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A Guide to Criminal Records

A Guide to Criminal Records

What is a
Criminal Record?

A criminal record is a legal document which
provides information about someone’s history of criminal activity or contact
with law enforcement agencies and the broader legal system. A criminal record
contains an assortment of information. Oftentimes these forms of information
vary depending on the age of the underlying individual and the country.

Criminal
Records are utilized to conduct background checks, which are formal
investigations of an individual’s past in regards to any illegal actions
committed. Criminal records, therefore, are the foundation of a background
check which is commonly used by employers and Government bodies to reveal a
prospective individual’s criminal past.

In its most
basic sense, criminal records will contain a list of crimes committed by the subject
individual. More detailed criminal records will include the specifics
associated with the individual’s arrests as well as the attached outcomes.

Criminal
records also list the basic information, such as the height, weight, and
ethnicity of the subject individual. This information is used to create a
description of the individual. This description is attached to an address which
enables law enforcement agencies to locate assailants in an expedited fashion.

Criminal
records are a part of the public domain, meaning they are stored in a
municipality’s database and can be reviewed by any member of the public. This,
however, is not the case with juvenile records, which are sealed and only
accessible under specialized circumstances.

An
individual can view someone’s criminal record by filing a records request with
the applicable local municipality. In addition to the request, the observer
will have to pay a small fee.