How to Look for Criminal Records

Most criminal records are available for viewing although there are exceptions such as records compiled by the Federal Government which are not available to the general public. Although be aware that there are some private re-sellers that claim to offer a NCIC criminal record search and in most instances are not authentic. The official national crime history database of the NCIC is managed by the FBI.

The database of the NCIC retains information such as stolen property, open warrants of arrest, misdemeanors, mission persons and felonies. An individual’s criminal identification that is compiled by the FBI contains information such as convictions, traffic offenses, arrests and incarcerations which is also known as Triple-I which is basically arrest and prosecution rap sheets of the FBI.

These FBI rap sheets have gathered information provided by other federal agencies as well as law enforcement agencies across the USA. In order to identify a specified person, each person that has a criminal records entry in the Triple-I index also has a personal FBI number. This personal FBI number compensates for any individual that provides aliases or false name to a law enforcement depot when the person is booked.

This unique identification key is necessary as people may also give false social security numbers or a false date of birth. Bear in mind that the information provided by the Triple-I may have been obtained from the agency that arrested the person or the agency that booked the person, therefore discrepancies may be found with regards to the location, arresting agency, and the date the person was arrested.

Also available on the Triple-I index is the time and date the inmate was transferred from one correctional organization to another and can be depicted as a separate arrest. Bear in mind that the information reported is only as accurate as it was reported from the agencies and can also lack comprehensive information of the arrests it lists. When looking for criminal records bear in mind that these records may or may not be a hundred percent accurate.

FBI screens are also done on people wanting to purchase firearms, and eligibility for a firearm will depend on the states law. In addition to searching the NCIC databases for criminal records private companies are not eligible to access this database for a background check. The largest biometric database in the world is maintained by the FBI and also includes an integrated automated fingerprint ID system.