What is the retention period for background investigation records showing minor derogatory indications?

The retention period for background investigation records showing minor derogatory indications is typically set at 15 years. This period is established to balance various considerations, including legal, operational, and security needs. Retaining records for 15 years allows organizations to maintain a historical context for personnel decisions while ensuring that older information does not unduly influence current evaluations.

This timeframe is also in line with regulatory guidelines and best practices, which require that sensitive records, particularly those pertaining to personnel security, be kept long enough to assess patterns or potential risks without retaining them indefinitely. Retaining records longer than necessary can lead to issues such as unnecessary clutter of personnel files and potential legal complications as individuals' records become outdated.

In contrast, shorter retention periods, such as 5 or 10 years, may not provide ample context for evaluating an individual's security risk, while a longer period, like 20 years, could retain information that is no longer relevant or fair to consider when making personnel decisions.