subject: Paid Police Records Vs Free Police Records [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. You can learn a lot about people from police records. These documents don't just list a person's arrest record. You can find info on traffic stops, any calls into the PD that were made, permits, emergencies, and things like that.
Police records are made available freely to the public, but getting access isn't always simple because different jurisdictions have different rules for accessing them. Many of them are very lax in accessibility, and others will make you jump through hoops. 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.
A search like this is normally simple, but if your search covers a number of jurisdictions, the amount of time you spend on it can really add up. The Internet is another way to find them. It's possible to get access to on line databases that cover the jurisdictions you are looking for and more. All it takes is a simple search to locate the records we're looking for. There are free databases, but many of those are plagued with inaccuracies, and and inconsistencies. You'll find that the most accurate and complete services you have to pay for.
Discretion is another factor. Consider the case that a jurisdiction requires authorization before accessing the data. If the other party found out they'd become suspicious of you becoming suspicious. If you knew then what you know now, would you do things differently? Do you believe you would have checked up on some of the people around you?
