Police Certificate

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Humm.. now i'm slightly concerned. The check I had done from my local office says, "A Canada wide name check has been done with the following information..." But it makes no mention of a CPIC. I sure hope that's ok... I did pay $40 for the darn thing!

Have a read here:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciproc...ocity_3531.html

Police Records

Inside Canada: Applicants who are physically present in Canada should contact their local police service or Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) office regarding criminal record check procedures. Applicants may obtain a certificate of no conviction issued by any Canadian police service so long as it notes that Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) or the national criminal records repository was searched using the applicant’s name and date of birth. Applicants should ensure that the search includes all names that they have previously used, including maiden names, prior married names, or names used before Canadian naturalization. (Note: Because records checks based on name and date of birth only are sometimes less thorough than those based on fingerprints, U.S. diplomatic offices reserve the right to request that certain applicants obtain fingerprint-based searches from the RCMP.)

Humm... so would you think that "Canada wide" indicates the national criminal records repository was searched? That's what i would assume. How could it be Canada wide if they didn't utilize a national database? Any advice on this one?

[MrsCat 6]

Humm.. now i'm slightly concerned. The check I had done from my local office says, "A Canada wide name check has been done with the following information..." But it makes no mention of a CPIC. I sure hope that's ok... I did pay $40 for the darn thing!

Have a read here:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciproc...ocity_3531.html

Police Records

Inside Canada: Applicants who are physically present in Canada should contact their local police service or Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) office regarding criminal record check procedures. Applicants may obtain a certificate of no conviction issued by any Canadian police service so long as it notes that Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) or the national criminal records repository was searched using the applicant’s name and date of birth. Applicants should ensure that the search includes all names that they have previously used, including maiden names, prior married names, or names used before Canadian naturalization. (Note: Because records checks based on name and date of birth only are sometimes less thorough than those based on fingerprints, U.S. diplomatic offices reserve the right to request that certain applicants obtain fingerprint-based searches from the RCMP.)

Humm... so would you think that "Canada wide" indicates the national criminal records repository was searched? That's what i would assume. How could it be Canada wide if they didn't utilize a national database? Any advice on this one?

Personally, if it doesn't use the words CPIC or NCRR specifically, I would get a new one which uses both or one of those words specifically. I'd just bring back the police certificate to the RCMP and ask that it specifically state what records were searched. I'd print off a copy from the website to show them in case they're confused.

I dunno, maybe that's standard from the RCMP, hopefully someone else will respond, and give you their experience. I had my done in Edmonton by the local police and it stated that it searched CPIC specifically.

Edit: Check the back of it too, I know mine also had on there, that all searches are done through CPIC.

Edited March 15, 2009 by MrsCat

[Hugglebuggles 60]

I'm from Ontario, and i had my check done with the local police station (Niagara Regional Police). There are no RCMP offices anywhere around here... I have no idea where else i would go to get a check done. I explained to the woman working at the office what it was for, and she told me this is a standard Canadian clearance, and the only other one would involve fingerprinting. But i'll go down there this week and double check with them... All it says is:

Niagara Regional Police Service

Clearance Certificate

This confirms that a Canada wide search of the following information has been processed on:

Name:

Address:

Date of Birth:

Disclosed:

No known criminal record on file with any agency.

Then it has the seal and signatures and all that. Dang this is annoying!

[July09Bride 1]

I'll look at my fiance's tomorrow (it's in this HUGE binder) and see what his says... now I'm worried. <sigh>

[Flames9_RN 358]

There are NO STANDARD police certificates, they even vary between RCMP detachments!! The 1 I received from the Kingston NS RCMP detachment looked like #######,lol Many Cdn VJ'ers have used the local police force and had no problems. Years back, I believe one had to use the RCMP< but that is no longer true.

[July09Bride 1]

I just want to make sure it says CPIC or NCRR. WHY does this have to be such an ordeal????? ARGH!

[Hugglebuggles 60]

I'm with you Julybride! Mine doesn't mention either of those 2 things explicitly, but i found this on the Niagara Regional Police website...

http://www.nrps.com/records/c1.asp

Regarding the check I received it says, "Used by person(s) seeking employment, working for organizations not registered with the NRPS, moving abroad, dealing with U.S. Customs and Immigration, attending school outside regional Niagara, etc."

"A Canada Wide criminal record check is performed on the applicant with any results recorded within the issued certificate."

It sounds to me like its ok, but to be certain I'm going to e-mail Montreal tomorrow and ask... To me, the term "national criminal records repository" isn't a reference to a specific organization but a general statement about a national database of information. I could be wrong, but if it was a specific thing wouldn't it say it like National Criminal Records Repository (NCRP)... However, I could just be reading in between the lines... (I'm a politics major, its what we do )

[July09Bride 1]

I'm with you Julybride! Mine doesn't mention either of those 2 things explicitly, but i found this on the Niagara Regional Police website...

http://www.nrps.com/records/c1.asp

Regarding the check I received it says, "Used by person(s) seeking employment, working for organizations not registered with the NRPS, moving abroad, dealing with U.S. Customs and Immigration, attending school outside regional Niagara, etc."

"A Canada Wide criminal record check is performed on the applicant with any results recorded within the issued certificate."

It sounds to me like its ok, but to be certain I'm going to e-mail Montreal tomorrow and ask... To me, the term "national criminal records repository" isn't a reference to a specific organization but a general statement about a national database of information. I could be wrong, but if it was a specific thing wouldn't it say it like National Criminal Records Repository (NCRP)... However, I could just be reading in between the lines... (I'm a politics major, its what we do )

Yeah, lemme know what you find out. When I get to school tomorrow, that's one of the first things I'm going to check & I'll let you know, too.

[OBX 51]

I'm from Ontario, and i had my check done with the local police station (Niagara Regional Police). There are no RCMP offices anywhere around here... I have no idea where else i would go to get a check done. I explained to the woman working at the office what it was for, and she told me this is a standard Canadian clearance, and the only other one would involve fingerprinting. But i'll go down there this week and double check with them... All it says is:

Niagara Regional Police Service

Clearance Certificate

This confirms that a Canada wide search of the following information has been processed on:

Name:

Address:

Date of Birth:

Disclosed:

No known criminal record on file with any agency.

Then it has the seal and signatures and all that. Dang this is annoying!

Just for future reference for anyone in Niagara.

There is a RCMP office in Stoney Creek. (Just off the QEW). I received my police certificate from them in January. Walk-in service, free of charge and they were well versed in the immigration process. Form included all of the required information, a digital photo of me (which they took on the spot) and a nice shiny gold seal.

Edited March 16, 2009 by OBX

[July09Bride 1]

Okay... since we did this electronically, his fingerprints are "on" the letter from the government. His states...

"This certifies that a search of the National Criminal Records repository maintained by the RCMP concerning the person whose fingerprints, name, and date of birth appear below could not be associated to any existing Criminal Record of conviction which may be disclosed in accordance with Federal Laws.

"APPLICATION TYPE: Visa/Border Crossing/Foreign Travel/Work"

So.... I'm assuming we're good. I see the NCRR above and I see the application is for a Visa, etc.

YEA!!! Again, was stressing for nothing. Wow... will I ever learn to trust myself with all of this?? Hmmm... probably not until it is all done and over.

Okay... since we did this electronically, his fingerprints are "on" the letter from the government. His states...

"This certifies that a search of the National Criminal Records repository maintained by the RCMP concerning the person whose fingerprints, name, and date of birth appear below could not be associated to any existing Criminal Record of conviction which may be disclosed in accordance with Federal Laws.

"APPLICATION TYPE: Visa/Border Crossing/Foreign Travel/Work"

So.... I'm assuming we're good. I see the NCRR above and I see the application is for a Visa, etc.

YEA!!! Again, was stressing for nothing. Wow... will I ever learn to trust myself with all of this?? Hmmm... probably not until it is all done and over.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Julybride you have even MORE then you needed to do! But I totally understand where you're coming from, I'm nothing but a nervous wreck lately!! I'm paranoid that something I have is wrong, or that I'm going to forget something important... anything and everything that I COULD worry about I do worry about! I hate myself for it! Someone needs to slap me.

I got a reply from Montreal and they said my check is fine. The exact reply is: "Canada wide is sufficient." So i'm going to print the darn e-mail and if they give me any grief I'll show them what one of their officers told me!