Illinois Police Records

Free Public Access to Criminal Records

Pre-employment background checks are one of the main reasons why an individual or a business entity would need free public access to criminal records. This is to help them establish the propensity of a prospective hire to commit a crime and avoid that as much as possible. Companies today are investing lots of money on research firms who use free public access to criminal records in order to check the background of a subject. Aside from free public access to criminal records, these research firms also have other methods of looking for information relevant to the background check they are making.
Free Public Access to Criminal Records Nationwide Databases
Most of the time free public access to criminal records is not enough to develop a comprehensive background report on a subject. Only very few nationwide databases are available and most of them cannot even be considered as nationwide. The FBI is the only entity that has a database large enough to be considered as nationwide but even then, it only contains records of convictions and not simple misdemeanors. Plus, the criminal records contained in the FBI database do not allow free public access. In fact, they are not public at all and the extraction of information for purposes other than criminal justice uses may result in a huge fine or penalty.
Aside from the FBI database, there are other indexes that contain a huge bulk of criminal records for free public access. Foremost of these databases are the three NCF (National Criminal File) databases. There are 38 to 50 states included and the number of criminal records for free public access in these three NCF databases ranges from 60 million to as many as 133 million.
The number is quite impressive but companies who wish to use the free public access to criminal records provided by the NCF databases should read the fine print.
The Four Types of Criminal Records for Free Public Access
There are four different kinds of criminal records which belong to the free public access category. These are the arrest records, criminal court records, corrections records, and state criminal repository records.
The arrest records are criminal records of arrests done by the local law enforcement agencies. Most states require their law enforcement agencies to accomplish an arrest report when they arrest someone. The report soon becomes an arrest record and is sent to the criminal courts for arraignment, in which case, the record becomes known as a criminal court record. After the trial, if the defendant is convicted, the punishment may vary. The defendant may be sentenced to incarceration, during which time, he may be sent to jail for a misdemeanor or to state prison for a felony. Records of imprisonment become known as corrections records while the arrest records, criminal court records, and correction records are sent to the state criminal records repository for free public access.

Illinois Police Records News

Illinois Police Records

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Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has asked the state Supreme Court to address whether it is constitutional. Lawmakers want to include an exception that allows people to record police as they are doing their jobs. "I don't believe there is ...

Audio recording law under scrutiny in Illinois

Legislation letting people record police activities without risking felony charges was approved Wednesday by an Illinois House committee, despite some lawmakers' concerns that the measure creates new complications. The bill was approved 9-2 by the Human ...

Illinois House committee OKs audio recording bill

Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, would amend the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, under which a member of the public can be charged with a felony if he or she records the conversations of police officers, prosecutors and other law enforcement personnel ...

In Lead-Up to Mass Protests in Chicago, Illinois Ban on Recording Police Challenged

open up the camera and start recording," Nekritz said Wednesday during an Illinois House Judiciary Committee hearing. It's legal to record video of on-duty police, but if audio is introduced the act becomes a Class 1 felony. Only Massachusetts ...

Bill would let people record Illinois cops

The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police doesn't necessarily oppose a change to let people record police activity, but it wants changes of their own, said the group's lobbyist, Laimutis Nargelenas. "We've been pushing to get one-party ...

Bill would allow citizens to record police in public; but what constitutes a public place?

Legislator challenges ban on recording police

... and other supporters who say freeing citizens to police law enforcement will level the playing field. "Because of the Illinois eavesdropping statute, officers cannot record that conversation without a court order," Coughlin told the Suburban Life.

Illinois Eavesdropping Act Dead? House Committee Wants Law Changed Before NATO, G8 Protests

Some lawmakers want to give Illinois residents the right to record police officers. Illinois has one of the toughest eavesdropping laws in the country. As it stands, police and businesses can record citizens, but citizens can not record them back.

Criminal Records Search