Knowing the criminal records history of the people in your life is an important matter, whether you’re a woman with a new love interest or a small business owner about to turn the keys over to an employee.
There are companies that will search for you to turn up any arrests and convictions, but you can also do the checking on your own. Florida residents have it easy because that information is found in public records, and is usually easy to get.
All you need is the person’s full name and date of birth. If you know where they’ve lived and have a Social Security number, that’s even better, but not absolutely necessary.
This is how you do it.
Started by checking public records online
The first and best place to start is at the Florida Department of Corrections Web site because it is free. This site lists the criminal records of any person who has been in state prison since 1992 or who has been sentenced to felony probation. Remember that sentences of less than one year are usually served in county jail and would not be included on this site.
On the home page, look for “Search All Offender Records” and open the link. Then put in the name of the person you want to check. It’s usually best to be as vague as possible on this site, so I suggest using only first and last name, sex and race. Don’t worry about the other fields.
If no names match your public records search, try searching by last name and gender only. If still no names match, you’re done here.
Otherwise, you will get a list of all the categories with name matches, including people released from prison since 1992, people on probation and people still in prison. Open each link and look at the results. There should be a list of names with county of conviction and date of birth.
Open any that could be possibilities. Almost all the public records results will come with photos, so it should be easy to tell if you have the right person. The offender page will show you charges for which the person received state time or probation. It should also show the address to which the person was released from prison, which likely will be out of date, or a current address if the person is on probation.
Later on, if you want, you can check county public records where the person was convicted to get details of the crime.
Public records at the Clerk of Court
Many Florida clerks of court now post limited records online for free, either on their own sites or through MyFloridaCounty.com. Every county is different. Some put only civil dockets online, or only civil and traffic, and some put all criminal and civil dockets on the Web. A docket is a simple list that shows the charges or suit filed, the attorneys and judges involved and what action has taken place in court.
Find the site for the county where the person has lived, then do a simple first and last name search of the public records. At MyFloridaCounty.com, you can do a search of the entire judicial circuit, which will include the surrounding counties in that circuit. Make sure you do a “case search” and not an “official records” search, or you will end up with just a list of mortgage filings and deed records.
If the search returns a criminal docket, write down the case number. You will have to go to the courthouse to look at the public records file. Copies usually cost $1 per page.
Statewide public records
The next place to check for criminal records is the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Web site. This search can tell you whether the person has ever been arrested anywhere in the state of Florida. The cost is $23, but it is the simplest and most comprehensive way to conduct a statewide check of public records.
From the homepage, you are going to check two places. First, because it is simple and free, open the link to the “Sexual Offender Database,” then click “Offender Search.” A simple first and last name will do here. Again, most of the listings will come with photos, so just scan the criminal records results for a familiar face.
Next, return to the home page and click “Criminal History Records Search.” This page will show you who has access to the statewide public records – basically anyone – and the costs to conduct a search. Open the “Search now” link.
Criminal records sent to you by e-mail
Enter your credit card information, and make sure you put it in exactly, or the site will reject your public records search. Also put in your e-mail address because later you will have the option of having the results sent to you electronically. If you don’t have a credit card, you can still check the criminal records by mailing in a request with a money order, but your results will take weeks to come back.
When you’re finished, you’ll be taken to the criminal records search page. Enter the first and last name, and the date of birth. If you have any doubts about the date of birth, just enter the person’s approximate age. Don’t make any mistakes here because the site charges you for the search of public records whether it turns up results or not. If you misspell the name, you’ll spend $23 for nothing.
The results page will tell you if no criminal records matches were found, in which case you are done. Otherwise, there should be only a few possible matches, unless it’s a name like John Smith.
Open the matching name in criminal records, and you will see a header that gives the person’s name, date of birth, last four SSN digits, address at the time of last arrest and, in many cases, occupation. Under that will be a listing of all arrests, including the date and charges, and the law enforcement agency making the arrest.
Sometimes, the criminal records report also will show the disposition of the charges, but not always. The only way to know for sure is to check public records in the county where the arrest was made.
Local public records
You may want to look a little deeper into any possible criminal records. There’s a chance the person was investigated for a crime, or involved in some incident, but never charged. As long as the investigation is considered close, those records are also public.
These searches usually cannot be conducted online. You will have to go to the police department and sheriff’s office – remember, they are different – where the person has lived. Ask for the records department, and tell them you want to make a public records request under Florida Statute 119.
The law enforcement agency may ask for the request in writing, although that is illegal under public records law, and it’s usually a good idea to do it. That way, they have a record of what exactly you are seeking, and you have a record of when you made the request.
Give them the name and date of birth of the person, and ask for all incident reports, including supplements, in which the person’s name is mentioned. Most agencies will be able to search their records by name to find those files. You will have to pay a fee for the search and copies, but it shouldn’t be more than $20 altogether, unless there are a lot of reports.
Once you’ve done all that, you should know everything there is to know about the person’s criminal records in the state of Florida.
A caveat: These searches will not reveal any criminal history from any other states.
