Conducting an Arrest Search

Arrest records are a very important part of the criminal records maintained in all the different states of the United States of America. An arrest is the first step of any criminal investigation. If a crime is committed and there is evidence that a particular person committed it, that person is arrested. It may also be the case that an arrest warrant is issued against a person for traffic violation or some other misdemeanor and it is yet to be executed. Such warrants are known as outstanding arrest warrants.

The arrest records that the various law enforcement agencies gather and update regularly, contain warrant records and records of those arrests that have been executed. These records also contain several other details pertaining to the case.

Information Obtained from Arrest Records

In most of the cases, these records are released for the general public to view. Any person willing to conduct an arrest search may contact the authority responsible for keeping the records in the area. An arrest inquiry reveals if a person has an arrest warrant against his or her name. In case you wish to conduct an arrest check on another person you may be suspicious about, the arrest search will reveal if at all that person was arrested for any reason, and why he or she was arrested. You may go on to continue the search to find whether he or she was convicted of the crime and what punishments the curt imposed on the offender.

Often when you find arrest records you may also know from them the current status of the offender. Whether he or she is an inmate in any department of correction undergoing a rehabilitation program, or if the person has been released. Precise information about his or her present location may also be revealed to you.

It is the responsibility of the sheriff's office of a county to maintain the arrest records of that county. You may contact the sheriff’s office to process your request for an arrest records search.

For example, in order to search the arrest records maintained in Hillsborough County in Florida, you may visit the county sheriff office. You may visit their official webpage by copying http://www.hcso.tampa.fl.us/pub/default.asp?/Online/sname01. Here you can conduct an online arrest search by entering the individual’s name, sex, race and date of birth. For statewide information you need to visit http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/CriminalHistory. You may also call at (850) 410 8109.

Expungement of Arrest Records

If you wish to expunge or seal your own arrest records you may do so by visiting http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/content/getdoc/c83dd888-ef7a-448e-9a96-ba69fc4181f7/Seal-and-Expunge-Home.aspx and request for expungement of your records. Your fingerprints need to be taken by the criminal justice agency or the appropriate law enforcement personnel for expungement of your records. If you have an arrest record and you are not being able to get proper employment because of this, expunging or sealing your records will help you overcome this hurdle and build a strong career.

You may visit the county sheriff’s official website for other counties and also the official state websites for arrest record information in each state.  You will also learn the particulars of ordering for a record search in each of these counties and get the contact information of the relevant offices. You will be able to perform an online arrest search in most of the cases.

Be it for expungement or for a background check, arrest records searches make your life easier in one way or another.

Specific Types of Arrest Record Searches:

Florida Arrest Search

Free Arrest Record Search

Public Arrest Records Search