Criminal Record Systems in Canada

There is a lot of misunderstanding among the average Canadian about how criminal records are stored, shared, and of course, removed from the various criminal record systems in Canada. In order to understand how they operate, you have to understand what record systems are currently in place.

Criminal records are created under the terms of the Criminal Records Act, and in the case of youth records, subject to the Young Offenders Act.

When a local police force or RCMP agency arrests an individual on suspicion of a criminal offence, they create a local file on a local or regional police system, such as the Police Records Information Management Environment (PRIME) and the Police Information Retrieval System (PIRS). The fingerprints of the accused are typically taken at this time and are submitted to Criminal Records Information Management Services(CRIMS) for classification and entry into the system.

If the police/crown decides that they have obtained enough evidence to obtain a conviction, they forward the charges to the courts for prosecution. Once the court proceedings are over, the results of these proceedings (conviction, discharge, acquittal etc...) are entered onto the fingerprint form and the record is updated. Unless pardoned, criminal records then persist on CRIMS (CPIC) until you are 80 years old (* must also have been crime free for 10 years)

In Canada, no one can access another person's criminal record without the consent of the person to whom the record relates. The exception to this rule is court records, which by law are a matter of public record. Also, Law enforcement, government agencies, including foreign governments such as the United States, Canadian courts, and other authorized agencies do not require your consent to access your criminal record.

Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC)

The Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) was created in 1966 to provide tools to assist the police community in combating crime. Since 1967, CPIC is also a computerized information system available to provide all Canadian law enforcement agencies with information on crimes and criminals.

CPIC transmits requests by authorized agencies to several data banks primarily for law enforcement purposes. One of those data banks is the Criminal Records Information Management Services (CRIMS). CRIMS updates and maintains more than 600,000 criminal records annually and populates criminal record information to the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) Identification Data Bank.

A criminal record file consists of an individual's criminal charges and their dispositions, including convictions and discharges that are supported by fingerprint information.

A clear result from a CPIC check does not necessarily mean you have a clear criminal record. There are numerous criminal record systems nation-wide and then there are the provincial courts. Consequently, your criminal record can be stored, and accessed, in any number of ways.

If you know you had trouble with the law in the past, and you are contemplating a career change, or some foreign travel, you may not want to reply on just a local police check to give you piece of mind. Consult a specialist in criminal record systems, who  can conduct a comprehensive, multi-level criminal record search to ensure all records held on you are uncovered, and if so, dealt with accordingly.

Police Information Retrieval System (PIRS)

PIRS is the RCMP's automated information management system used to store, update and retrieve information on case records/occurrences being, or having been, investigated. This electronic indexing system is used by the RCMP, some Municipal Police agencies, by Firearms Officers, and by other federal partners.

PIRS captures data on individuals who have been involved in investigations under the Criminal Code, federal and provincial statutes, municipal by-laws and territorial ordinances. According to the RCMP, in addition to details of an event in a brief synopsis (maximum of 240 characters), PIRS contains limited information relating to investigations and criminal histories.

Unlike CPIC, which essentially contains factual information (e.g., charges and convictions), PIRS may also contain information provided by witnesses, victims and other associated subjects that can be highly subjective, as well as the names of the witnesses, victims, and acquaintances of the accused individual.

PIRS also differs from CPIC in that it contains information on occurrences and incidents that never resulted in charges. That means you can have a PIRS record and not even know it.

Entries in the Police Information Retrieval System (PIRS) are assigned codes which bear significance on whether the details on an individual are disclosed in the RCMP's standard four level criminal record check (form 3923e, Consent for Disclosure of Criminal Record Information).

The two major classifications are "Subject Chargeable" (SCH) and "Subject of Complaint" (SOC). Subject Chargeable implies a higher degree of assumed guilt of the individual in question. Subject of Complaint simply denotes that the individual has been brought to the RCMP/Police's attention in an investigation and their name and personal details had to be entered into PIRS for the purpose of maintaining a record of the incident.

Subject Chargeable entries are often revealed in the fourth category of the RCMP's four-section criminal record check, whereas SOC entries are typically not, as they generally denote information which is highly subjective.

Purging records from PIRS is notoriously difficult; however, professional purge services, such as those provided by Express Pardons, can be used to have the classifications of entries changed so that the information does not turn up in a criminal record check.

Provincial and Municipal Police Information Retrieval Systems

Similar to the RCMP's PIRS database, Ontario has a police information retrieval system known as OMPACC, while Calgary has PIMS, Edmonton has PROBE, Regina has IRIS, etc. Formal and informal information sharing arrangements are in place between police services or agencies for the exchange of information in these databases.

If you have specific knowledge of your own personal experience/incident that might be included on a local or regional police information system, and you dont want do a multi-level record search, you may want to obtain information contained on you in provincial and municipal criminal record databases through freedom of information requests. Contact your provincial privacy commissioner for more information on how to make such a request.

Non-Conviction Records

Criminal charges that proceed to the courts for prosecution may not result in a conviction. Charges may be withdrawn, or the proceedings may be stayed after consideration of the circumstances. These records will remain in the federal criminal record repository of the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), under restricted distribution, and in local police files, unless they are purged.

The Crown is empowered to control a prosecution proceeding, including the ability to terminate it and the ability to select the manner of termination. There are a number of ways in which a prosecution may be terminated other than by proceeding to a verdict. The Crown has the discretion as to which avenue to choose, and may:

• Withdraw a charge at any time prior to a plea by the accused, or with the leave of the court, after a plea has been entered;
• Enter a Stay of Proceedings; or
• Proceed with the trial but elect not to call any evidence or to stop calling further evidence, and ask the judge or jury to acquit.

The avenues that a Crown prosecutor selects in terminating a prosecution have different legal consequences and the choice must depend on the particular circumstances involved. One of the consequences is the formation of a non-conviction record, in all cases. Even the verdict of acquittal  creates a non-conviction record in CPIC.

All too often, these non-conviction records turn up in criminal record screenings and background checks. You must apply for a record purge in order to have these records removed.

Why are charges withdrawn?

Crown determines that:

• reasonable and probable grounds did not exist to lay the charge;
• there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction;
• it is not in the public interest to continue the prosecution; or
• the charge laid was incorrect and the Crown intends to proceed on a different (even a more serious) charge.

Why are proceedings stayed?

Generally, a stay is appropriate when proceedings in regard to a charge are being discontinued and the public interest requires that the Crown retain the right to recommence those proceedings within one year (or within such shorter limitation period as may pertain to the charge). When deciding whether to enter a stay of proceedings, the Crown considers the following factors:

• the circumstances of the case and the reason for the inability of the Crown to proceed with the trial;
• the merits of the particular case (including the sufficiency of evidence and the likelihood of conviction);
• the relative importance of the case;
• the likelihood of recommencement.

Vulnerable Sector Searches

Whenever an organization with people in a position of trust (i.e. Scouts, senior citizen organizations, day care centres, etc...) deals with vulnerable people, they can request applicants to submit a Vulnerable Sector check.

Vulnerable persons are individuals who are at greater risk of being harmed than the general population because of their age, disability or handicap, or circumstances, whether temporary or permanent. They are generally defined as youth, elderly, or persons with disabilities.

The Vulnerable Sector Check is in addition to a criminal record check. During a VSC, a special database is checked to see if the subject has received a pardon for a criminal offence of a sexual nature. This requires the prior written consent of the applicant and can only be conducted by the police. Initially, the results can only be released to the applicant by the police. The police agency may only release the information to the requesting Vulnerable Sector organization with the prior written consent by that individual. If a record exists, it must be confirmed by the submission of fingerprints.

People who have received a pardon for any offence that is not of a sexual nature, will pass the Vulnerable Sector Search.

I hope this helps de-mystify some of these matters. Leave a comment or drop me a line if you have any unanswered questions.