A report from the Arizona Auditor General's Office has identified problems with the Arizona Department of Public Safety's criminal history records database. The state uses the database for conducting background checks of licensure applicants. Among a sampling of 103 felony offense records from law enforcement agencies, 17% were not included in the database. Of a sampling of 30 felony offense records that were in the database, 40% did not include dispositions to indicate the outcome of the case. The Department plans to fill staff vacancies to handle the backlog of records and partner with other agencies to obtain missing information. The audit report also recommended that the database stop including misdemeanor crimes for which reporting is not required by law, but DPS maintained that there are some misdemeanors that would preclude someone from licensure or employment with vulnerable populations.
September 29, 2021
