The Best Sources To Search Criminal Backgrounds

Looking for the best sources to search criminal backgrounds is a little complicated for a couple of main reasons. It's like going through a maze and not ending up with a completion.

The problem is that many sources that people access to search criminal backgrounds are incomplete or will require searching another source for extra information thus making the process a long, tedious and many times an unsuccessful one for the searcher.

Unless you know where the best sources are or have experience doing this type of search then it will be a frustrating experience. We have compiled some of the best sources to search the backgrounds of criminal with a couple of solutions for doing it faster at the end of the article.

5 Criminal Background Search Tips

- Search engines provide a good start by inputting the name or address, and maybe some information will come up, but it may not be complete. It will give you a general idea if the person is a criminal IF you find something, but if you don’t, then you still don’t know if you have a complete criminal background search or not.

- If you know the past locations of where your subject has been, you may be able to search their criminal background directly, but you must know all locations the person has lived, visited or worked for this to be considered an accurate source.  

- The U.S. Federal Prison Database is another source to do search criminal backgrounds on inmates, and a limited archive of past inmates, parolees, and probationary criminals.  If you know a person is in this class, you may be able to search their criminal background to obtain the information you need to make a hiring or personal decision based on their record.

- The Highway Patrol of each State has sources to search criminal backgrounds, but you need to know all the places an individual has been to know where to search for their criminal background with this source.    

- The U.S. Department of Justice National Sex Offenders Database requires convicted sex offenders to be registered, but usually searching criminal background results do not list outstanding warrants and arrests until they become convictions.  If an offender went on the run before the court date, they are presumed innocent until proven guilty and therefore will probably not be listed on any databases, to avoid any future liabilities for defamation of character.