Sunday, October 26, 2014

By Claire Dowell


Background checking is an important part for the sorting out of applicants for immigration, identification, security clearance, issuance of professional licenses and adoption. The primary goal of such scrutiny is to gauge the applicant's dependability, and if he or she is the right person for that particular position or job. Potent tools that can provide an overview of a person's past dealings can be found in public arrest records.

Criminal or arrest records are the best articles for background checks because it is a comprehensive compilation of a person's past encounters with Law Enforcement in a certain jurisdiction. All details about concurrent arrests, convictions, sentences and dispositions, including civil offenses of that particular individual are the usual contents of a criminal record.

Policies concerning the distribution, archiving, and maintenance of these records vary from state to state. In the State of Texas, this task falls upon the able hands of the State Department of Public Safety, specifically in the Criminal History Records Office. All requests for arrest records across the state are catered in the said office. Persons who were put under arrest in the state are allowed to access and procure a copy of their own arrest record and can appoint an authorized proxy to do so in their behalf. Criminal history information is not open to the public, save for adjudication and conviction records. This is in observance of Section 522.023 of the Texas Government Code.

In order to get a hold of Texas criminal records, one must refer to the Department of Public Safety for the apropos procedures. There are two approaches as to how to obtain a copy of your own arrest record. First, you can register an account in the Criminal Records Section page in the official website of the Department of Public Safety. Basic information is required for this search, such as a complete name of a person along with the middle name, birth date, and the date of arrest, along with other information. You will be charged $3.00 per name searched. Such approach is a good medium for searching for criminal records for persons other than you.

The latter approach provides faster and more accurate results. You must first make an appointment online to have your fingerprints scanned and submitted to the DPS. The said department has contracted with a company to provide state-wide electronic fingerprinting services. You must also prepare a written request asking the DPS to obtain your personal arrest record. Next is to have your fingerprint scanned via DPS-authorized Fingerprint Applicant Services of Texas (FAST). You can also alternatively acquire a fingerprint card approved by the DPS from the county Sheriff's Office. If using the FAST service, you are charged $9.95 for the electronic fingerprinting step, and the stipend $15.00 fee to the Department of Public Safety. Alternately, mail the accomplished fingerprint card along with the $15.00 payment to the DPS via check or money order payable. Requests are typically processed within ten working days.

An important value implanted in our nature as humans is to persistently seek out ways and means to improve life. A good portion of this need has been satiated in the 21st century by current advancements in technology, spearheaded by the Internet. Such needs have been partially subdued because the Internet has continuously provided man with information and almost all services. This has inspired government repositories, like the ones discussed above, and several private entities to put up online databases for public records. The goal for such actions is to allow requesting parties to obtain the records that they are seeking at the shortest amount of time possible, just after entering a few bits of information. In recent years, such endeavors have become the most popular search activity done over the Internet.




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