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[vc_row el_class=”inner_row”][vc_column el_class=”wrapper”][vc_column_text 0=””]I have noticed that people often don’t have much success with their criminal search simply because they cast their net too wide when launching an arrest inquiry. What I mean to say is that your search for arrest warrants or even criminal records won’t yield the desired results unless you can narrow down the geographical location, at least to the state level.

 

That said, let us not forget that every state has its own laws when it comes to the dissemination of crime related records such as an arrest report or even judicial records. The one thing I can tell you is that if you start your search after understanding the local rules and requirements and upon gathering some information about your subject, you will have an easier time locating the arrest records you need. Continue reading to know more about how most states treat an arrest inquiry and a criminal background check.

 

What is the best way to access arrests records?

I could not answer that question, even if I wanted to, without launching into an explanation on how arrests work and the methods used for capturing and storing information pertaining to arrests. So, here it goes.

As you may have guessed, since the local police are responsible for detaining suspects, the sheriff’s office not only prepares the arrest report for specific criminal matters but also maintains the arrest log from the various precincts under its command.

 

This data is kept in a daily log known as the police blotter. This arrest log is not always made available for public consumption. In fact, rules pertaining to this information vary not just from state to state but also among counties and precincts. Let me give you a few examples here:

 

 

As you can see, the rules and sources of information vary even within a state. So, before launching the arrest inquiry, it would make sense to learn about the geographical area in which the crime occurred or the name of the agency responsible for the arrest booking.

 

Although the police are the first to keep a record of recent arrests, once a person is detained, this information has to be passed along to other agencies.

a demo of how to arrest a person.jpegFor instance, a detainee will eventually have to be taken to court, which means that the judiciary also gets involved in the process and is the next in the information chain. The clerk of court’s office maintains all criminal and civil records for the judiciary.

 

Plus, this agency is also responsible for the release of such information to the public. So after the local police, this office can serve as your second source of information. In fact, in a lot of counties, the sheriff’s department will direct you to the clerk of court’s office for arrest history searches.

 

Is there no way to access information on state police arrests?

In my opinion, when people ask this question, they are either inquiring about records of state trooper arrests or about a central repository of recent arrests made all over the state. These are, no doubt, two different sets of information.

 

State troopers/police can be a part of the State’s Department of Public safety or they could have their own agency. While local police have limited geographical jurisdiction, state police- as you may have guessed- can make arrests all over the state.

 

Generally, troopers handle traffic related and other offenses on the highways and the interstate. But once an arrest is made or a ticket is issued, the matter is turned over to the local police and judiciary. So, it is still the local police that would have information on people who are arrested by state troopers.

 

That said, the state police also keep this data, but it is almost never offered to the public. However, you can access criminal history records from this agency, but only if they are in charge of maintaining the statewide repository of criminal records. Again, let me explain this with the help of a few examples:

 

 

As you can see, the information that you get is not just limited to arrest records, rather it is a complete crime history report. Also, while some states allow third-party inquiries, others will only offer personal criminal reports and arrest records of subjects who have authorized your access to the information.

 

How do you find jail records?

Before conviction, suspects are held in county jails. So, if you want information on inmates housed in these facilities, you will have to approach the local police department. In fact, if the sheriff’s office offers a jail inmate lookup facility on its website, this would be a good way to track arrests in the last 24 hours as well as recent DUI arrests. If you are looking for information on convicts in state penitentiaries, this can usually be found on the website of the Department of Corrections of that state.

 

Arrest warrants

Arrest warrants may be issued by any court in the country but these arrest orders are seldom issued without receiving a request from a law enforcement agency or an individual (civil cases). Local warrants, whether they are issued in case of felonies or Class A and B misdemeanors, come from the court of the magistrate or the trial county/district court. Bench warrants are issued by magistrate’s court as well as municipal courts and are usually related to civic/traffic violations instead of serious crimes.

a person arrested hand cuffed 2.jpegI am sure you must have noticed that local agencies are involved in both the issue and the serving of active warrants. So, your best bet for a warrant search would be the judiciary or the sheriff’s office of your county. In fact, launching a country-wide search for warrants is nearly impossible unless you are willing to approach every county in every state.

 

 

Is there no way to do a warrant lookup for a particular state?

Although information on all outstanding warrants is sent to a central state-wide repository, access to the database is only given to law enforcement personnel. In fact, even at the county and precinct level, you will have a hard time launching a warrant check. Of course, the rules pertaining to warrants search requests also vary among states and counties. Let me explain this with a few examples:

 

1. California warrant search:

In CA, it is relatively easy to find outstanding warrants as long as you approach the local sheriff’s office. For instance, you can launch a warrants check by name in both San Diego and Orange Counties by visiting the websites of the local law enforcement agencies at https://apps.sdsheriff.net/WARRANT/ and http://www.ocsd.org/gov/sheriff/howdoi/eservices/warrants.asp respectively. In fact, you will often find the local police departments of California offering a warrant search free on their websites.

 

2. Information on arrest warrants in PA:

This is one of the few states that offers access to its central database of outstanding warrants. The service can be accessed by visiting the webpage of the Judicial System of Pennsylvania at https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/MyServices.aspx.

 

You will need to register an account and log in to it in order to do a warrant search. In some counties, the sheriff’s office offers its own warrant list independent of the state-wide facility. It goes without saying that the active warrants in such a list will also be a part of the central database.  For instance, you can find the warrant list for Montgomery County, PA at https://www.montcopa.org/1415/Active-Bench-Warrants.

 

3. Warrants check in VA:

In Virginia, again, it would be best to get in touch with the local sheriff’s department or judiciary for the warrant lookup. The rules do vary and some agencies make it easier than others to find details on active warrants. For instance, warrant information for Newport can be found at https://www.nnva.gov/499/Active-Outstanding-Warrants and details on outstanding warrants from Roanoke County are made available at https://www.roanokecountyva.gov/index.aspx?NID=563.

 

The VA Department of Corrections does post a list of its most wanted on the agency website, but you cannot get data on arrest warrants from this agency. The most wanted list is available at https://www.vadoc.virginia.gov/offenders/wanted/fugitive.shtm.

 

4. Warrant search in NY:

The only way to access information on warrants issued in New York is by visiting the local sheriff’s department or the clerk of court’s office. The law enforcement agencies of the state do not offer the facility to conduct a warrant lookup or a criminal check online. However, you can access criminal court records through the website of the judiciary; more on that in the next section.

 

5. Missouri arrest warrants search:

In MO, you can find information on municipal arrest warrants online but the same cannot be said about outstanding warrants issued in connection with serious criminal infractions.

 

For example, you will find details on municipal bench warrants from Springfield at http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/PatrolDivisions/CRID/crimRecChk.html. However, if you want to launch a search for outstanding warrants in Greene County or Jackson County, you will have to approach the warrant division of the local sheriff’s office.

 

What if I want to access the warrant list for a particular state?

 

Although all states maintain a central repository of arrest warrants, only the police have access to this database. Even if you were to approach the local law enforcement agency for a warrant check, they will only get you information on your subject. At best, you may find a warrant list for the geographical area covered by the sheriff’s office. Take a look at these examples:

 

 

Where can I get information on a warrant roundup?

 

Information on warrant roundup operations is not made available to the public in any way or form. Because a warrant roundup is usually a multi-agency effort, several arrests are made within a span of days and law enforcement agencies want to catch the suspects unawares.

 

So, it would not make sense to release details about the operations beforehand. Usually, a warrant roundup involves multiple sheriffs’ departments from the same state. But, there have been instances in which the law enforcements agencies from two neighboring states have participated in a joint operation.

 

Is there a nation-wide warrant database and can I access this repository?

 

Yes, the FBI does maintain a nation-wide criminal information database known as the National Crime Information Center. It includes information on arrests, active warrants as well case dispositions of misdemeanors and felonies. Individual records include details on arrests, warrants, convictions and identification.

 

This FBI rap sheet is called the Interstate Identification Index. Apart from details on an individual’s involvement in serious crimes, the rap sheet may also have information on municipal and traffic related offenses as well as bench warrants. Unfortunately, access to this database is only offered to law enforcement agencies. So, there is no way for regular folks to use this repository for their warrant search.

 

Court records

 

Of all law enforcement related information, court records, including criminal court records are the easiest to find. Because judicial records are maintained by the office of the clerk of court that serves a particular county as well as the state judiciary, you can actually launch a case search to include all the geographical divisions of a state.

 

Are judicial records an easy way to launch a criminal case search?

 

Typically, in most states, you can launch a case search to find a court docket related to a civil or a criminal matter. The case look up can be done by using the name of the defendant/litigant as well as the docket/case number. In simple words, you won’t have a tough time finding the courts records that you need.

 

The only catch is that the information may not be as in depth as you’d like it to be. For instance, even if you were to get your hands on felony court records, you may only be able to find out about the charges against the defendant, the verdict and sentencing and corrections related information.

 

Also, it is easier to get details through a criminal case search when the matter has resulted in a guilty verdict. In contrast, if a criminal case ended in a dismissal or an acquittal, you may have to go to the court clerk’s office in person for the case lookup.

 

Can you use the courts open access system to launch a case search?

 

Yes, you can. In fact, you can launch a court records search for free by using this system. Although the system itself and the information offered through the case lookup facility will differ based on state laws, you will be allowed to use various search parameters. For instance, you will be able to find a court docket by the name of the litigant, the case/docket number, name of the attorney and the presiding court.

 

However, you won’t always be allowed access to criminal court records online. In many states, the only way to view information on a criminal matter is by visiting the office of the clerk of court and using the public service terminal to find the required data. Let me give you a few examples here:

 

1. Criminal court records for MN:

Case information from all the courts across Michigan is available through the website of the MN Judicial Branch at http://www.mncourts.gov/Access-Case-Records.aspx. Click on the link that reads “trial case court search” and accept the terms and conditions of the service to access the court docket lookup tool.

 

You can access details on civil as well as criminal cases through this system. However, information on criminal matters is limited to those that have been disposed by the courts. You will not be able to initiate a name search for ongoing criminal matters even if they only involve a petty offense or a traffic violation. This is one of the few ways to get criminal court records for free.

 

2. Court docket search in PA:

The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania offers the facility to search through their court docket database on their website at https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/CaseInformation.aspx. The service is offered in two forms; the public court dockets sheets access, which offers limited information on civil and criminal matters and the secured court docket sheets access, which requires a secured login.

 

Case court information stored in this repository includes data from all the courts of PA, including the Philadelphia Municipal Court. Click on the “case information” tab and then choose the court to access the information you need. Secured access will get you additional details pertaining to the matter including the pre-sentencing summary.

 

3. Judicial records search in Texas:

The state judiciary uses the Odyssey system for providing public access to judicial records. Each county has its own page and unfortunately, all my attempts to get to the homepage that gives you the option to navigate to the specific page of a county in the state have been in vain. But, you can access the main search tool that will get you results from all the counties.

 

This is available at http://odyssey.mctx.org/Unsecured/default.aspx#MainContent. You have the option to look for information pertaining to criminal cases, civil cases or to access the court calendar. Because the serviced is offered by the District Court Clerk, you will only get access to District Court dockets through this facility.

 

Access to information from the county courts and magistrate’s courts is available in some but not all counties. For example, in Bexar County, joint records are offered by the County and the District Court Clerks at https://search.bexar.org/. Furthermore, the county clerk also offers access to the court’s misdemeanor records at https://www.bexar.org/2923/Misdemeanor-Records and you can find out about magistrate’s court arrests at http://apps.bexar.org/CMAGSearchList/.

 

4. Case lookup in CT:

The State of Connecticut Judicial Branch also allows you to launch a case lookup through their court docket database. The search tool at https://www.jud.ct.gov/jud2.htm can be used to access details from the Superior Court (criminal and civil division), the Small claims court as well as the Supreme and Appellate courts. You can also find information on arrest warrants on this website at https://www.jud2.ct.gov/VOP/.

 

5. Court records for Florida:

Information on matters handled by the trial courts of Florida is available on a unified network at https://www.civitekflorida.com/ocrs/county/. You will have to choose the county of inquiry. The service offers both public and registered access to their court docket database.

 

Needless to say, registered access will get you more data and information on matters still in trial. However, you will have to get the User Id and password from the office of the clerk of court, and you will have to give them a good reason for needing this information. Supreme and Appellate court dockets are available at https://www.flcourts.org/Florida-Courts/Online-Public-Docket.

 

What are the other options for a court case lookup?

Another way is to approach the office of the clerk of court either by visiting the agency office personally or writing to them. You can find the address of the court clerk from the website of county governance. This agency will be able to help you with information on all case dockets of matters heard by the local branches of the judiciary.

 

Criminal records

a person arrested inside jail.jpepI have already told you about the country-wide centralized database of criminal records (NCIC), which is maintained by the FBI and is off limits to regular folks. This leaves you with two choices. You can either get in touch with the local police or the clerk of court or file your request for a criminal check with the central agency that maintains the state-level database of criminal court records.

 

Do all states offer criminal background search facilities?

Now, here is where things get a bit tricky. Yes, all states do have a designated agency that collects and stores information pertaining to criminal occurrences and offenders, and they do allow access to their criminal history database. But, how much information you get; in fact, if you get any at all, will depend on how the state handles public criminal records. Make no mistake, there are significant variations in the latitude of freedom granted to the general public to launch a criminal background check. For instance:

 

  1. In some states, you can only do a first party criminal case search, meaning only your records will be made available to you. Usually, when the laws are so stringent, you would require the permission of your subject to file the request for his/her criminal records and to access this data. Also typically, such inquiries are fingerprint based. So, you cannot possibly file the request for these criminal records online.
  2. In other states, you will be allowed to access third party criminal records but this can only be done after declaring your purpose for such an inquiry and formally filing a request for criminal history. Usually, in these cases, they allow both name and fingerprint based criminal lookup.
  3. Then, there are those states that grant access to their criminal court dockets as long as the cases resulted in a conviction.
  4. Finally, there are a few states that offer almost unhindered access to all criminal court cases. If you are lucky to be living or searching in such a state, you will, in all likelihood, be able to look for criminal records online. The information that is a part of the criminal public records in such states usually includes data on warrants and arrests as well as all criminal actions against the subject, whether the case is pending/disposed.

 

How are criminal check requests treated in different states?

After that explanation, I believe a few examples are certainly in order. So, take a look at what you can expect to get from a criminal background search in the following states and how you can find the information you need:

 

1. Criminal records search in Texas:

This service is offered by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The agency allows you to find criminal history information through name based as well as fingerprint based searches. The service for name based search can be accessed by visiting the website of the agency at https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DpsWebsite/CriminalHistory/.

 

They charge $3.5 per inquiry and as expected you have to register with the website before launching a criminal lookup. Fingerprint based inquiries cost more at $25 and you will have to schedule an appointment for electronic fingerprinting at https://uenroll.identogo.com/workflows/11HRZF.

 

2. Criminal Court records from Ohio:

The “Webcheck” service is offered by the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, vendors authorized by this agency and by the local sheriffs. This is a fingerprint based criminal records search and they only allow employers to conduct third party inquiries.

 

Individuals only get access to their own criminal history data. You can get more information on the procedure and the vendors at https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/FAQ/Background-Check-FAQs.aspx. The service is charged at $22/inquiry.

 

3. Criminal court docket search in PA:

Online access to criminal records is offered by the Pennsylvania State police at https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jsp. This is a name based inquiry that is charged at $22 per search. You can get the criminal records report notarized, if required, for an additional $5. The agency does allow civilians to conduct third party criminal lookup.

 

4. Criminal check in NJ:

Both, fingerprint and name based criminal searches, are allowed by the New Jersey State Police, but you can only avail these services if you need a personal criminal history records check done or are an authorized requester (employer). The fingerprint-based criminal lookup cost $40.66 and you can schedule an appointment for fingerprinting by visiting https://nj.ibtfingerprint.com/.

 

Name based searches are not offered for personal criminal history checks. This service is only available to private detective agencies and government and non-government agencies. The request for the criminal check can be filed online at https://www.njportal.com/njsp/212b/ and it costs $20/inquiry.

 

5. Criminal background search in NY:

You can request a personal criminal history review in New York by using the services offered by the State Division of Criminal Justice Services. This is a fingerprint-based search that will set you back by $62. You can schedule an appointment for fingerprinting by going to https://uenroll.identogo.com/. You cannot obtain third party criminal records in NY.

 

6. Criminal search in MD:

The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services offers criminal check facilities in Maryland. The agency charges between $15 and $31.25 for the search facility and an extra $20 for fingerprinting. The service is made available to individuals, who want a personal crime history report and to private employers as well as agencies that offer child care, adult care and health care services. Authorized requesters are expected to offer a justification in writing for the criminal check. For more information on the facility, go to https://www.dpscs.state.md.us/publicservs/bgchecks.shtml.

 

As you can see, the information on offer varies greatly among states. But the one common factor is that you cannot get a criminal background search for free. Also, in the majority of states, you will need to divulge information about yourself before they let you do a third party criminal records search.

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