Criminal History Check
Criminal or Not?Do you suspect that the new guy you've been dating may not be the "nice guy" you thought he was? Ever think the strange neighbor across the street has a checkered past? At some time or another, we may have wondered about someone's criminal history but didn't know how to go about verifying this information. There are a few ways to do this that are absolutely free and may help to put your mind at ease.
Excuse Me, but Are You "Googling" Me?
By far the easiest way to get any sort of information on somebody, including criminal history, is to simply "Google" their name. By entering in the person's first and last name into the search engine as well as the city and state they live in, you may find a wealth of information. Of course the majority of the results may not be all bad. It'll probably pull up any social networking sites they have pages on, schools they've attended, etc. However, it may also pull up police department's websites that lists people with outstanding criminal warrants, including the person you are "googling."
It'll show the person's full name, their age, warrant number, and the charge they've been issued. It'll also show the agency that has the warrant out, i.e. the local police department or sheriff's department. You may have to dig a little bit to find this information, because it probably won't be listed as one of the first results. Once you do, though, you might be surprised at what you find.
Sex Offender Websites
Another very easy way to confirm your suspicions about someone's criminal history is to utilize free websites out there that will list sex offenders right in your neighborhood. All you have to do is do a search for "free sex offender websites." There are several out there that will provide this information.
Probably one of the most popular ones is www.familywatchdog.us. You can do a search on this website by the suspected person's first and last name. If you don't know that information, but know their address, you can do a search by that too. If you do a search on someone and they are a convicted sex offender, it'll list their convictions and possibly even a photograph of the person. Obviously, websites like these are invaluable to many people.
Check Your Local Courthouse
One last way to check on someone's criminal history is to pay a visit to your local courthouse. Depending on the state you live in, you may be able to get some of these records for free. Also, some cities have courthouse websites that you can actually pull some information on-line. A lot of times, there will be fees associated with requests like these, but it may be worth looking into.
Conclusion
In this day and age, technology can come in handy in more ways than one. If you suspect someone may not be the law abiding citizen you thought they were, take some time and do some research. You may be grateful that you did.