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Encyclopedia > Criminal record

A criminal record is a list of past crimes of an individual has been convicted. In some countries it also contains details of arrests and charges which have not led to conviction, though this information is sometimes "sealed" from public view. In the United States, these compilations are maintained and updated on the local, state, and federal levels by various law enforcement agencies. Its primary goal is to provide a comprehensive criminal history for an individual to be used for many purposes, including for identification, assistance in developing suspects in an ongoing criminal investigation, and for enhanced sentencing in criminal prosecutions. In the United States, these compilations are unlikely to be admissible in court as proof of arrest or conviction. Criminal Records is a UK based independent record label representing basement bands. ... Image File history File links Gnome-globe. ... Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) is a generic term used for local and state police, as well as federal agencies (such as the FBI, the BATF, DHS, Europol, Interpol, etc. ... In the parlance of criminal justice, a suspect is a term used to refer to a person, known or unknown, suspected of committing a crime. ... A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that regulates governmental sanctions (such as imprisonment and/or fines) as retaliation for crimes against the social order. ...

Contents

United States Criminal Records

Criminal histories are maintained by law enforcement agencies on all levels of government. Local police departments, sheriff's offices, and specialty police agencies may maintain their own internal databases. On the state level, state police, troopers, highway patrol, correctional agencies, and other law enforcement agencies also maintain separate databases. Law enforcement agencies often share this information with other similar enforcement agencies and this information is usually made available to the public.[1] Registered sex offenders have information about their crimes readily available, and Department of Correctional Services in many states disseminate criminal records to the public, in mediums such as the Internet.[verification needed] Usually, the only group in society that is not subject to dissemination of any criminal records is juveniles.[verification needed] In about the last ten years or so, many jurisdictions, especially in the United States, have passed laws requiring sex offenders, especially child sex offenders, upon conviction or subsequent release from prison, to register with the police where they live. ... DOCS logo. ... In law, a person who is not yet a legal adult is known as a minor (known in some places as an infant or juvenile). ...


Some states have official "statewide repositories" that contain criminal history information contributed by the various county and municipal courts within the state. These state repositories are usually accurate so long as the state requires and supervises the uploading of data from the local courts. Some states make reporting to the repository a voluntary activity. The information obtained from these repositories can be incomplete and the use of this information has associated risks. Criminal history information contained in official state repositories is generally available to the public.


The federal government maintains extensive criminal histories and acts as a central repository for all agencies to report their own data. NCIC (National Crime Information Center) is one such database. Generally, and with a very few exceptions, the records compiled by the federal government are not made available to the private sector. Some private re-sellers claim to offer an NCIC record search. In most cases these claims are fraudulent.


Federal Records

Department of Justice

National Crime Information Center

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) manages the official national criminal history database through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). The NCIC stores information regarding open arrest warrants, arrests, stolen property, missing persons, and dispositions regarding felonies and serious misdemeanors. The term "serious misdemeanor" is misleading as any offense with a potential jail time over one year is a felony. A felony is a serious crime such as murder, rape or grand larceny. Some felonies are not that serious. F.B.I. and FBI redirect here. ... The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is the United States central database for tracking crime-related information. ... An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a public officer which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual. ... A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a very serious crime; misdemeanors are considered to be less serious. ... A misdemeanor, or misdemeanour, in many common law legal systems, is a lesser criminal act. ...


The FBI's compilation of an individual's criminal identification, arrest, conviction, and incarceration information is known as the Interstate Identification Index, or "Triple-I" for short. This is basically the FBI's rap sheet. It contains information voluntarily reported by law enforcement agencies across the country, as well as information provided by other federal agencies. It contains information on felonies and misdemeanors, and may also contain municipal and traffic offenses if reported by the individual agencies. Each individual who has an entry in the Interstate Identification Index has a unique "FBI number" that is used to identify a specific individual. It compensates for the fact that an individual may provide several false names, or aliases, to a law enforcement agency when he or she is booked. An individual may also lie about his or her date of birth or social security number as well, making an independent, unique identification key necessary. It is important to note that the information provided by the Interstate Information Index may come from the agency who "booked" the individual and not necessarily the agency who arrested the individual. Therefore, there may be discrepancies between the arrest date, location, and arresting agency listed in the database and the actual date, location, and agency who made the arrest. The Interstate Information Index may also contain incarceration information as well, listing each time an inmate is transferred from one correctional institution to another as a separate "arrest." The Interstate Information Index is only as accurate as the information reported to it by individual agencies, and frequently lacks comprehensive information on the dispositions of the various arrests it lists. It is best used as a guide on where to find more comprehensive information on a defendant. The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... A pseudonym (Greek pseudo + -onym: false name) is an artificial, fictitious name, also known as an alias, used by an individual as an alternative to a persons true name. ...


National Instant Criminal Background Check System

Mandated by the Brady Bill, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is used by the FBI to screen potential firearms buyers. In addition to searching the NCIC databases, NICS maintains its own index to search for additional disqualifiers from gun ownership. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, also known as the Brady Bill, was passed by the United States Congress, signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 30, 1993, and went into effect on February 28, 1994. ... national instant criminal background check system ... F.B.I. and FBI redirect here. ... A Glock 22 hand-held firearm with internal laser sight and mounted flashlight, surrounded by hollowpoint ammunition. ...


Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System

The FBI maintains the largest biometric database in the world with the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). Criminal submissions from arrests and civil submissions from authorized background checks are stored in IAFIS. Currently, IAFIS has more than 47 million submissions in its repository. The Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) is a national fingerprint and criminal history system maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). ...


Combined DNA Index System

The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) stores DNA profiles for both convicted felons in the Offender Index as well as unidentified DNA found at crime scenes in the Forensic Index. CODIS was originally piloted in 1990 as a project among 14 states. Currently, all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the United States Government participate in CODIS. The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) is the FBIs national databases of genetic identification codes. ...


Department of Transportation

National Driver Register

While not officially a criminal history repository, the National Driver Register (NDR), operated by the Department of Transportation, maintains information on drivers regarding convictions of driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances, failing to render aid at an accident involving death or injury, and knowingly making a false affidavit or committing perjury to officials about an activity governed by a law or regulation on the operation of a motor vehicle. Additionally, the NDR contains information on traffic violations resulting from a fatal automobile collision, reckless driving, or racing on the highways. The National Driver Register (NDR) is a computerized database of information about U.S. drivers. ... The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. ... Drunk driving (drink driving in the UK) or drinking and driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle after having consumed alcohol (i. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the declarant (who is called the affiant), and witnessed (as to the veracity of the affiants signature) by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public. ... Perjury is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath or affirmation in a court of law or in any of various sworn statements in writing. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... Reckless driving, in the United States, is a serious moving traffic violation. ...


Secure Flight

Secure Flight, operated by the Transportation Security Administration, screens United States airline passengers to see if they are on terrorism watch lists. Unlike the predecessors Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS) & CAPPS II, Secure Flight does not scan passengers for outstanding warrants nor does Secure Flight use computer algorithms to search for links to flagged terrorists. Bags are scanned by X-ray machine, people are scanned by metal detectors Airport security refers to the techniques and methods used in protecting airports and by extension aircraft from crime and terrorism. ... TSA emblem The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is a U.S. government agency that was created as part of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 19, 2001. ... The Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (often abbreviated CAPPS) is a counter-terrorism system in place in the United States air travel industry. ...


Interstate Records

Most states have a statewide agency who acts as a clearinghouse for all statewide arrest information. These so-called "state rap sheets" are usually much more detailed than the Interstate Identification Index; usually listing not only the arrest information, but the subsequent court action following that arrest.


National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System

The National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS) is an interface to search each state's criminal and driver records as well as the License Plate Reader (LPR) records going back one year maintained by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Thus through NLETS, a law enforcement agency in one state could search for someone's criminal and driver records in another state. NLETS potentially serves as a better tool to search for minor misdemeanors and traffic violations that would not be in the NCIC. The National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS) is an information sharing system for state and local law enforcement agencies. ... U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a bureau of the United States Department of Homeland Security, is charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. trade laws. ... Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) is a generic term used for local and state police, as well as federal agencies (such as the FBI, the BATF, DHS, Europol, Interpol, etc. ...


External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Criminal record - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (764 words)
A criminal record or rap sheet is a generic term used to describe a compiled record of crimes that a person has committed or has allegedly committed.
Although it is technically illegal to deny employment based solely on an arrest record with no convictions, it is difficult to prove that the reason for the denial of employment was solely related to the arrest record.
Another concern is that, in a situation in which an applicant has an arrest record for serious crimes and one conviction for a petty offense, an employer can use the petty offense as an excuse for denying employment even if that person was innocent of the crime.
Criminal record - definition of Criminal record in Encyclopedia (191 words)
Criminal record is the central register of police, which includes mostly only prison punishments.
Data is used for criminal sanctions and also to figure the realiability of a person.
If a person does other crimes before the previous criminal record has gone, all information are visible until the last judgement has went off.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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