Free criminal checks are one of the most searched after things online these days. There is more than a little bit of confusion about whether these types of records are freely available online or not.

The truth of the matter is that all arrests and convictions for the most part are considered to be public record. With this being said someones criminal history should be easy to find in theory. The in theory part is the key word here because getting a criminal background check on someone is anything but easy if you don't know what you are doing.

One popular misconception is that you can simply show up down at your local courthouse and say you would like to view all public documents on this person or that person and the lady behind the counter will simply hand you all the information that you need. Sure, the records are supposed to be there for anyone to view but in order to view them you are required to fill out an application for information which in most cases is always denied.

One effective way is to go to your public library and look through archived newspaper clippings from your local area and see what you can turn up on an individual person. This method too has its drawbacks as you are limiting the scope of your investigation to what might have been reported in one town or cities local paper. Often, the information you find from this method is not complete and even inaccurate sometimes.

When it comes to free credit checks I always recommend that you stick with a service that provides an up to date and complete national database of criminal history reports. All you do is simply enter a persons name and any other information that you know to be fact and you are able to have a complete and comprehensive criminal background check within minutes.