People are is shock when they learn that their fingerprints are still showing up on a criminal background check even though their charge was dismissed, withdrawn, stayed, peace bond, conditional or absolute discharged.
Since there is still a positive hit on a criminal background check, the person can lose employment opportunities and also have trouble at the US border.
In order to remove the criminal record you need to apply for a file destruction which will remove the prints, photos, court and police records. Once the file destruction is approved, it will no longer show up on a criminal background check.
The following recent article in the Toronto Star is an example of how a social worker cannot pursue her career because of a non-conviction criminal charge over 15 years ago.