There is a lot of misunderstanding among the average Canadian about how criminal records are stored, shared, and of course, removed from the various criminal record systems in Canada. In order to understand how they operate, you have to understand what record systems are currently in place.

Criminal records are created under the terms of the Criminal Records Act, and in the case of youth records, subject to the Young Offenders Act.

When a local police force or RCMP agency arrests an individual on suspicion of a criminal offence, they create a local file on a local or regional police system, such as the Police Records Information Management Environment (PRIME) and the Police Information Retrieval System (PIRS). The fingerprints of the accused are typically taken at this time and are submitted to Criminal Records Information Management Services(CRIMS) for classification and entry into the system.

If the police/crown decides that they have obtained enough evidence to obtain a conviction, they forward the charges to the courts for prosecution. Once the court proceedings are over, the results of these proceedings (conviction, discharge, acquittal etc…) are entered onto the fingerprint form and the record is updated. Unless pardoned, criminal records then persist on CRIMS (CPIC) until you are 80 years old (* must also have been crime free for 10 years)

In Canada, no one can access another person’s criminal record without the consent of the person to whom the record relates. The exception to this rule is court records, which by law are a matter of public record. Also, Law enforcement, government agencies, including foreign governments such as the United States, Canadian courts, and other authorized agencies do not require your consent to access your criminal record.

Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC)

The Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) was created in 1966 to provide tools to assist the police community in combating crime. Since 1967, CPIC is also a computerized information system available to provide all Canadian law enforcement agencies with information on crimes and criminals.

CPIC transmits requests by authorized agencies to several data banks primarily for law enforcement purposes. One of those data banks is the Criminal Records Information Management Services (CRIMS). CRIMS updates and maintains more than 600,000 criminal records annually and populates criminal record information to the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) Identification Data Bank.

A criminal record file consists of an individual’s criminal charges and their dispositions, including convictions and discharges that are supported by fingerprint information.

A clear result from a CPIC check does not necessarily mean you have a clear criminal record. There are numerous criminal record systems nation-wide and then there are the provincial courts. Consequently, your criminal record can be stored, and accessed, in any number of ways.

If you know you had trouble with the law in the past, and you are contemplating a career change, or some foreign travel, you may not want to reply on just a local police check to give you piece of mind. Consult a specialist in criminal record systems, who  can conduct a comprehensive, multi-level criminal record search to ensure all records held on you are uncovered, and if so, dealt with accordingly.

Police Information Retrieval System (PIRS)

PIRS is the RCMP’s automated information management system used to store, update and retrieve information on case records/occurrences being, or having been, investigated. This electronic indexing system is used by the RCMP, some Municipal Police agencies, by Firearms Officers, and by other federal partners.

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Jared Church is a voting member of the Paralegal Society of Canada, and a leading expert in the field of Canadian Pardons, U.S. Entry Waivers, criminal record systems, and similar legal matters in Canada. Feel free to Email Jared your questions at www.ExpressPardons.com