Every year, millions of Canadians are; involved in a police incident, arrested, or appear in court, but are not convicted.
Most falsely believe that, as there was no criminal conviction, there is no criminal record.
In reality however, a police incident will permanently remain in the searchable databases of the Police and RCMP across Canada.
These “non-conviction records” can and will show up in common background searches for employment, housing, adopting, and in rare cases even border crossings.
Non-conviction records most often show up unexpectedly and can mean losing that job offer, house rental, complicate adoptions, and even result in being denied entry to the US.
It doesn’t have to be that way, but you have to take action to clear non-conviction records with a record purge or criminal record destruction.
A Record Purge, non-conviction record destruction, or criminal record destruction can mean different things depending on the type of information and the system the record is located on.
Express Pardons prepare petitions for record destruction of:
- Federal Identification Files (Fingerprints and Photographs)
- Arrest Records and Local Police Files
- Records of Withdrawn Charges or Stayed Proceedings
- Records of Acquittals
- Conditional and Absolute Discharges Given Prior To July 1992
- Court Records of Conditional and Absolute Discharges
Each of these records could be classified as non-conviction records, normally resulting from arrests or investigations that do not result in a criminal record.
The record purge, record destruction, or record removal includes destruction of fingerprints and photographs taken at the time of arrest.
What is the difference between a record removal of non-conviction records and a pardon from Express Pardons?
A pardon (or record suspension) removes a criminal record when there is a criminal conviction. A record removal with a record purge will remove non-conviction records and arrest records which cannot be considered for a pardon.
Local police maintain their own unique purge policies and procedures. Fortunately Express Pardons are the record purge experts, with decades of experience in dealing with these issues.
> Read more about record purge eligibility?
> What does a record purge cost?
