Records Search Unit
Consisting of five dedicated members, this unit is responsible for the processing of requests for all types of criminal record checks; processing requests for insurance confirmation reports and responding to all requests for local records checks from police agencies across Canada and the United States. Records Search clerks also submit fingerprints for elimination purposes or to verify criminal records information.
If you reside in the City of Windsor and you have ever required a record check for the purpose of employment, school or a volunteer position, you have most likely come in contact with one of the members of this unit. With an increasing demand for record checks, this unit processed nearly14000 record checks in 2012, with the summer months being our busiest time of year.
There have been many changes to our record check process in the past two years and we are continuously striving to improve customer service. In July 2010, the RCMP implemented new screening enhancements for applicants applying for positions of authority, or trust relative to vulnerable persons. The result of these changes was a dramatic increase in the number of persons whose Vulnerable Sector Screening was returned as “inconclusive”, thus requiring them to be fingerprinted.
In response to these changes, on April 4, 2011 the Records Search Unit implemented new electronic fingerprinting technology, utilizing a LiveScan non-ink fingerprinting equipment that transmits fingerprints directly to the RCMP. This new process significantly reduces the response time. While the results of paper fingerprint submissions generally take a number of months to be returned, electronic results are often received within minutes of the submission, or within one week in other circumstances.