How to Find out If Someone has Been to Prison?

In a society that is increasingly insular and individualistic, a person’s past may be easily hidden from others around him/her. However under circumstances, knowledge about past activities, especially a history of incarceration may become important in relationships where trust plays a significant role as when hiring an employee or looking for a life partner. Here is thus a brief guide on how to find out if someone has been to prison or a jail.

Gather the basic info

Basic details about a person’s identity are necessary if wish to find out if he/she has been to prison before. among the facts that are most important are the individual’s first and last name, date of birth or other proof of age as well as the city and state of his/her residence. Details like social security number can also play a crucial role in gathering quick and accurate information about any past run-in with the law. While other such personally identifying details may not be mandatory to find out a prison record, but they will aid you in narrowing down the results to the correct person.

Go online

The internet has not only completely revolutionized how people gather information but practically done away with physical and spatial distances which earlier prevented many people from acquiring such information. Thus you can make use of the internet to find out if someone has been to prison. Even though you can use any powerful web search engine for the purpose, you will get far better results by visiting a deep-web search engine service geared towards public records. Since such deep-web search engines search thousands of resources for information contained in places like online public records databases, they are usually much more effective than traditional search engines.  Alternately you can directly enter the person's name and address information into a public record search engine. These websites have public records on people, including their property records, divorce records and criminal records.

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Type in details

After you decide on the search engine to be used, type in the first and last name of the individual, age, as well as the city and state where he/she currently resides. With these in place, perform a search for public records. The results will show any records of someone being in jail, regardless of where the offense occurred or where the person was detained.

Filter the search results

Any web search of this kind is likely to throw up hundreds of results. Once you have the search results, Review them to find the person about whom you want to know. You may find results for numerous people with the same or similar-sounding names, but you can filter your results using ages, current address, even e-mail addresses and social networking profiles to help you find exactly who you are looking for.

Open the source

once you have been able to narrow down your search results to the correct individual Click on any results you find listed under "public records" that appear to come from a state, governmental, or criminal records resource. These will open pages relating ore detailed information about the charges, the case, sentencing, and the release of the person in question. You can also find where the individual was detained, for how long, and if he or she committed any offenses even while in jail.

Visit particular websites

Instead of moving from a general to specific search, you can directly visit the website of a law enforcement agency which usually has links to the administration departments that also hold the criminal records. Alternatively you can Contact the state's Department of Corrections which usually have records individuals incarcerated for any reason. Such agencies may require a request form, where the person's information will be added to assist with the search. There may even be a fee involved in conducting the search which usually includes copies of the document you are looking for. The kind of personal details required to conduct the search will be the same as above and include information like first and last name of the person, age, address and so on.

Look for a service provider

If this process seems too long or complicated to you, then you can search the internet for agencies which conduct criminal background searches of individuals in exchange for a fee. The personal information that you have to furnish the agency is likely to be the same that is required to do the job yourself. however since the agency deals with such things professionally, it may conduct a more exhaustive search than you are capable of as well as take less time to come up with results. The only drawback of this approach is that a substantial fee may be charged from you in exchange of the information you are seeking.

Explore other platforms

if you are hesitant to contact law enforcement agencies or public records offices for information about whether a person has been to prison or if you have tried these without much success, you can also look at other resources like the media. For example, a local newspaper or television channel that covers all crimes may have an updated list of people convicted of crimes, including the outcome of the sentencing. This can be done by conducting a search on their home website for the person's name along with a possible time frame the sentencing took place. Also, you can request to look through newspaper archives in order to find out if this person’s name figures in any conviction. However expect to be charged by the media outlet for looking through their databank or archives.

Approach in person

Despite its powerful search functions, the internet is not mandatory to find out whether a person has gone to jail – you can conduct this search in person too. However for this it’s best if you know for sure if the person was convicted as well as the court house where the charges were filed and sentencing took place. But also keep in mind that there are many different kinds of courts such as municipal, district or county courts, as well as state and federal courts. Once inside the court house, seek out the records department and ask the clerk to look for a sentencing document. Don’t forget to bring the personal information for the individual since this is crucial to find the relevant documents. The sentencing document will have all the information that is needed, including if the person was placed in jail and what charges they were convicted of.