Massachusetts Criminal Records
The Massachusetts State Government has a central repository of Massachusetts criminal records. The name of the database is the Criminal Offender Record Information or CORI. This database is used to provide Massachusetts criminal records to Board-certified, non-criminal justice agencies such as schools, day care centers, home health aides, youth athletic coaches, and municipal government agencies. You, as a private citizen, may also request for a copy of your own Massachusetts criminal records from the CORI Unit. The unit processes an average of 100,000 Massachusetts criminal records requests per month, excluding law enforcement agency requests.
Aside from providing the public access to Massachusetts criminal records, the CORI Unit also offers assistances to those who are seeking to correct inaccuracies in their records. The Unit helps in the correction of inaccurate Massachusetts criminal records, investigates complaints of improper access to or dissemination of CORI, and provides legal assistance on matters relating to the CORI law to police, prosecutors, judges, and the public.
Massachusetts Criminal Records - General Information
There are a variety of legitimate reasons why Massachusetts criminal records are requested. For instance, individuals may request for their own Massachusetts criminal records. Likewise, employers of certified agencies may request CORI on prospective employees or volunteers, and licensing boards may request CORI on applicants for certain licenses.
When processing such requests, organizations and individuals must submit an application to the CHSB, or the Criminal History Systems Board. The CHSB must first approve the request before information is disseminated to the requesting party.
Going with the needs of the requestor, the application form requesting for Massachusetts criminal records may vary. All forms are available in downloadable formats through the Massachusetts Government website. After filling up the application form, it must be sent via snail mail. There is no FAX or walk-in service available.
The information contained in CORI provided by the CHSB is Massachusetts criminal records. Therefore, criminal history information from another state or states may not be available.
Requesting Massachusetts Criminal Records
When the CHSB approves your application for CORI access, the certified agency will now get information and instructions on how to request Massachusetts criminal records. As mentioned earlier, the requests must be made by mail.
CHSB is known to return Massachusetts criminal records data as quickly as possible but since you will be dealing with hard copies, the processing generally takes about two weeks. The Massachusetts criminal records information that the requestor receives should only be kept for a maximum period of three years. They must also be kept separate from personnel files and in a secure location.
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