Patrick Baird, The Candid Private Investigator: Nationwide Criminal Records Check

Patrick Baird, The Candid Private Investigator

Hi, I’m Patrick Baird a Private Investigator with over 20 years experience in investigations, skip tracing, and collections. As a Licensed Private Investigator & Process Server in Texas I've gained the experience anyone would expect after two decades in the business.

I hope to share my opinions and thoughts as well as share important news regarding the investigations profession and industry. Please feel free to comment or ask questions which will be answered below.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Nationwide Criminal Records Check

There are four different kinds of records, all of which are all referred to as "criminal records."

Arrest Records—law enforcement records of arrests.
Criminal Court Records—local, state or federal records.
Corrections Records—prison records.
State Criminal Repository Records—statewide records made up of arrest records, criminal court records and correction records.

There is no such thing as a Nationwide Criminal Records Check

When a conviction occurs, there are several possible sentences. For example, the defendant may have to perform community service, pay a fine, or might be placed on probation. Sometimes the defendant will be sentenced to incarceration. When an individual is incarcerated for a misdemeanor, they will be sent to jail, rather than state prison. If, however, it is a felony conviction, the defendant may be sent to either jail or prison. Generally only the most violent felons, serious drug abusers, and repeat offenders are sent to prison. Records of imprisonment in state prison are called corrections records. Arrest records, criminal court records, and correction records are sent to the state criminal repository.

The Mythical Nationwide Criminal Records Check

While the National Criminal File (NCF) search sounds extremely good, the reality is that there is no such thing as a nationwide criminal records check. Even the FBI database is not truly nationwide. The FBI database, National Crime Information Center (NCIC) does not include most misdemeanors. Many records never make their way to the FBI because the records must be sent from the county to the state and from the state to the FBI, and frequently there are breakdowns in the process.

Nevertheless, the NCIC database is the closest thing that we have to a national criminal database, and it is far more comprehensive than the NCF.

The vast majority of the data included in the NCF is made up of corrections records. Again, only the most serious criminals are sent to state prison.

The entire article is very informative, please click here to read.

Patrick L. Baird

Private Investigator