminal Record Information by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Questions
concerning vulnerable sector checks should be directed to your local
police service. In British Columbia, you should contact the British
Columbia Criminal Records Review Program.
Working in the vulnerable sector Important!
People who volunteer or have jobs where they are in positions of trust or authority over children or vulnerable persons can
be asked to obtain a vulnerable sector check. Being in a position of
trust or authority is more than just having contact with children or
vulnerable persons. To meet the legal requirements for a
vulnerable sector check, the nature of the position – not the person –
must cause the person to have authority over, or trust of, children or
vulnerable persons.
Children
are defined as being anyone under the age of 18. Vulnerable persons are
people who, because of their age, disability or other circumstance, are
more vulnerable than others.
The
decision to request a vulnerable sector check is made by the hiring
company or volunteer organization. If they determine that a position is
one of trust or authority over children or vulnerable persons, they can
request that an applicant for the position obtain a vulnerable sector
check. The person or organization responsible for children or vulnerable
persons also decides how often a vulnerable sector check must be
repeated.
Public Safety Canada's The Screening Handbook, 2012 Edition
provides organizations with guidance on what level of criminal record
screening they require and how to determine their screening
requirements.
Process for getting a vulnerable sector check
If you live in British Columbia, follow the process defined by the British Columbia Criminal Records Review Program.
In all other cases, contact your local police service. You will be
required to provide the police service with the following information:
- A description of the position
- The name of the organization staffing the position
- Details about the children or vulnerable persons (e.g. age, or other factors that can show how the person is vulnerable)
- If
the position is volunteer, provide a letter from the organization
stating the person will not be paid for services or any other personal
expenses incurred.
Once
the police service has determined that the position meets the
requirements for a vulnerable sector check, a name based search will be
conducted. In some cases you will be required to submit fingerprints to
confirm your identity. The use of fingerprints ensures the accuracy of
the identification process.
Once
the vulnerable sector check is completed, the police service conducting
the vulnerable sector check will send the results to the requesting
organization.
The Criminal Records Act
requires that vulnerable sector checks be conducted for individual
positions. This means that if you are applying for different positions
that require a vulnerable sector check, you may need to submit
fingerprints for each of those individual positions.
Who conducts vulnerable sector checks
Vulnerable
sector checks must be conducted by the local Canadian police service
where an applicant lives. In British Columbia, the British Columbia
Criminal Records Review Program is the authorized body for conducting
vulnerable sector checks.
Denying vulnerable sector checks
The
police service will use information submitted by the applicant to
determine if the position meets the legal requirements to conduct a
vulnerable sector check. If the position does not meet the requirements
of the Criminal Records Act for a vulnerable sector check, it is illegal for the police service to conduct one.
The Criminal Records Act
does not allow vulnerable sector checks to be conducted for the purpose
of adoptions. However, based on other provisions in the Criminal
Records Act, a local police service may request fingerprints in order to
check if adoptive parents have record suspensions for sex offences. The
RCMP strongly recommends that a check of local police records accompany
any adoption request completed by Canadian Criminal Real Time
Identification Services (CCRTIS).
Sources of information
Vulnerable
sector checks include checks of national databases maintained by the
RCMP and local police records where the applicant lives.
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/types-criminal-background-checks
For more information, contact:
Cathy Arsenault
Police Services
[email protected]
902-432-1209
City of Summerside, 270 Foundry Street, Summerside, PE Canada
Related External Links
PEI Crimestoppers
Royal Canadian Mounted Police of Prince Edward Island
City of Summerside Police Office