How To Find Out If Someone Was Arrested
Michelle Wilson - May 16, 2019

If you’re familiar with the series Dirty John, you might think it seems far fetched, and there’s no way something like that could happen to you. The favorite podcast and newspaper series is, however, based on a true story. It was recently turned into a Bravo TV series as well. The “John” of the story met his victim through a dating website where he appeared to be the perfect gentleman. How could she know that he was hiding a very sinister past?
Although she fell for his charms, and story, hook line and sinker her children were the ones who suspected that he was indeed too good to be true. It turned out their suspicions were warranted, and soon enough, the criminal records and lies started coming to light; unfortunately, it was already too late.
Many people have minor run-ins with the law in their lifetime, which might not be such a big deal to some people. Sometimes the crime could be a red flag that you should pay close attention to, or at least take into consideration. Whether it’s a relative, a friend, or a romantic interest, it’s information you may want to have.
How to Find Out If Someone Has Been To Jail
If you haven’t heard from a family member for a few days, and that’s unheard of, the very first thing you should do is check the county jail, or websites for a conviction record. If you don’t find a reference to or evidence of an arrest, you can extend your search to check in the neighboring counties searching the public records. Some county databases may not be updated immediately, and it could even take days before you see anything online, so you’ll want to keep checking the court records if you still don’t hear from them.
On the other hand, if you know a person was arrested, and you aren’t sure which county they were arrested in, you can check a state or federal website using an inmate locator. There’s still a chance that you don’t know that person as well as you once thought you did, and they could be using an assumed name or even a stolen identity. If this is the case, it might be time for you to do a little more digging.
What to Search If You Suspect Someone of Having Criminal Background
If you have a gut feeling, or sinking suspicion that a person you’ve recently met may be untrustworthy, you may also want to run an online background check. Look for any red flags like small lies, and unnecessary secrecy, even over exaggerations. Running a background check will help you find out if they have a criminal history they’ve been keeping from you.
A criminal record doesn’t always mean that someone is a violent or dangerous person. Misunderstandings do occur, or it could be they were arrested for something minor. Running a background check ensures you unearth any arrest record or unsavory details about a person’s past.
Discovering that someone you’re close with has been arrested and convicted of a violent crime, can make you want to try to protect yourself against becoming their next victim. You may choose to limit your contact with that person or cut them out of your life altogether.
As long as you have a little information on someone, you can research their background, including aliases, past addresses, criminal history, and maybe financial history, which could help answer some questions and potentially reduce your risk of a dangerous situation.
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Browse the CheckPeople blog for more ideas about how to use people search engines more effectively in your long-last family investigations, as well as other searches.