OAR 257-010-0025: Access to and Use of Criminal Offender Information

(1) Access to OSP criminal offender information by any means shall be limited to: (a) Criminal Justice Agencies, where the information is to be used for the administration of criminal justice, Criminal Justice Agency employment, or the information is required to implement a federal or state statute, local ordinance, Executive Order, or administrative rule that expressly refers to criminal conduct and contains requirements or exclusions expressly based on such conduct, or other demonstrated and legitimate needs; (b) Designated Agencies upon Executive Order of the Governor, where the information is required to implement a federal or state statute, Executive Order, or administrative rule that expressly refers to criminal conduct and contains requirements or exclusions expressly based on such conduct or for agency employment purposes, or licensing purposes, or other demonstrated and legitimate needs: (A) When a Designated Agency requests criminal offender information about an individual from OSP under ORS 181A.230 (1) for agency employment, licensing or other permissible purposes, the agency shall provide documentation that the individual: (i) Gave prior written consent for the agency to make a criminal offender record check through the OSP; or (ii) Has received written notice from the agency that a criminal offender record check may be made through the OSP. Notice shall be provided prior to the time the request is made and shall include: Notice of the manner in which the individual may be informed of the procedures adopted under ORS 181A.230(3) for challenging inaccurate criminal offender information; and notice of the manner in which the individual may become informed of rights, if any, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and notice that discrimination by an employer on the basis of arrest records alone may violate federal civil rights law and that the individual may obtain further information by contacting the Bureau of Labor and Industries. (B) When an authorized agency or organization requests, in written form, criminal offender information about an individual from OSP under ORS 181A.230(1), that agency will be charged the applicable fee noted in the CJIS Fee Schedule for each individual checked (fee does not apply when check is made by agency using their LEDS terminal). (c) Qualified entities upon successful determination as being a qualified entity by the OSP Identification Services Section. Qualified entities may request from OSP Identification Services Section a criminal records check for purposes of evaluating the fitness of a subject individual as an employee, contractor or volunteer. The OSP Identification Services Section may access state and federal criminal records only through use of the subject individual’s fingerprints. (A) Before the OSP Identification Services Section conducts a criminal records check based on the subject individual's fingerprints: (i) The OSP Identification Services Section shall determine whether the entity requesting the criminal records check is a qualified entity as defined in 257-010-0015(15) and has executed a user agreement making that determination; (ii) The qualified entity must establish criteria to be used by the OSP Identification Services Section in reviewing the criminal offender information for a final record check determination; (iii) The qualified entity must provide the criteria established under paragraph (ii) of this subsection to the OSP Identification Services Section; and (iv) The qualified entity must have informed the subject individual that the qualified entity might request a fingerprint-based criminal records check and that the subject individual may obtain a copy of the record check report from, or challenge the accuracy or completeness of the record check report through, the OSP Identification Services Section or the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (B) Upon receipt of a subject individual’s criminal offender information, the OSP Identification Services Section shall make a final record check determination by comparing the criminal offender information with the criteria provided to the OSP Identification Services Section by the qualified entity under subsection (A)(ii) of this section. In making the final record check determination, the OSP Identification Services Section may only consider information that the Department of State Police may disclose under ORS 181A.245. The OSP Identification Services Section may only consider records of any conviction, or of any arrest less than one year old on which there has been no acquittal or dismissal. (C) The OSP Identification Services Section shall only respond to a qualified entity’s inquiry concerning a subject individual in the following manner and shall not provide specific criminal offender information: (i) Yes. (No disqualifying criteria established by the qualified entity and ORS 181A.245 was found.) (ii) No. (One or more disqualifying criteria established by the qualified entity and ORS 181A.245 was found.) (d) Regional Information Sharing Systems, where the information is to be used to identify, target, and remove criminal conspiracies and activities and terrorist conspiracies and activities that occur across law enforcement and state jurisdictional boundaries. Access to Oregon Criminal Offender Information by Regional Information Sharing Systems is limited to only Oregon Criminal Offender Information that exists in computerized format; (e) A person or agency not defined as a Criminal Justice, Designated Agency, or Qualified Entity has access only through the OSP Identification Services Section pursuant to ORS 181A.230 and 181A.245. The request must be submitted in writing and may be hand carried or mailed to the OSP Identification Services Section. The applicable fee(s) noted in the CJIS fee will be charged for each check, as well as when certification by a notary public is requested. Checks are to be made payable to the Oregon State Police. Inquiries are to be addressed to Oregon State Police, Identification Services Section, 3565 Trelstad Ave SE, Salem, OR 97317. Inquiries may also be made through the OSP webpage at www.oregon.gov/osp , when a customer account is established for billing purposes. (A) The requesting party must furnish OSP with sufficient information to assist identifying and notifying the individual of interest. If the information is sought for employment purposes the requester must state on the written request that the individual has been so advised and the manner in which the individual was so advised; (B) These individuals will be advised by letter the name of the requestor, and that they are allowed to review their criminal history for inaccurate or incomplete information. They will also be advised that they may become informed of certain rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by contacting the Bureau of Labor and Industries; (C) If a challenge is received prior to the end of the statutory 14 day waiting period, response to the requester will be held in abeyance until the challenge is resolved; (D) OSP will respond to all requests and furnish Oregon conviction information and any arrest information less than one year old on which there has been no acquittal or dismissal. If the compiled information does not meet the above criteria or there is no record of the subject, OSP will reply to the requester that there is no criminal record. (2) Access to Oregon CCH information by means of computer terminals shall be limited to Criminal Justice Agencies, Designated Agencies, and Regional Information Sharing Systems using their respective identification number (ORI) as authorized by OSP in an “Agency Agreement.” Access to FBI criminal offender information by a Regional Information Sharing System is authorized, pursuant to an OSP “Agency Agreement,” only upon a showing that the system is authorized under Title 28, United States Code, Section 534 and Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, Part B & C, to receive such FBI criminal offender information. (3) Oregon criminal offender information may be shared between authorized Criminal Justice and Designated Agencies, and between Regional Information Sharing Systems and their respective participating law enforcement agencies. All other secondary dissemination of criminal offender information is prohibited unless expressly permitted by Oregon Revised Statute. Dissemination of Oregon criminal offender information by the Department of Human Services or the Employment Department to public or private agencies authorized by ORS 181A.200 shall be limited to persons with a demonstrated and legitimate need to know the information. Such need must be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Department of Human Services or the Employment Department responsible for the dissemination of the information. Title 28, United States Code, Section 534 and Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 20.33(b), prohibits dissemination of FBI criminal offender information to public or private agencies by Criminal Justice or Designated Agencies. Inquiries for nonofficial purposes or the checking of records for unauthorized persons or agencies is prohibited. A person wishing to review their criminal history record maintained by the FBI should write to: Federal Bureau of Investigation, CJIS Division, Attn: SCU, Module D2, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, West Virginia, 26306. The FBI will inform the person how to obtain a copy of their record and, if necessary, how to challenge the accuracy or completeness of that record. (4) Criminal offender information may be furnished to authorized Criminal Justice, Designated Agency, and Regional Information Sharing System employees and no person who has been convicted of a crime which could have resulted in a sentence to a federal or state penitentiary will be allowed to operate a computer terminal accessing CCH information or have access to Criminal offender information. All authorized agency or system employees as described above must be fingerprinted and the fingerprint card submitted to OSP. The fingerprint cards will be searched against the state and federal criminal record files. The “Reason Fingerprinted” may be for criminal justice employment such as “Police Officer,” “Corrections Officer” or “Access to CCH.” These fingerprint cards will be retained by OSP and entered into the CCH File. Exceptions to this rule may be made in extraordinary circumstances upon written application to the Superintendent of the Oregon State Police setting forth such circumstances. The Superintendent of OSP will maintain a central file where such exception authorization shall be filed. (5) Screening of Criminal Justice, Designated Agency, and Regional Information Sharing System employees who have access to CCH or criminal offender information records is the responsibility of the employing agency or system. (6) Any Criminal Justice, Designated Agency, or Regional Information Sharing System that obtains Oregon or FBI criminal offender information, either directly through that agency’s or system’s computer terminal, through the computer terminal of another agency or system, or directly from OSP, must have executed a written “Agency Agreement” with the OSP prior to such access. Any public or private agency receiving Oregon criminal offender information from the Department of Human Services or the Employment Department pursuant to ORS 181A.200( 2 )(d) must have executed a written “Agency Agreement” with the Department of Human Services or the Employment Department prior to receiving the information. Dissemination of Oregon criminal offender information received under authority of ORS 181A.200( 2 )(d) by a public or private agency is strictly prohibited. (7) Security of computer terminals. Any computer terminal with CCH accessing capability must be physically secure and placed in a location not available to unauthorized persons. Computer terminals must be so placed that unauthorized persons may not observe the content of messages transmitted or received on such computer terminal. (8) Security of criminal offender information records. Any Criminal Justice, Designated Agency, Regional Information Sharing System, or private entity obtaining or receiving criminal offender information shall maintain those records in secure files, available only to authorized agency employees, until they are destroyed by burning, shredding or secure and confidential recycling and shall treat those records in such a manner that the record does not become public information in any later proceeding, except through court order or as otherwise provided by law. (9) Radio Transmission. Any radio transmission of criminal offender information records shall be limited to essential details only, with information identifying individuals and offenses concealed insofar as possible. Plain text transmission of an entire (summary or full CCH) record is prohibited. (10) Fee for relief from the bar of purchasing/possessing a firearm. When a person barred from possessing a firearm under ORS 166.250(1)(c)(A), (B), (D) or (E) or barred from purchasing a firearm under ORS 166.470 and is granted relief from the bar by a court under ORS 166.274, the applicable fee noted in the CJIS Fee Schedule will be charged to enter and maintain this information in the CCH File as authorized under ORS 166.274(5)(b). (11) Fee for conducting fingerprint based criminal record background check for authorized non-criminal justice purposes. The applicable fee noted in the CJIS Fee Schedule will be charged to conduct a fingerprint based criminal record background check The applicable fee will be waived as provided in ORS 181A.235(1) & (2). ( 12) Agencies authorized by Oregon Revised Statute or federal law to submit fingerprint record checks to the FBI, Identification Division via OSP, are responsible to pay the prevailing user fee charged by the FBI for those fingerprint record checks in addition to the OSP user fee, except as otherwise provided by state or federal law. [Publications: Publications referenced are available from the agency.]