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Police Checks: how ordering works

Summary

Safe Pathways connects to Canpro SOS so your church can order Police Checks, watch their progress, and review the results without leaving the platform. This article walks through placing an order, what the volunteer does on their side, and how to handle results that need a closer look.

Who this is for

  • Church Administrators who manage volunteer screening
  • Account Owners

What you’ll need

Make sure you have:

  • Admin access to Safe Pathways, with a role that allows ordering screening
  • Canpro SOS connected in Church Settings (see Canpro SOS: How to connect Safe Pathways)
  • The volunteer’s correct legal name and a current email address on their profile

Before you start

Canpro SOS is the screening partner behind Police Checks in Safe Pathways. Orders work for volunteers in every Canadian province and territory, all 13 jurisdictions.

Billing for Police Checks is direct between Canpro SOS and your church. Safe Pathways adds no fee on top, and the cost of a check never appears on your Safe Pathways invoice.

You’ll find the page under Police Check in the left menu, though the page header itself currently reads Background Check. It is the same screen.

Volunteers cannot order their own checks. Their part comes after you place the order: Canpro SOS emails them to complete their profile, verify their identity, and give consent. On their own Home page, the check appears under Your church staff tasks, where they can see it but not complete it.

Steps to order a Police Check

1. Open the Police Check page

From the Admin Dashboard, select Police Check in the left menu. When the page loads, Safe Pathways tests your Canpro SOS connection and lets you know if it cannot connect.

[Screenshot: Police Check page, showing the four collapsible sections with the first section (“The following people require background checks”) expanded]

2. Find the volunteer

The first section, “The following people require background checks”, is open by default and lists everyone who still needs a check. You can sort, filter, and search the list by name or email. The other three sections hold checks that are flagged or failed, ordered and pending, and passed in the last 60 days.

3. Choose the check to order

In the volunteer’s row, select Order Record Check, then pick one of the options:

  • $22 Enhanced Criminal Record Check
  • $25 Enhanced Criminal Record Check + Facial Recognition (uses facial recognition to verify the volunteer’s identity)
  • Manual Check, for recording a check that was completed outside Safe Pathways

Manual Check opens a short form instead of placing an order: choose the Result (Cleared or Failed), set the Date of Check, add the required note, then select Save. The check is recorded right away with a Manual source badge.

[Screenshot: Order Record Check menu open on a volunteer row, showing the $22, $25, and Manual Check options]

4. Confirm the order

A confirmation dialog shows the volunteer’s name, the package, and the cost. Select Place order to send the order to Canpro SOS, or cancel to back out. Once the order goes through, you’ll see a Canpro SOS file number for the volunteer, and they move to the ordered and pending section.

[Screenshot: Confirmation dialog for a Police Check order, showing the volunteer name, package, cost, and the Place order button]

5. Let the volunteer do their part

Canpro SOS emails the volunteer directly with a link to complete their profile, verify their identity, and give consent. Until they finish, the order waits at a consent or candidate step. This is a good moment to give the volunteer a heads-up to watch their inbox, and their spam folder, for an email from Canpro SOS.

6. Track the order

Open the “ORDERED AND PENDING” section to see every check in progress. Safe Pathways refreshes these statuses from Canpro SOS automatically a few times a day. To pull the latest status for one volunteer right away, select View Order in their row.

What happens next

When a check clears, the volunteer moves to the “PASSED (LAST 60 DAYS)” section, and their screening status moves a step closer to Authorized Adult. If your role allows it, View Report opens the official Canpro SOS report as a PDF. To understand how the Police Check fits into the rest of screening, see Screening status: what Pending means.

If a result comes back flagged or failed, the volunteer appears under “FLAGGED / FAILED”. A flagged result does not decide anything on its own; it tells you to pause and follow your church’s process. From that section you can:

  • View Report, to read the Canpro SOS report before making any decision
  • Override Fail, to mark the volunteer as cleared after your review. You’ll be asked for a written explanation, which is saved as a note on the volunteer’s profile.
  • Reject Volunteer, to mark the volunteer as failed and at risk. This also requires a written explanation, saved to the volunteer’s profile.

Troubleshooting

Safe Pathways says Canpro SOS is not connected

  • Open Church Settings, then the Integrations tab, and confirm both the API Token and the Account ID are entered with no extra spaces.
  • Follow Canpro SOS: How to connect Safe Pathways if the connection has never been set up.
  • Reload the Police Check page after saving your settings.

The Order Record Check button is greyed out

  • Your admin role may not include permission to order screening. Ask your Account Owner to check your role.
  • If an order is already underway on the page, wait for it to finish and try again.

I get an “Already submitted” warning when I try to order

  • A Canpro SOS file already exists for this volunteer. Look for them in the “ORDERED AND PENDING” section.
  • Use View Order on their row to pull the latest status instead of ordering again.

An order has been waiting on consent for days

  • The volunteer has not finished the steps in the Canpro SOS email. Ask them to search their inbox and spam folder for an email from Canpro SOS.
  • Confirm the email address on their Safe Pathways profile is correct. If it was wrong, contact Safe Pathways support for help redirecting the order.

A volunteer I expected to see isn’t listed

  • The page lists active volunteers only. Check that the volunteer is active in your Community list.
  • Check the other three sections. The volunteer may already have an ordered, passed, or flagged check.
  • A volunteer whose check is recorded as not required will not appear on this page.

Notes

  • Police Checks are ordered through Canpro SOS and work in all 13 Canadian provinces and territories.
  • Canpro SOS bills your church directly for each check. Safe Pathways adds no fee.
  • Two packages are available: the $22 Enhanced Criminal Record Check, and the $25 option that adds facial recognition identity verification.
  • The volunteer completes identity verification and consent through an email from Canpro SOS.
  • Statuses refresh automatically a few times a day. View Order refreshes one volunteer right away.
  • Use Manual Check to record a check completed outside Safe Pathways.
  • Overriding a failed result or rejecting a volunteer always requires a written explanation, which is saved to the volunteer’s profile.

Last reviewed

June 11, 2026