Everything You Need to Know to Do a Successful Missouri Criminal Records Search

While you can head onto the internet and find tons of websites that offer to do a Missouri criminal records search for you, the odds of them actually offering a legitimate service are very small.

Why?

Because the vast majority of them AREN’T run by licensed private investigators!

In fact, most of these websites aren’t run by anyone with any kind of investigative background whatsoever. Instead of digging through records, they buy up a bunch of public records — which are usually several years old — load them onto their server, and design a website that can spit them out after just a few mouse clicks.

If you want to do a thorough Missouri criminal records search, these data aggregators won’t be able to do it for you. Instead, you need to turn to a licensed private investigator.

What’s the difference?

Having a license means that an investigator has access to information that most people don’t. In fact, licensed private investigators can comb through resources that are normally just reserved for law enforcement. As a result, you’ll wind up with much more detailed information — and you’ll be able to see the most current details available. That way, you’ll never have to worry that your search missed something or that a felon managed to fall through the cracks.

Missouri Criminal Court Records

What resources will a good investigator access during your Missouri criminal search?

– Records from the Missouri Administrative Office of Courts, which include details about all felony convictions and pending cases from each of the 45 Judicial Circuit Courts of Missouri. In addition to the official case number, your private investigator will also be able to see specifics about the offense and the court disposition.

– Records from the Missouri Department of Corrections, which cover all 312,000 people who have been sentenced to one of the state’s correctional facilities, probation, or community service since the early 1980’s.

– Specific details listed in the Missouri Sex Offender Registry, including offender details about anyone who has been convicted of or has pled guilty to a sex crime. Offenders who actually committed or attempted to commit sex crimes are listed in these records, and the Registry is updated bi-weekly. In many cases, the Registry also includes listings of people who were convicted of or pled guilty to kidnapping, felonious restraint, or child abuse.

– Indexes of prior criminal records searches conducted because of a county, state, or federal request.

– Information surrounding certain traffic offenses.

Best of all, a good licensed private investigator doesn’t just have access to these resources. He’ll also go through each one of them by hand! As a result, you’ll wind up with a more thorough search — and, even better, you won’t have to worry about any false positives contaminating your results.

Missouri Criminal Search

Yes, false positives are a legitimate threat! When you go through those automatic data aggregator websites, no one’s checking to make sure that the information you get actually pertains to the person you searched. For all you know, you’ve got criminal records for someone with a similar name or birthday!

As an added benefit, a licensed private investigator has the expertise to make your Missouri criminal records search as efficient as possible. In spite of all the resources he has to analyze, your investigator will be able to go through everything and get the results to you quickly. (For example, here at Docusearch, our investigators can do your search and get the results back to you within one business day.) Sure, it’s not as fast as those instant websites, but these results will actually be accurate!

How much does it cost to get such comprehensive service?

A reputable investigator will charge you a one-time, upfront fee for each Missouri criminal court records search that you need. You’ll get the results and have ample opportunity to ask questions, all without being forced to pull out your credit card again.

Sadly, most of those data aggregator websites don’t work this way. Instead, they reel you in with promises of free searches. But what they don’t tell you is that it’s only free to type someone’s name into the search box. When it’s time to see the results of your search, you’ll have to pay — sometimes, through the nose. You might even have to sign up for a subscription service that you don’t need or want!

It simply doesn’t pay to have your Missouri criminal search done by just anyone. If you want legitimate answers that you can trust, turn to the team of licensed private investigators at Docusearch.