Maine Criminal Records

There are a number of aspects that must be considered when determining whether an individual is trustworthy or not. Many of those aspects cannot be adequately determined until you get to know them on a personal or professional level, but there are some aspects that you can research to help you develop a full picture. When deciding whether you want to hire a candidate, rent to a tenant, or begin another type of relationship that is highly built on trust, you should do your due diligence ahead of the decision as much as possible. Checking Maine criminal records or police record is a step that should never be left out, no matter how trustworthy you believe the person to be.

A Maine criminal or police record is a record of a person?s criminal history and includes lists of all non-expunged criminal offenses. What is included in the criminal record varies from state to state. In Maine, they include juvenile criminal records only if the individual committed murder or a Class A, B, or C crime and was tried as an adult. Adult criminal records include all court convictions and any pending charges less than a year old.

There are a number of reasons you may want access to criminal records of those with whom you are entering a relationship. They include:

Background of offenses against employers. If you are hiring a new employee and find out one of the candidates has been convicted of embezzlement or theft, it will make a huge impact on your hiring decision. Having access to this knowledge before you hire is crucial to keeping your workplace safe.

Background of troubled behavior for landlords. One of a landlord?s worst nightmares is having to deal with a tenant who is involved in domestic disputes, drug transactions, or other criminal behavior. When you take on a tenant, you are inviting them to live on your property, and any criminal action that occurs on that property has an effect on you.

Background of criminal activity involving money. If an individual has a history of stealing or otherwise misappropriating funds, it can be important information to know as a potential employer, lender, or landlord. Your livelihood often depends on the ability of tenants, customers, and employees to handle money appropriately, and knowing this is an issue ahead of time can save you problems in the future.

Fortunately, it?s quite easy to obtain Maine criminal records online by simply visiting the Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) site. An individual?s criminal history record is available to the Maine criminal justice community and general public 24 hours a day. A Maine online public criminal history search will release information about crimes an individual has been convicted of as an adult, and felonies he or she was adjudicated of as a juvenile. The cost for this service is $31, and you can add a background check for an additional $10. If you are a Maine organization that requires frequent criminal background checks, you can even request a discount for requesting multiple records.

Though we all want to think the best of those we meet, in many cases it just makes sense to gather as much information as possible about a person before we enter into a relationship with them. By looking up their criminal record, you can ensure that your new tenant, employee, or client will not cause you trouble in the future.