What Background Check Is Done Before an Inmate Is Released?

Before an inmate is released, the facility runs a check through the National Crime Information Center, commonly known as NCIC. This is a federal database maintained by the FBI that contains records of outstanding warrants, detainers, protection orders, and other law enforcement flags from jurisdictions across the entire country.

If the NCIC check comes back clean, meaning no outstanding warrants, holds, or detainers from any jurisdiction, the release proceeds as scheduled. If something comes back on the check, the inmate is held while the flagging jurisdiction is notified and decides whether to pursue the matter.

A detainer from another county or state is the most common thing that delays or prevents a release that seemed otherwise certain. An outstanding warrant from years ago in a different state can surface at exactly this moment if it was never resolved. If your husband has any unfinished legal business from his past in any jurisdiction, this is the check that will find it.

If the NCIC check is clean and the program has been completed successfully, nothing is standing between him and the door. Completing a structured 90-day program with a clean check is about as straightforward a release scenario as exists in the system.