subject: Police Records: To Pay Or Not To Pay [print this page] According to Reuters, as of 2009, one in every 31 US adults is part of the us prison system, including anything from probation all the way up to jail. This is twice as high as it was 25 years ago, and currently the US has the largest prison population in the world. Also, it doesn't help that prisoners are committing crimes soon after they get released only to be imprisoned again.
We as citizens react to this in many ways. Most don't really give it a second thought. It's eye-opening to find out what's available out there though. There's a lot people can do if they want to determine what sorts of records people in your area may have. A viable option is police records.
It's possible to get a lot of information about folks in your general area with the help of police records. This can help you determine who may be a threat, and who may not be a threat in your life. Police records can provide a decent amount of information about anyone. You'll be able to get access to more than just arrest information in these records. You can expect to find information on anything that might pass through the police department about an individual such as permits, emergencies, traffic stops, things of that nature.
Although there can be restrictions from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, there police records are available for free to anyone. Some will ask you for certain things before they hand over access. Signatures, fingerprints, and even consent are just some of the things that various districts may require you to do to get access to the records.
This can be time-consuming and at times difficult if your search encompasses several jurisdictions. You can search public records on the Internet as well. There are databases set up that have a growing number of records from a growing number of jurisdictions available 24/7. Searching for the information you need couldn't be simpler. There are free databases, but many of those are plagued with inaccuracies, and and inconsistencies. With paid services, you'll notice they keep their records updated.
Another thing to keep in mind is discretion. For example, some jurisdictions require authorization. This would immediately shine a light on your activities. Does knowing all that you know now make you think you would have done things differently? Do you believe you would have checked up on some of the people around you?
