Criminal background checks used to screen teacher applicants, doctors, nurses and daycare employees may not turn up their arrest records because of critical gaps in the Texas criminal records database, a new state audit shows.
Prosecutors and courts have failed to submit to the state disposition records on about one of every four arrests in 2009, the audit found. While that is a slight improvement from a 2006 audit, it still means that the Department of Public Safety Computerized Criminal History System is not a reliable source for complete information, the audit found.State law requires courts and prosecutors to submit the information within 30 days of receiving it."It is important to note, however, that DPS cannot control whether prosecutor offices and courts submit all records because the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure does not provide DPS with the ability to penalize prosecutor offices and courts for not submitting information," the audit states.Auditors visited the Tarrant County district attorney's office, as well as prosecutors' offices in Harris County to find out why records weren't being submitted.They pointed to some computer problems, saying they may not receive rejection or error notices when the DPS system does not accept records they submit. The county officials also said that they cannot submit some records because they lack required arrest incident numbers or state identification numbers. In Tarrant County, for example, 1,730 probation records lacked the state identification number.The State Auditor's Office also said that DPS should improve the timeliness and accuracy of data in its Criminal History System. For example, the report notes that 1,634 (7.65 percent) of 21,351 offenders admitted to jail, prison, or probation by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in November 2010 did not have corresponding prosecutor and court records in the DPS system."In addition, information that DPS provides as part of its criminal history background checks does not include probation records," according to the report.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
