What Having a Canadian Criminal Record Means
Whenever a person is convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada or other criminal legislation, a Canadian criminal record is issued.
This record will remain even after the person has finished serving their sentence; it can be accessed by the police and courts when necessary and if a pardon has not been granted, the offender will often be requested by third parties to disclose it.
Who gets a Canadian criminal record? In general, everyone who is found guilty of a criminal offence receives a permanent Canadian criminal record, which is kept by the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC).
An exception is when a person is given a discharge.
Under Section 736 of the Criminal Code, a discharge can be granted at a judge's discretion for an offence that is punishable by less than 14 years imprisonment unless the law specifies a minimum penalty.
An absolute discharge has the effect that a person found guilty of an offence is deemed not to have been convicted of the offence and receives no sentence.
A year after the discharge is granted, it will be removed from the criminal record database, although court and police files will maintain information about the event for possible future reference.
When a conditional discharge is granted, the guilty party is again not convicted or sentenced, but will be on probation for up to three years.
During that time, a record will remain in the CPIC and if the person commits another offence or otherwise breaks the conditions of their probation, the discharge can be cancelled and they can be sentenced and given a Canadian criminal record for the earlier offence.
How is a Canadian criminal record accessed? Canadian criminal records are stored in a database maintained by the CPIC and can be accessed by police and the courts when required, as well as by US border agents doing background checks on travellers.
It will also be made accessible for criminal record background checks made through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Although a record check is not made without an individual's consent, it is often a necessity due to the requirement of a third party as a condition for employment, volunteering or participation in another activity or service.
There are four levels of Canadian criminal record checks: • Level 1: Search for all criminal convictions for which a pardon has not been granted • Level 2: Level 1 + outstanding charges known to the police • Level 3: Level 2 + discharges which have not yet been removed • Level 4: Level 3 + check in local police databases and court and law enforcement agency databases For many purposes, a Level 1 or 2 check is sufficient, but in the case of those wishing to work with "vulnerable sector" individuals (children, seniors etc), a Level 4 will be required and they can be requested to disclose certain sexual offences, whether they were pardoned or not.
This record will remain even after the person has finished serving their sentence; it can be accessed by the police and courts when necessary and if a pardon has not been granted, the offender will often be requested by third parties to disclose it.
Who gets a Canadian criminal record? In general, everyone who is found guilty of a criminal offence receives a permanent Canadian criminal record, which is kept by the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC).
An exception is when a person is given a discharge.
Under Section 736 of the Criminal Code, a discharge can be granted at a judge's discretion for an offence that is punishable by less than 14 years imprisonment unless the law specifies a minimum penalty.
An absolute discharge has the effect that a person found guilty of an offence is deemed not to have been convicted of the offence and receives no sentence.
A year after the discharge is granted, it will be removed from the criminal record database, although court and police files will maintain information about the event for possible future reference.
When a conditional discharge is granted, the guilty party is again not convicted or sentenced, but will be on probation for up to three years.
During that time, a record will remain in the CPIC and if the person commits another offence or otherwise breaks the conditions of their probation, the discharge can be cancelled and they can be sentenced and given a Canadian criminal record for the earlier offence.
How is a Canadian criminal record accessed? Canadian criminal records are stored in a database maintained by the CPIC and can be accessed by police and the courts when required, as well as by US border agents doing background checks on travellers.
It will also be made accessible for criminal record background checks made through the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Although a record check is not made without an individual's consent, it is often a necessity due to the requirement of a third party as a condition for employment, volunteering or participation in another activity or service.
There are four levels of Canadian criminal record checks: • Level 1: Search for all criminal convictions for which a pardon has not been granted • Level 2: Level 1 + outstanding charges known to the police • Level 3: Level 2 + discharges which have not yet been removed • Level 4: Level 3 + check in local police databases and court and law enforcement agency databases For many purposes, a Level 1 or 2 check is sufficient, but in the case of those wishing to work with "vulnerable sector" individuals (children, seniors etc), a Level 4 will be required and they can be requested to disclose certain sexual offences, whether they were pardoned or not.
