Free Public Access To Criminal Records
Free Public Access to Criminal Records
Pre-employment background checks are one of the main reasons why an individual or a business
entity would need free public access to criminal records. This is to help them establish the
propensity of a prospective hire to commit a crime and avoid that as much as possible.
Companies today are investing lots of money on research firms who use free public access to
criminal records in order to check the background of a subject. Aside from free public access to
criminal records, these research firms also have other methods of looking for information relevant
to the background check they are making.
Free Public Access to Criminal Records - Nationwide Databases
Most of the time free public access to criminal records is not enough to develop a comprehensive
background report on a subject. Only very few "nationwide" databases are available and most of
them cannot even be considered as "nationwide." The FBI is the only entity that has a database
large enough to be considered as "nationwide" but even then, it only contains records of
convictions and not simple misdemeanors. Plus, the criminal records contained in the FBI
database do not allow free public access. In fact, they are not public at all and the extraction of
information for purposes other than criminal justice uses may result in a huge fine or penalty.
Aside from the FBI database, there are other indexes that contain a huge bulk of criminal records
for free public access. Foremost of these databases are the three NCF (National Criminal File)
databases. There are 38 to 50 states included and the number of criminal records for free public
access in these three NCF databases ranges from 60 million to as many as 133 million.
The number is quite impressive but companies who wish to use the free public access to criminal
records provided by the NCF databases should read the fine print.
The Four Types of Criminal Records for Free Public Access
There are four different kinds of criminal records which belong to the "free public access"
category. These are the arrest records, criminal court records, corrections records, and state
criminal repository records.
The arrest records are criminal records of arrests done by the local law enforcement agencies.
Most states require their law enforcement agencies to accomplish an arrest report when they
arrest someone. The report soon becomes an arrest record and is sent to the criminal courts for
arraignment, in which case, the record becomes known as a criminal court record. After the trial,
if the defendant is convicted, the punishment may vary. The defendant may be sentenced to
incarceration, during which time, he may be sent to jail for a misdemeanor or to state prison for a
felony. Records of imprisonment become known as corrections records while the arrest records,
criminal court records, and correction records are sent to the state criminal records repository for
free public access.
More Articles
Free Online Searches For Criminal Records
Free Websites On Criminal Records
Criminal Records In Rhode Island
More Articles
... would need to get the following information from your subject: ? First and last name of the subject is mandatory. Names are important since all Colorado criminal records stored in the CBI database are indexed in alphabetical order by last name. ? Date of birth is mandatory. The date of birth is provided ...
... including information about escapes, the parole board, and death row convicts. Delaware Department of Corrections State.DE.US/correct The State of Delaware Department of Correction is also another good source of free inmate criminal records. The information you're going to get include details about subjects ...
... difficult to achieve. In addition, it would be time-consuming, expensive, and simply not practical. Statewide Criminal Records Check Today, 29 states in the United States keep criminal records check repositories which are open to the public. However, from a practical viewpoint, it is better to perform ...
Access To Free Criminal Public Records
... today's digital revolution, however, a large percentage of pieces of information such as free criminal public records are available and accessible online. In fact, wholly aware of the importance of access to free criminal public records, many government agencies have made previously hard-to-obtain documents ...
... person or agency that is not a criminal justice agency or a court without a signed release of the subject of record or unless otherwise provided by law." Therefore, if you're employer wishing to perform an Idaho criminal records check on a prospective hire, you would need that person's written permission ...