Records about the crimes committed by a resident of Pennsylvania are documented in the Pennsylvania criminal records. This document is open to the public. This lets the residents of the state to access it anytime they have a need for it.
Residents of Pennsylvania request for a copy of a criminal record mostly to conduct a background check. Employers or those who own a business would look into the criminal history of their people to make sure that the people working for them have clean records. With this, they can avoid problems in the future. Residents of Pennsylvania also look into the background of those they see daily. Parents would verify the identity of their children\'s circle of friends to make sure that they are in a good company. This way, they can worry less about their children\'s safety and security. The local investigators of the state would also refer to this document when they are investigating a case.
One can find a lot of information about the crimes that an individual has committed on a criminal record. The date and the place where the crime has been reported are indicated on the record. One will also find information about how the person was placed under custody. All of the charges and the sentence filed against the individual are also indicated on the file. One can also find the complete name of the person involved as well as his/her birth details. The document would also contain a detailed description of how the person looks like.
When planning to request for a copy of a criminal record in Pennsylvania, one has to know the basic information of the file of interest. The basic information is necessary in order to proceed with the retrieval. In addition to that, one has to be ready to provide their contact details to proceed with the search. This is because the state allows the residents to get a copy of their personal files only. Those who need to look into the files of other people need to secure a special permission before they can be granted access to the files of other people.
The State Police of Pennsylvania under the Central Repository Department manages the criminal records of the state. The said office is also responsible for the release of the criminal records to the public. A $10 processing fee has to be paid in order to have the request processed. The fee is for a name based search. Mail requests are also possible and the same processing fee has to be paid in the form of a money order or a personal check.
The Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History or PATCH is used by the state to store the information electronically. This system is an online database where the criminal records are managed and kept. This system allows easy retrieval of the criminal records in Pennsylvania. With this, access to the criminal records free to public is convenient and fast.