At least 144 people with criminal records seek employment or a volunteer opportunity every day with a nonprofit organization, Alpharetta-based ChoicePoint reported today after a new audit of its records.

ChoicePoint, a provider of background screening services to the nonprofit sector, compiled data from 2002 to 2007, completing more than 3.7 million background screenings. It said it found that more than 189,000 individuals who had at least one criminal conviction tried to gain employment or volunteer with a nonprofit group.

It said many nonprofits serve vulnerable populations, including children, the poor, the elderly and the disabled.

"I hope this audit raises awareness and inspires nonprofits to partner with us in protecting vulnerable populations, so that we may all work together to ensure a safer, more secure society," said Derek V. Smith, chairman and CEO of ChoicePoint.

The audit also found that the Top 10 most-cited criminal offenses included driving while under the influence of alcohol, theft or larceny, writing bad checks, drug possession, assault, burglary, sex-related crimes, disorderly conduct and forgery.

ChoicePoint said most people who apply for volunteer or paying jobs among the nation's 1.47 million nonprofits "do so to serve," but that such organizations should be vigilant about the risks some people pose to clients.

According to a recent report by the National Center for Victims of Crime, the nation's leading advocacy group for crime victims, one in three U.S. nonprofit groups do not conduct background checks on volunteers, and about one in eight do no screening at all.

"For nonprofits that serve vulnerable people, failure to screen volunteers may prove far more costly than background checks," said Mary Lou Leary, executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime.

ChoicePoint said the last time it conducted such an audit covered data between 2002 and 2005. This one updated that information.

Last week, ChoicePoint shareholders approved its $4.1 billion planned acquisition by European media conglomerate Reed Elsevier. It is not yet known whether the ChoicePoint name will disappear, or whether any layoffs will result. The name of the combined company has not been determined, and the deal is expected to close later this year.

The Georgia company has about 5,000 employees, including about 1,700 in the Atlanta area.