Criminal Search Changes in New York

Changes Become Effective July 14, 2003

Minneapolis, MN - July 1, 2003 — 1. CRIMINAL SEARCH CHANGES IN NEW YORK.

We received notice yesterday, 6/30/2003, that the State of New York is making changes in its programs for criminal record access. This announcement, a copy of which is attached, came without advance notice.

Based on what we have learned thus far, a summary follows.

• New York's Office of Court Administration (OCA) has expanded their Criminal History Record Search (CHRS) Program from a 13-county New York search to a Statewide Search that includes all 62 New York Counties.

• Per the Notice provided by the OCA, this new search becomes “effective” (and we assume available) on Monday, July 14, 2003.

• This OCA Statewide Search carries a statutory fee of $52.00. The Notice does not specify whether this charge includes AKA’s. This $52.00 fee, while high, is actually less than the statutory fees associated with searching several boroughs in New York City. From that perspective, the benefit appears to be more information (all 62 counties) at a reduced price.

If this were the only change, the availability of a Statewide Criminal Record Search would be a benefit to us and to our clients. However, there are several items that remain in question. Most significant and of greatest concern is:

Access to Criminal Records at the County Level.
We have consulted various New York county courts to determine the future availability of individual county court searches. We have been told by some county courts that public access to criminal records will no longer be permitted. However, this has not been confirmed.

If access at the county level is no longer permitted, a statewide check would be the only option available – an option which carries a statutory fee of $52.00. That obviously is not a viable option for many of our clients. Verifications, Inc., along with other industry leaders, is lobbying against closing access to individual county courts.

As often happens when such a change is announced, there is both information and misinformation circulated. We are in contact with our New York field researchers and the New York OCA. We will provide updates to you as soon as we have more information.

2. FEE CHANGE FOR FLORIDA STATEWIDE SEARCHES.

Effective 7/1/03, the State of Florida has increased its statutory fee for a statewide criminal records search from $15 to $23. We apologize for the lack of notice, however, advance notice of the change was not provided.

If you have any immediate questions regarding Florida or New York searches, please contact the Compliance Department at 1-800-247-0717 or 763-420-0600. We will provide more information regarding New York as soon as possible.