Police Arrest Records

Police Arrest Records

Police arrest records can be embarrassing when in the hands of our friends, family, and others we know. No matter how hard you try to keep it a secret, police arrest records are available to anyone willing to put in a request for them. Even if you haven’t been arrested, you can find police arrest records online for just about everyone you know.

There might come a time when you need to learn a little more about your family, friends, or that person you just started talking to online. Hiding true identities has never been easier and pretending to be someone else entirely has become more popular with the internet. There can be several reasons why you might want to dig up a person’s past -- that way you know exactly who you’re dealing with.

Police arrest records can be found in databases managed by the federal, state, city, council, and local court systems. Anything and everything that makes its way through the courts is filed and made available to the public. If you’ve ever been arrested for any crime, chances are your information and case files can be located in these police arrest records.

If you’re curious about what your files might contain or want to see someone else’s police arrest records, you don’t necessarily have to locate the right court database and go that lengthy route. There are ways to conduct simple searches online to pull someone’s police arrest records -- as well as a variety of other public records.

What Do Police Arrest Records Contain?

If you or someone you know has ever been arrested, you can find information about what happened on the internet. Police arrest records can contain a variety of information related to the case, including the full name of the person that got arrested, the charge or offense committed, the source of the information, the state and/or city it was committed in, and when the charges were filed.

In addition to that, police arrest records can give you the court case number, the court name, and the charge category. This information can be seen by anyone granted permission to a criminal background check on your name, though they’re likely to be removed from the background check after 7-10 years.

If a case is active or pending, there’s a chance it won’t show up in a background check or a public record search of any kind. Police arrest records can detail any arrest someone has been involved in, whether they were convicted of a crime or not. In the event that they are convicted, the police arrest records will state what they were convicted of -- whether it be a felony, misdemeanor, or infraction.

Misdemeanor vs. Felony vs. Infraction

When convicted of a crime, the severity of the crime will determine what it is categorized under. The most serious crimes are considered a felony, the less-serious crimes are considered a misdemeanor, while infractions are a mere slap on the wrist.

Felonies and misdemeanors can be broken down into further classifications, this time depending on the severity of the penalty or punishment. These convictions will often lead to incarceration -- imprisonment -- or a penalty fee. Let’s first take a look at the different felony classifications:

1. Class A - imprisonment for life or death penalty
2. Class B - 25+ years in prison
3. Class C - 10-25 years in prison
4. Class D - 5-10 years in prison
5. Class E - 1-5 years in prison

Now, let’s take a look at the three different classifications for a misdemeanor:

1. Class A - imprisonment for 6 months to 1 year
2. Class B - imprisonment for 1 month to 6 months
3. Class C - imprisonment for 5 days to 1 month

Additionally, an infraction will incur a maximum imprisonment of up to 5 days.

Do All Arrests Lead to Conviction?

When searching through police arrest records, you might be confused when you can’t find any convictions, felonies, or misdemeanors linked to someone’s name -- even though you see they’ve been arrested before. That’s because not all arrests will lead to convictions.

It’s quite common for someone to get arrested, taken in for questioning, and then released without penalty or let off with a warning. Sometimes the police have the wrong guy entirely, sometimes they’re brought in as a suspect, and sometimes there’s not enough evidence to do anything.

The point is, anything can happen. We make mistakes all the time, it’s not crazy to think police officers make mistakes at some point, too.

Whatever the case may be, it’s quite possible for someone to get arrested and not convicted of anything. If you don’t see a misdemeanor or felony on their police arrest records, then that’s likely the case.

Can the Public See Anything Else About You?

There’s much more information out there than just police arrest records and conviction history. Like we mentioned above, anything that makes its way through the court systems must be documented and filed. This can include your birth records, death records, alias records, address history, phone records, email addresses, and your social media profiles.

This information is pulled from documents all over the place, whether it be in different counties, cities, federal courts, state courts, or simply found online. It’s not difficult to find and won’t require a lot of information or effort. Let’s take a look at how you can find police arrest records, as well as any other type of public record online.

How to Find Police Arrest Records

The good news is you’re already halfway there! Public Records Reviews’ website has a very useful search engine that can help you find police arrest records on just about anyone. If you’re ready to get started and have the person’s first and last name handy, then head over to the search engine and type it in!

Once you hit the ‘Search’ button, you’ll be directed to a page that may look similar to a Google search. You’ll have to sift through the various people in order to find the right match, but their public arrest records report is just a few clicks away.