What's Public, What's Not
Before you begin searching online or offline for information, it’s important
that you know what is and what isn’t in the public records.
What is the difference between public records, public information, and private information?
Understandably, most people are uncertain regarding the difference
between public and private information. The following is a brief explanation
of each.
Public records are “records of incidents” or actions which are
required to be filed with a government agency. Technically, their
purpose is to notify the public about the action. For example,
homeowners are legally required to record their deeds of trust with
their county’s recorder office.
Public information, on the other hand, is information you voluntarily
provide to government and/or private organizations or companies
in order to make it easier for others to find you. A good example of
this is a telephone number listing.
Private or personal information is data on a person or business that
either may deem to be private in nature. For example, US citizens’
Social Security Numbers (SSNs) are, for the most part, considered
private unless people disclose their SSNs to outside agencies,
companies, or organizations.
Now, do you have access to all this information? Well that’s a good questions and the answer is yes, and no. A lot has to do with the state your requesting the information in and who is requesting.
Some states are very open to giving you what you ask for. For example an arrest record for someone caught DUI that a reported requested from the state of Washington was given to him within 30 minutes for free and contained a 70 page report with all the details of the arrest including blood alcohol content, witness reports, photos etc.
Two thousands mile away in Illinois a similar incident of DUI where the reported asked for the information the process took more than a week, he was charged $5 and it was a simple 2 page report with very little real information.
Yes, lots of information is available and probably the most important thing to remember is where the information is stored. Each of the 50 states and the Federal Government have different laws stating what is public and private information, what will be released and what will not. Who can request it and when and to whom it will be given.
The Freedom of Information Act we hear so much about has no bearing on state, county or local government agencies because these agencies are subject to that state’s individual act. And most states have their own act in place for releasing information.
So remember, not all public records are public and not all private or what you think should be private records are private. Our on-line world has made available a fast network of data available and accessing it is as easy as sitting at your computer in the comfort of your own home.
In my opinion the small price you pay to do on-line searches of Public Records is of great value when trying to access this information through other means. You may not always get what you want but it will be quick, you will find out in minutes what may take hours, days, weeks or months doing the searches in person or in writing.
