If you’ve been arrested, and the police have your mugshot, you may be worried about potential employers, family members, and friends seeing your photo and thinking less of you. Still, there are benefits to being able to find mugshots online, particularly for employers conducting background checks. Even if you find your own mugshot online, it’s better to know what’s out there than to go into a job interview blind. You may also want to know more about someone who just moved in next door to you or lives in your apartment building, and doing a public records search is one way to go about this. Here’s how to look up mugshots online.
Navigate to a specialized online search service
Finding an individual’s mugshots online is as simple as performing a search on Google; however, it’s best to use a specialized service instead of a search engine to get the best results when looking for mugshots. Many websites give you access to a wide range of public information, including arrest records and mugshots. It’s important to recognize that some mugshots may not appear online if the person committed a crime as a juvenile. That being said, the U.S. Freedom of Information Act releases a variety of public records, including criminal records, and photos like mugshots are generally one aspect of a criminal record.
When you use an online search service, all you need is a first and last name and the person’s state to access their arrest records. Search services makes it easy to save any part of their criminal record by offering the option to email or download an individual’s criminal record as a PDF. This ensures that, if you need to reference or use this information in the future, it’s easily accessible.
Another benefit of using a search service database is that you receive much more than just mugshots and criminal records. Search services perform deep web searches quickly and efficiently, allowing you to access court records, phone numbers, addresses, and crime data from anyone around the world. This gives you the most accurate snapshot of an individual. Typical background checks do give you some of this information, but if you want a truly deep idea of who someone is, a service that performs deep searches is much more valuable.
Cross-reference with the state’s website
If you want to have extra proof that the online mugshots you found are accurate, you can often cross-reference the criminal record you access through a search service with the state’s department of corrections. Many states make their prisoners’ public information available through these online portals. Often, once you’re at the state’s website for corrections it’s as simple as clicking on a button for “offender search,” and then you can double-check your information. In most cases, the state’s website will be less detailed than a specialized service, but if someone tries to claim that your results are fake, it never hurts to have a second source to prove yourself.
There are plenty of reasons that you may want to find somebody’s mugshots online. If you need to perform a background check or need certain information to protect yourself and your family, finding more about someone using a deep web search can be incredibly valuable. Search services are a trustworthy approach to finding out more about your neighbors, contractors, and anyone else you may have just met. It never hurts to be overly cautious, particularly if you have small children, so finding someone’s mugshots and arrest records online can be a crucial component of parenting.
