Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Free Illinois Arrest Records Search

By Jed Elaine

Illinois criminal records form part of the public domain and as such, unrestricted access is available to any interested individuals. Although these are public records, the use of any information obtained from these is strictly regulated to uphold the right to personal privacy. If the information obtained were to be used for an employment background check for example, then prior permission to use the information would need to be obtained from the individual in question.

First port of call for any search of Illinois criminal records would be at the Illinois State Police, were records of all information relating to criminal matters are filed. This is not a free search however. There is an administrative fee of $16.00. The states Circuit Courts also hold information regarding Illinois criminal records. Paid searches are available from the Jackson County database for a nominal $12.95 search fee.

All law enforcement agencies are required to keep their criminal record databases regularly updated and well maintained. Any information collected will usually be shared with other law enforcement agencies and, as is often the case, with courts and even certain individuals. Records are usually updated at regular intervals, quarterly, monthly or even daily, depending on the typical operating procedure of the person in charge of these updates. The quality of arrest records information will depend on how up to date the database is and how well this is maintained.

Statistically, in recent years, Illinois criminal records show a higher arrest rate then the national average. Not withstanding this however, the number of arrests in the state has shown a gradual decline. 1990 saw 1237 arrests made for every 100,000 inhabitants of the state. By 2002, this figure had decreased to 894 arrests for every 100,000 inhabitants. Roughly translated, this shows a 28% reduction in the number of arrests made over the 12 year period.

Similarly to almost all information searches today, the internet is the most popular method to access Illinois criminal records. Government agencies inevitably mean long queues and time delays. An alternative to these delays are commercial information providers. Factor in the ability to access private networks over and above the public databases and these commercial providers soon become an attractive option. Search results are typically available for download within a few minutes of running the search - 15437

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