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There are millions of criminals and ex-criminals in the country, and that’s just counting those who got nabbed. Based on historical data, a good portion of them would not have learnt their lesson. The recidivism rate within 3 years of release reportedly averages around 3% and greater than 15% for those who relapse while still on parole or probation. How can we spot them when we cross path?

Fortunately, there is a practical and effective way for us to take some extra precaution of our own. It is to simply check out people by searching their Public Criminal Records. There are various related public records which are more specific in nature such as Arrest, Police, Jail, Sex Offender, Inmates and Conviction but Public Criminal Records is a good category to start with.

Criminal Records can be quite confidential in content but they are public records nevertheless. That means anyone can access anybody’s Public Criminal Records as long as it’s done through the proper channels. They can be requested from the local police department if the exact residential location of the subject is known. Alternatively, they are obtainable from the appointed state agencies in charge of the function. The standard methods of retrieval are by mail, walk in, telephone, fax and more recently online over the internet. They can also be purchased from commercial record providers.

A great deal of information can be found in Public Criminal Records. At a basic level, it includes the personal particulars and bio-data of the subject, the details of the criminal violation like the time and place, case type and number, conviction and arresting agency and pertinent information from other related record categories. In the case of repeat offenders, the complete list of all the violations within the particular state will show up.

Public Criminal Records are governed by state laws. As such, there are variations between the states in terms of their access and the treatment and permissible use of the information derived from them. As is common in public records, the respective state records are also not linked and as a result, Public Criminal Records documented in one state will not show up in a search conducted for another.

People use Public Criminal Records for a multitude of reasons the most prominent of which are in screening employees, assessing volunteers, police investigation, supporting court cases and social background checks on neighbors, colleagues and even friends and relatives. One thing to note is that there are strict laws governing privacy protection and individual discrimination in regard to Public Criminal Records. Experts and professionals are often required to determine their proper application.

There are basically two versions of Public Criminal Records. The first one is the free-of-charge (FOC) version. Government sources form the major part of this version and it’s effectively do-it-yourself (DIY). The second version is the fee-based version from commercial information providers. It can be on per-search or subscription basis. They cost you some dollars but spare you the hassle.