National News
Background checks not mandatory in Sunbury
March 05, 2015 posted by Steve Brownstein
Background checks are not required for landlords to rent to potential tenants in Sunbury, and while they are highly recommended, compiling a complete history can be a real task.
According to Selinsgrove state trooper Rick Blair, police access to a private citizen’s past is only accessible for law enforcement if an investigation is warranted. Renting an apartment does not warrant access, he said.
Sunbury City Council passed an ordinance in 2012 saying any resident renting in the city was caught, arrested and convicted of selling drugs would be banned from living in the city for up to seven years and landlords could be fined or have their renters’ license suspended or revoked if they knowingly continued to rent the convicted person or rent to a convicted drug dealer.
The problem for landlords is getting the initial background check.
There are several websites in which landlords can pay a fee to get a portion of the potential renters background, but not all are legitimate sources for information.
The Pennsylvania State Police have a section on its website where individuals can pay $10 and get information about the potential renter. The “Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History” portal enables the public to obtain criminal history record checks, according to the website. The site will not show information from any other state.
“We have access to records the general public does not,” Blair said. “We don’t conduct criminal background checks for the general public because we can’t just put an individual in our system and run the name for no reason.”
The website will release criminal history by the Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository which will include, all convictions, all charges that are less than three years from the date of arrest and the Central Repository has not received a disposition, and all charges for which a warrant of arrest has been issued and the Central Repository has been notified of such warrant, according to the website.
Sunbury police chief Brad Hare said even though background checks may be difficult to conduct, they are essential and should be conducted to the best of the landlord’s ability.
