Thursday, August 15, 2013

Illinois Police Records Free List Online

By Claire Dowell


The Illinois State Police compiles all Illinois police records from all county police department. All records are accessible by the public in accordance to the Freedom of Information Act. The Act grants the public access to all records of the government in connection with the public. Although all records are accessible, some records are restricted from the public. Juvenile records, arrests with no conviction, sealed and expunged records are not allowed for public access. All records are obtainable by sending a request to the State's Bureau of Identification.

To request for records, researchers must determine whether the records they want to access is covered under the Freedom Act Law. Police reports are available and can be accessed; however, reports that were made by private individuals or companies are restricted from the public. There are different types of police records that one can obtain and fees apply.

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.

For those who want a criminal record report, they can request for the report from the Bureau as well. There are two types of form to fill up - (1) Form ISP6-405B - Non-fingerprint and (2) Form ISP6-404B - Fingerprint report. Each request is for a single person only. However the researcher can request for other information pertaining the person he/she wants the research done. Researchers have to pay $16 for the inquiry and if he/she decides to use a cheque not drawn on a United States bank, the payment is $30. This is applicable for the non-fingerprint form.

For ISP6-404B or fingerprint form, the fee is $20 and $50 for cheques not drawn in the US banks. For those who want detailed information, this form tends to more accurate as it involves the fingerprints of the person. This is ideal especially for those who require specific criminal records as most criminals or people with existing criminal records do hide behind nicknames or aliases. Bear in mind that there is a need to provide full details to ensure that the search is a success as the fees are not refundable.

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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