Alot of smart
advice given here and some humorous stories. However i feel i should clarify something here about the TWIC-ID card which replaced the old I-94 once homeland
security was formed.It is a criminal
record check of USA/fbi databases and not Interpol or other countries. Years ago seaman would have to get a I-94{perhaps it was a Y-94} if they got in a barfight or DUI{while on USA}.Otherwise they had to stay onboard freighters or in the bonded area of
ports.These I-94s were also required by truckers entering from
Mexico and
Canada but after 9/11 the proverbial "barndoor got closed". To reciprocate with this hardline approach now
Canada is disallowing entry completely to some with old/new DUI/barfight charges on
USA soil unless
USA person has waiver/pardon.Meanwhile serious smugglers with Interpol records go about their business unharrassed. A passport is only an ID check that the picture matches the name and is not a document that requires a clear criminal
record to acquire.Most countries cannot deny their citizen a passport and many have passports legally held of several countries at the same time. just read
www.international living.com to see how easy this can be done later.Some
women convicted of murder also have passports in both their
legal and spousal surnames. Sooo if you really want to check criminal backgrounds of people and dont know a detective willing to use their personal PIN number to access backgroundchecks use a criminal lawyer{lawyer who practises criminal law frequently}. As part of their job and because they are an "officer of the court" they can access the databases to check prior convictions as part of their normal business of making "plea bargains" with the prosecutors.Also because of the attorney/client privacy
privilege afforded by the 5th or 1st {i guess} they dont have to divulge who is checking what.The "google searches" only bring up what the media reports.Many spousal assaults or "crimes of passion" cannot be discovered with a
google search. Background checks of people outside of the USA can be difficult even for the FBI as some convictions in some countries are not even in the Interpol database. SO perhaps the old saying by truckers that "picking up hitchhikers is an unnecessary risk" should also be heeded by sailors in a hurry for crew.Personally i wouldnt leave a
mooring in some of the boats i have seen without liferafts/dingies or even a recently checked
EPIRB. Some of these floating wrecks remind me of a comedy called "Captian Ron" with Kurt Russel.My
advice is use a lawyer to checkout the
Skipper before you crew a boat as well as lots of creeps got million dollar yachts. Stay safe and fairwinds.