Free Criminal Record Search

Most of the companies today are very particular when hiring new employees.  Each applicant may go through a series of tests or interviews before they may be accepted into the organization.

One of the usual aspects that is taken into consideration by the employers are the criminal record background (if there is any) of the applicant.

Most companies or organizations prefer a criminal record-free individual for the following reasons:

1. For the safety and security of their current employees.  An individual with a record on raping is hardly to be accepted in an organization with a majority of women involved, for the company might deem that they are exposing the women to such risk.

2. The image of the company and its employees usually go hand-in-hand in the corporate world.  Top executives would hardly recommend or choose an employee with a past record on monetary issues to handle their corporate accounts, much less handle transactions with third parties.

In 1999 alone “employers lost 60% of negligent hiring/supervision jury trial” according to The Reish and Luftman Practical Guide to Employment Law.

Still, background checking for any criminal record is not solely used for business purposes.  Some people are into criminal background checking to verify certain information about an ex-spouse, a business partner, a new nanny, fiancée or perhaps that of a new boyfriend, all of these for safety and security reasons.

Various sites in the Internet offer free criminal record searches.  These are public databases available for such purposes.

Said databases may contain materials starting from a specific period, eg. 1970’s records up to the present.  These records are usually updated either monthly or quarterly by the covered state or judicial court.

The following information will be needed to check the record of an individual:

1. Complete name

2. Date of birth

3. Social Security Number

4. City

5. State

6. Telephone number

The most common search is for cases or records on sexual offenses, felony and criminal convictions.

Free search generated reports contains some or most of the following:

1. First, middle and last name of the individual

2. Date of birth

3. Race

4. Sex

5. Height

6. Jurisdiction

7. Social Security number

8. Driver’s License Number

9. Details of charges (if there is any).  This would include (if applicable) the Case Number, Sentence and Sentence Date, County Name, Offense, Disposition (with or without the date), Arrest Date, and Release Date

Still, when checking into the criminal records of any individual, especially on free searches into the Internet, one must be cautious since most organizations would advertise that they provide a “Nationwide Criminal Search” when in turn their database does not include every state.

Most of these databases include only records submitted by the various court systems, and most court systems do not participate on such activities, and if they do, submitted records are usually outdated.

For a thorough search, one must go over 3000 judicial courts, and that is in the US alone.

Anyone can do a criminal record search, especially if it is for free.  It would be a good idea if an individual would run a search on himself or herself over the Internet to check any errors on such databases.

Should anyone find a mistake on any report, he or she has the right to correct it for free under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.