Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

How far can the background checks go in terms of identifying your family members, present and past? So could it identify your immediate family and far relations such as cousin or second cousin? Is there a database for this?

When you apply for a job with a police department or federal agency, you will list all of the family members that they are interested in knowing about. They don't *need* to "identify" your family members, because you already listed them.

If you are considering omitting someone, I will advise you not to do that. Without disclosing specific tactics, it's likely to be discovered, and you'll be DQed from the process for lying.

Which would be stupid, because you aren't going to be disqualified for being related to someone, no matter what that person has done.

-Citicop.

How far can the background checks go in terms of identifying your family members, present and past? So could it identify your immediate family and far relations such as cousin or second cousin? Is there a database for this?

Thanks for the reply. It makes a lot of sense. The thing is, the character who will undergo a background check is an orphan so other than immediate/adopted family, she doesn't know her other family members. Would the law enforcement agency be able to check who else is in the person's family even if the person, an orphan, doesn't know herself?

They aren't checking for a biological or genetic reason.

They are looking for people familiar with the applicant. The adopted family would be what is examined in a case like that.

-Citicop.