When conducting due diligence research work, part of the process is free online searches for criminal records. You will be amazed to know how much you can learn through the Internet alone. A diverse medium, the Internet offers several web portals to tons of public record information which can help you with your free online searches for criminal records. Below are some of these websites, along with brief descriptions of the type of information they contain.



Just one more thing before conducting your free online searches for criminal records using the list of site below, understand that there is no such thing as a "nationwide" database of public records available either on line or off line. The closest you're ever going to get to a nationwide database is the FBI database and that is not considered public information. Therefore, your only choice in widening the scope of your free online searches for criminal records is to check out every available database out there. Doing it online is much cheaper and way more convenient than having to go out there and manually retrieving information from office data files.

Free Online Searches for Criminal Records: http://ATF.Treas.gov ? ATF Online

ATF Online website is an initiative by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (U.S. Department of Justice) in its continuing effort to combat violent crime in cooperation with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The site provides a list of most wanted individuals upon whom outstanding warrants of arrests were issued.

This is an excellent website to check out while doing your free online searches for criminal records. Here you can find wanted persons who fit the following description: seriousness of the crime committed, past criminal record of the defendant, potential for the defendant to be a dangerous menace to society based on the current or past charges, and belief that publicity afforded by the program will be of assistance in apprehending the wanted person.

Free Online Searches for Criminal Records: http://USDOJ.gov ? U.S. DEA

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration keeps a list of DEA fugitives. You can use this as a resource in your free online searches for criminal records. The list includes the first and last name of the fugitive, accompanied by a photo. If you click on any of the names, the page will show you some more additional details about the person, such as offense information, jurisdiction, alias, race, last known address, et cetera.

Free Online Searches for Criminal Records: http://BOP.gov ? Bureau of Prisons

The Federal Bureau of Prisons is responsible for the custody and care of sentenced Federal inmates, as well as a significant number of pretrial detainees and pre-sentenced offenders for the U.S. Marshals Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. This is also another excellent resource that would greatly aid you in your free online searches for criminal records. Use the inmate locator to search for a particular subject in a particular prison facility. There also links where you can learn about visiting information, as well as an explanation of the differences between Federal, state, and local inmates.

Free Online Searches for Criminal Records: http://USTreas.gov ? United States Secret Service

Another government agency that keeps online lists of most wanted individuals is the U.S. Secret Service. You can also use the information and photo provided in your free online searches for criminal records.