Friday, October 11, 2013

Illinois Police Records Available Online

By Ben Kingsley


Police Department (ISP) for compilation purposes. Under the Freedom of Information Act, citizens have the right to access public records especially those that include government transactions. Although the public has access to public records, restrictions apply when it comes to juvenile records under the Uniform Conviction Information Act wherein criminal records are only available to public when a conviction is made on the case. The records are available from the Bureau of Identification.

Applicants or individuals who want to obtain police records or any records for that matter should check if the records are public properties. They can call the local enforcement agency or the county clerk to determine the nature of the report. Reports that include minors or those that were mentioned above are ineligible for access. Police records are categorized depending on the nature of the reports though almost all are available from the Bureau.

One type of police report is a traffic/crash report. Researchers can get the report through either online query or by mail. The one requesting the report should indicate the agency crash report number, the persons involved in the accident and the IDOT number. A fee of $5 is charged for every report requested. For those who require a reconstruction report, they can do so but will have to pay the $20 fee. A self-addressed stamped envelope should be included together with the request form and the cheque and sent to the Illinois State police. Do note that the ISP is not responsible for crashes/traffics that happened within the municipalities.

Researchers who are looking for or want to get a copy of criminal report can do so by filling up a request form and sending it to the Bureau. Form ISP6-405B is for non-fingerprint request whereas the Form6-404B is for the fingerprint request. Payment for the request is $16 and $30 for cheques not drawn in US banks. Do note that each form is valid for one-person search only although the person who requested the information can request for other details regarding the concerned person.

For Fingerprint forms, researchers have to pay $20 for US based bank cheques and $50 if the cheque is not drawn in a US bank. Fingerprint request is costlier but is more accurate than non-fingerprint request as some offenders might use an alias or alternate name. A fingerprint check would ensure that the person one is looking for is the right one.

It is easy for researchers to learn how to find police records as there are many ways to do so online. For those individuals who prefer not to pay, many sites offer such services. One disadvantage though is that the results might yield limited results. However if you only need basic information like checking your own criminal records, this beats having to pay for the reports. You can also access full reports and only have to pay a minimal fee. As the reports are readily available, it will save you time and effort.




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