Under the Freedom of Information Act, there are records in the United States that are available to the general public. These records include government records, that allow transparency between the powers at be, and the public. Aside from government records, there are also certain public records that are available for viewing by the public. Among these are arrest records, which include mugshots. So, if you need to perform a mugshot lookup – you can do so with several online resources.
Are all mugshots public?
As mentioned, mugshots are public records, but not all of them; there are criminal cases that have been expunged or sealed. Mugshots that are a part of such cases will not be available to the public. Also, juvenile records cannot be obtained by the general public. In the past few years, there has been a debate about the legitimacy of providing personal information to the public. As a result, there are places in the country that a mugshot lookup is not a readily available service. In the state of Louisiana, for instance, obtaining mugshots online is not as easy as in other places.
How to perform an online mugshot lookup?
In the past, you would have had to go to law enforcement agencies to get copies of arrest records and to gain access to mugshots. These days, you can also perform a mugshot lookup in this manner, but there are also online resources that you can use to find mugshots:
Contact the arresting authority online
Law enforcement agencies in the US allow you to perform a mugshot search by contacting them online: to find mugshots this way, you need to go to the official website of the authority that made the arrest. You can do so by filing an online request form, or emailing your request to the authority in question. In the application, you will need to provide your information, as well as your own. You will need to pay a search fee (varies between states) for your request to be processed. The search will take a few days or several weeks, and at the end of it – you will get a copy of the arrest record and the mugshot.
Perform a county arrest records search
In the United States, you can perform a mugshot lookup in counties, as well. Law enforcement agencies in many counties in the country operate an online arrest records directory that you can use at any time. For such a search, you need to type the name of the county into the search engine of your search. Near the name, you also need to type the term "mugshot lookup" or "arrest records search". Once you do, the search engine that you chose will provide you with several results. You need to choose the official website of the county. There, you will need to enter the mugshot search link and follow the instructions, as given on the site.
Use an online public records search directory
Another online search method for a mugshot lookup is an online search directory. GoLookUp is such a directory, and it is available 24/7. The website is a public records aggregator, meaning it has access to all the public records in the country. GoLookUp is licensed to provide public records data, and it is 100% legal. To perform an online mugshot search on this website, you need to provide details about the person in question: their full name, and state of residence. Based on these details, the directory will run a mugshot lookup. At the end of the query, you will be provided with a report about the person in question. What data is on the report?
- Name of subject
- Aliases of subject
- Past and current addresses
- Contact information of subject
- Reason of arrest
- The outcome of the arrest
- Further legal actions that were taken against the subject
- Mugshots of the subject
There are cases when there a no results for a name-based mugshot lookup. This could happen when you misspell a name, or if the case has been sealed/expunged. It is also possible that the person in question simply does not have a criminal record. If you do not receive results with a name search on GoLookUp, you can use other services provided by the website: reverse phone number search, reverse address search and reverse email search.
Bottom line
A mugshot search reveals a great deal of information about the criminal past of individuals. Many use it to discover if certain individuals have a violent criminal past, if they have committed sex crimes, or if they are lying about their past. If you want to find out if the people in your life have a criminal past – a mugshot lookup can tell you what you need to know. You have several resources for performing an online mugshot search, and you can use them to find criminal data.
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