In the province of Alberta, two kinds of applicable Canadian criminal record checks serve different purposes such as Police Information Check (PIC) and Police Information Check with Vulnerable Sector (PIC-VS).
One may require a Police Information Check (PIC) for employment, volunteering, and other agencies. This Canadian background check looks for criminal history by searching Canadian criminal records such as convictions, non-convictions, and other relevant records through multiple official sources including the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), Alberta Justice Online Information Network (JOIN), etc. One can apply for this background check for various roles in different ways including through police departments, RCMP detachment offices, or through internet-based service providers.
Police Information Check with Vulnerable Sector (PIC-VS) is a different Alberta criminal record check required in certain designations in employment, volunteering, and other agencies where trust or authority over the Canadian vulnerable sector is present. This police check ensures conducting a deeper check on an applicant’s criminal history and seeks Canadian criminal records that not only involve valid convictions or non-conviction records but also applicable pardoned offenses information. This takes place by running queries through multiple databases and can be applied for by visiting police departments or RCMP detachment offices.