A criminal background check is a step that many employers take before they even think about hiring a particular person. While it’s used most often by employers, there are a lot of other reasons that you may want to do a free criminal background check to take a look at the history of a certain individual.
Some people may be slightly confused about what exactly a free background check can reveal to you about someone. Let’s take a look at some of the information available in the criminal background check and also delve a little more into exactly what that means.
Here’s a list of some of the things that a criminal background check can provide:
- Any past arrests and convictions
- Felonies and some misdemeanors
- Sex offender information
- Any possible mug shots that they’ve had
- Driving Infractions
- Court or possible probation records
Past Arrests & Convictions
This will show you anything that an individual has been arrested for in the past. This will more than likely also include things that they may have been arrested for without conviction. While you wouldn’t want to judge a person by arrests that didn’t amount to anything, the combination of past arrests and subsequent convictions can give you a very good idea of the person in question.
Felonies and Misdemeanors
You should have no problem getting any past felonies off of your free criminal background check. Misdemeanors, however, can sometimes be a little tricky because there are many different types that may not show up during the check. Many times, misdemeanors that happen out of the state that the individual lives in won’t make it back to the criminal records that are available.
Sex Offender Information
This is the most important thing that parents and guardians will be looking for in an individual, especially if their kids will be working with the person that the check is being done on.
Be careful how you judge someone for this as there are some pretty odd ways that people end onto the sex offender list without doing things that would be considered such by someone other than the courts.
Here are some of the oddest ways that people can end up on the sex offender list:
- Minor taking a nude photo of themselves
- Peeing in public
- Visiting with a prostitute
- Flashing or mooning
- Incest or sex with a sibling
While committing some of these would mean you deserve to be on the list, there are also a few there that seem ridiculous to be placed on such a serious and judgmental list.
You’d be wise to do a little digging if the person you’re searching does happen to come up on this list.
Mug Shots
A free criminal background check can also show any past mug shots that a person may have. This can be useful in order to confirm the appearance of someone that you’re trying to look up.
This is another instance where you will need to be careful with your judgment, since a person can have a mug shot without ever being actually convicted for anything.
Driving records
Sites like eVerify.com also offer the ability for you to look any past driving infractions that an individual may have had besides the many other important details. This can be very useful if you’re hiring a babysitter or nanny that may be required to take your kids to activities on a consistent basis.
It’s important to note that not all information on past driving infractions will be available through a free background check, as you would have to do a much more advanced background check to obtain all the records.
Court or Possible Probation Records
This can be important because it has the ability to show you the type of issues that a person has had to deal with. The amount of times that someone has had to go to court and defend themselves is certainly something that you’d like to know if you plan on dealing with a person.
Probation records is a big thing as well, although you will probably be aware of any types of probationary periods that they’ve had once you take a look at the misdemeanors and felonies that they’ve had.
So, these are some of the records you will get with free criminal background check, so it’s up to you if a free search is sufficient for you or if you would have to go with the advanced background check to obtain much more in detailed information for the person in question.
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