The US continues to produce bad statistics in the areas of criminal violation. In terms of incarceration rate, it’s the worst among advanced countries. Greater than one in a hundred are reported to be behind bars as of the end of last year. It goes without saying that things are far from ideal but between a strong Police force and a sound public system, the situation is kept under control.

Although public measures are in place at the macro level to deal with the problem of crimes, we cannot be too careful about safeguarding our own interests and that of our loved ones. One handy way of taking our own initiative in keeping our eyes open to bad hats is through public records. They are mandated by law through the Freedom of Information Act (1966) to be made accessible by anyone.

There are various public record categories that will serve the purpose of checking criminal background and Public Police Records is a good starting point. It is basically a compilation of all Police Reports relating to the individual. The information covers all interaction with the Police including administrative and informative matters such as household permits, address change, lost and found, missing person and so forth.

As Public Police Records are public records, they can be accessed by anyone so long as requirements are complied with. Having that said, the use of the information derived from them is restrictive. Laws are stringent and protective on privacy and discrimination. As an example, the use of Public Police Records in employment and volunteer screening is only permissible if consent from the subject to conduct the search is granted by them beforehand.

Police administration is in practice decentralized down to respective county police departments but as a matter of jurisdiction, they come under the state government. As a result, there are variations from state to state on the treatment of Public Police Records but by and large, they all can be obtained directly from the police departments or other state agencies tasked with the function.

There are basically two versions of Public Police Records. The first one is free-of-charge (FOC) and is provided mainly by the government. Being free, they invariably fall short of expectations. The other version is fee-based. They are operated commercially and are typically of high professional standards. They charge their fees so they have no excuse.