The Free Article Directory

What you've likely already discovered is that finding "real" background records, or police records, online is basically not possible.

And you've no doubt come across the countless services that sell online searches, public records "access" and everything else imaginable along those lines.

Perhaps you've asked yourself - if the records are truly public, then why can't I access them easily?

The truth is that you certainly can access them for free, although unfortunately it's not the easiest process. Let me explain how anyone can locate "evidence" records that would potentially indicate a criminal background...

To do so, we're going to be searching three main areas: court records, sex offender records, and prison/inmate records.

Let's start by talking about how to search court records.

Court records range from a simple record of court activity (case records or court dockets) all the way to actual court transcripts. Each state and county court website will usually have a searchable section of their website where users can search dockets, case files and court transcripts by case number, plaintiff, defendant or attorney.

Some of the aggregate search tools include Google's Government search, and a service called PACER, which charges very nominal usage fees and is maintained by the office of US Courts. PACER, by the way, is what most online background check services will source their data from, even though it's literally a fraction of the cost - and it's official.

Now let's talk about where to find sex offender records. The largest database of sex offender records is maintained by the US Department of Justice, called the "Sex Offender Registry" at NSOPR.gov

There are a few other databases (freely accessible), but the aforementioned is the most comprehensive and reliable.

And finally, sourcing inmate records - which would indicate previous or recent incarceration, is available from the Federal Bureau of Prisons at BOP.gov

There's also a private, non-profit service called VINELink, which is a service designed mostly for victims so that they can keep track of currently incarcerated individuals - but this normally only lists current inmates.

That's the tip of the iceberg in terms of truly free public records searches - but it's a great place to start if you're cautiously wondering about somebody's past.

Please keep in mind that public records are not always accurate, and may be erroneous or contain clerical errors.

Ian Armstrong is a long-time public records researcher and publisher. He also founded the web's largest background check resource, http://www.SnoopStation.com