Public Records Digger

Criminal records searches in Florida (FL)

2008-01-12T16:09:00.000-06:00

It’s relatively easy to look up criminal histories in Florida because they fall under the state’s public records law and are often available online. All you need is the person’s full name and date of birth. If you know where the person has lived and have a Social Security number, that’s even better, but not absolutely necessary.

Started by checking public records online

The first and best place to begin is at the Florida Department of Corrections, because it's free. This site lists the criminal records of any person who has been in state prison or been sentenced to felony probation since 1992. Sentences of less than one year are usually served in county jail and are not included here.

Go to “Search All Offender Records,” and enter 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 name matches in four possible categories: Released inmates, incarcerated inmates, fugitives and probationers. Open each link and look at the results, which will show the name, 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 It should also show the address to which the person was released from prison, which likely will be out of date, or a current address if the person is on probation.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, 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. 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. 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. Start with the Public Access System, where you can do a free name search of people with outstanding arrest warrants. This database has two limitations. One, not all entries have photos, and two, the information here is submitted voluntarily by Florida law enforcement agencies, so it doesn’t include everyone with an open warrant, especially if the warrant is recent.

Also, since you’re already on the site and it’s simple and free, check the sexual offender database. 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.

Then, you can run a statewide criminal records check from the FDLE site for $23. The search is fast and comprehensive, showing all Florida misdemeanor and felony arrests for an individual, sometimes going back 20 or 30 years. I recently ran a check on a man that turned up a single felony arrest in Miami in 1972.

Criminal records sent to you by e-mail

Open the “Search now” link. Enter your credit card information and 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 common 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 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 supplementals, 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.

Check a veteran's military records (US)

2008-01-11T18:36:00.000-06:00

The government makes certain portions of military records available to the general public through the Freedom of Information Act. Typically, a simple written request will get you information such as rank, length of service, assignments and training. The next-of-kin of deceased vets have access to slightly more.

The National Personnel Records Center

The military records of veterans are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration and mostly stored at the records center in St. Louis, Mo. The center has about 70 million records for vets from all branches of service, from the early 20th century through the late ’90s and early ’00s.

A fire in 1973 destroyed the records of about 16 to 18 million Army and Air Force personnel, but some of the basic information in those files has been reconstructed.

The NPRC does not have records for active duty personnel, or those on active or inactive reserve status. The center also does not have records for vets discharged or retired from the service after certain years. Those are 1995 for the Navy, 1999 for the Marine Corps, 2003 for the Army and 2005 for the Air Force.

(Getting records for those vets is a little more complicated, and I will get into that further down.)

According to NPRC, the center receives about 4,000 records requests each day, with about 45,000 requests currently pending. However, the staff responds to requests for discharge papers (called a DD-214) in about 10 days 92 percent of the time, NPRC claims.

Making a request for military records

Federal privacy laws require that every request for military records be made in writing and signed by the vet or the person making the request. You can download a Standard Form 180 from the NPRC Web site, or just write a letter.

The staff will need enough information to help them find the file among all those millions of records. That means you need to include as much as you can about the vet. Full name and date of birth are musts, and the Social Security number, branch of service, dates of service and city and state where the vet joined will increase the chances.

On the SF-180 or in the letter, specify whether you are either the next-of-kin of a deceased veteran or a member of the general public seeking information. Usually, without the vet’s authorization, you are limited to rank, length of service, unit and geographical assignments, training courses and any medals or awards given.

Then, fax or mail the request to the records center in St. Louis. The fax number is 314-801-9195, and the address is National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63132-5100.

You will receive a response by mail, usually within 10 days. If not, you can follow up by phone or e-mail. I would recommend e-mail because hold times on the customer service line can last up to 40 minutes. The phone number is 314-801-0800, and the e-mail address is mpr.status@nara.gov. Because records requests have to be in writing with a signature, the center does not accept requests by e-mail.

Military records not kept at NPRC

The center doesn’t keep all records, as mentioned earlier, so if the veteran was discharged within the last 10 years – for some branches of service – you may have to make the request to the military directly.

I’ve never had to do this, but suspect that it is likely to be much trickier than getting them from NPRC. The staff at the military records center is civilian and tend to be customer friendly, to a point. Military officials tend to be less so, especially when you are seeking info about a vet without having a family connection. The military has become increasingly strict about security since the war began.

To make the request, you will have to write a letter with the same identifying details about the veteran as you would send to NPRC. Specify that you are a member of the general public making the request under the Freedom of Information Act, and it might be a good idea to include the reason you are seeking the info, whether it’s to verify a veteran’s service claims, to include as part of a background check, or just out of curiosity about a friend or relative.

Each branch has a different address, and sometimes more than one, to send requests for military records. You can get the address you need by going to FAQ on the NPRC Web site.

That will take you to a chart where you can check by branch and date of discharge where the records are stored. Send your request to the corresponding address.

Use public records to avoid buying stolen property (FL, TX)

2008-01-10T10:12:00.000-06:00

Two states now allow you to check online to see whether a second-hand item is stolen before you make the mistake, or commit the crime, of buying it. Florida's system compiles information directly from law enforcement agencies, while Texas partners with a private Internet company which allows people who've had property stolen to add items to a database.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement runs the Public Access System. Law enforcement agencies throughout the state report stolen property information – the FBI shows nearly a half-million thefts a year in Florida – to FDLE, and it is listed in the public records database in categories such as guns, cars, boats and license plates. (A side note: The same page will allow you to search a person's name to find out whether they have any outstanding arrest warrants. I don't believe it includes misdemeanors, but I could be wrong.)

You don’t have to register to use the site, but unfortunately, you can only search by serial number, or by any number engraved on the item. There is no option for searching by general item type, or by description. If you find a stolen item on the site, it’s up to you to report it to the agency handling the case.

In Texas, the state Department of Public Safety and local police and sheriff’s departments works with Trace.com. When an owner has something stolen and reports it to the police, he can get the case number from public records, then go to the company's Web site. There, the owner puts in the case number, the name of the investigator, a description of the stolen property, including the serial number, if possible, and even a photo. The site will list most items, except automobiles, which I don't really understand.

You have to register to perform a search, but it’s a quick, simple process. Once in, just go to the search screen. The seller, if legitimate, should have had no problem supplying you with the serial number of the item, and you can search the site by that number, or by description. For example, type “TV” in the search box, and you’ll get multiple pages of stolen television listings, some with very specific descriptions, some with generic information.

If you spot stolen property, you can simply exit the system and walk away from the deal, or you can click a link that makes a report to the law enforcement agency handling the case. The site will log your IP and include it in the report, so keep that in mind. Obviously, you shouldn't try to take any action on your own. That's a good way to get a head knocking.

Remember, though, not every piece of stolen property is going to get listed in either state, so just because you don’t find anything in public records doesn’t mean that the item isn’t stolen.

Trust your instincts. If the serial numbers of an item have been removed, changed or scratched out; the paperwork and/or owner’s manuals are missing; and, the seller gets nervous when you ask where he got the item, you probably are going to get suspicious, and with good reason. Walk away.