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Washington State Patrol

What is the Washington State Patrol (WSP) official responsibility for criminal records?
The WSP Identification and Criminal History Section is the Washington state repository for statewide criminal history record information (CHRI). CHRI includes all "reported" arrests, charges, convictions, and Department of Corrections information. State law requires individuals arrested and taken into custody for felony or gross misdemeanor offenses be fingerprinted and those fingerprints submitted to the WSP.

How does CHRI get reported to the WSP?
The paperwork in an arrest consists of two parts: (1) arrest fingerprints and a disposition. When a person is arrested, the following occurs:

The arrest with associated demographic information and fingerprint images is sent electronically or mailed to the WSP in Olympia.
When the court or prosecutor disposes the case, the disposition is provided to the WSP and added to the individual's criminal history record.

How does the WSP assure that the correct information is matched to the correct person? When the WSP receives the arrest fingerprints, the following action is taken:
Fingerprints are searched and/or compared using an automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) to determine if there is an existing record and State Identification Number (SID) for that individual.

If there is an SID assigned to that individual, then the new CHRI is added to that record.
If there is not an existing SID for those fingerprints, a new SID number is assigned and then the arrest is entered in the WSP database.

What is the difference between WSP conviction and non-conviction CHRI?
State law allows conviction CHRI to be disseminated without restriction. Only designated criminal justice agencies can receive non-conviction CHRI. The law protects an individual's right to privacy for cases over one year old without disposition.

(There is no statutory definition for "criminal records" and it is not a term specifically used in reference to criminal history record information.)

Why have some people been convicted but have no record at the WSP?
The disposition may not have been submitted to the WSP.

Fingerprints may have been rejected and the individual is out of custody and not available to be reprinted;
Fingerprints may not have been taken for the specific crime or court action;
The dispositions may have been submitted to WSP but have not yet been entered into the WSP database; or
The conviction may be an out-of-state or federal case and not part of the WSP records.

What should be done if an identified disqualifying conviction is not recorded on a WSP rap sheet?

If there are court documents, please do the following:

Provide a copy of the court document to WSP or request that the court of jurisdiction provide copies to the WSP;
The WSP will update the CHRI by adding the conviction;
Submit a new authorization form to BCCU after the WSP makes the correction; and
DSHS/BCCU will issue a new result to the requester.

If there are no court documents, please do the following:

Call DSHS/BCCU with the person’s name, date of birth, and approximate date and county in which convicted.
DSHS/BCCU will conduct a court search to determine if a record exists.
BCCU will update the tracking system and issue a new result if necessary.

Does the WSP have information on civil proceedings involving abuse and neglect?
A civil court finding is added to an individual's criminal history record only when fingerprints are submitted to the WSP. In many cases, fingerprints are not taken and submitted to the WSP for entry into the criminal history database.

Does the WSP have information on Federal Court convictions?
NO. The Federal Court system does not send reports of convictions to the WSP. Federal convictions can include crimes such as interstate kidnapping, weapons, drug and pornography distribution, and many other crimes that may be relevant to working with vulnerable people. To obtain information on a federal conviction, a request must be made directly to the appropriate federal court. BCCU should be informed if a federal conviction is identified. Court documents should be faxed to the attention of: Customer Service Supervisor, with a note of explanation.

Will the WSP assist entities in interpretation of results?
YES, the WSP will be able to provide information relating to the CHRI. For example:

WSP can provide assistance in understanding what the CHRI indicates.
The WSP cannot provide assistance in what action is required by DSHS or if a specific crime is disqualifying.

What steps should be taken when an applicant asserts the CHRI does not belong to him/her?
Ask the applicant to contact BCCU. BCCU will issue a thumbprint package with instructions to the initial requester. The applicant must submit a thumbprint using the special BCCU/WSP form. The thumbprint will be compared to the prints on file at the WSP. After the prints are compared, the WSP will:

Change the record if the person is not the subject of the record; and
Notify the employer and BCCU at the request of the individual.

This process is completed quickly by the WSP. BCCU will assist in any way necessary.

Who should contact the WSP to confirm the identity of the applicant?
This is the responsibility of the individual with the record response in question. BCCU and the requester must act on the original information provided by the WSP. The requester can submit a new authorization form to BCCU after the WSP has made the identification. BCCU will rerun the background check.

What if the employee brings court documents, which show that there was no conviction?
Entities do not have the legal authority under law to interpret or accept documentation from the court. The employee should take the documents to the WSP for review and action. BCCU staff will assist an entity if there are problems with this process. BCCU should be informed that the record was updated by the WSP and the requester should submit a new authorization form to BCCU.

What if the employee's lawyer, a corrections official, prosecutor, or public defender calls and says the conviction does not apply?
An entity must act on the information provided by the WSP. Refer the caller to the WSP or to BCCU for discussion about the specific case and how to proceed.

What if an individual has had their identification used/stolen by someone else?
A resident of this state may request that his or her fingerprint impressions be recorded and submitted to the WSP Identification and Criminal History Section for "personal identification". The voluntary submission may be used for identification in the case of someone else using his/her name. The individual with this problem may be required to submit a thumbprint each time they submit a background check request to ensure positive identification.