Criminal information unleashed for all to see, Google style

Armchair detectives rejoice! One of the most useful free tools has been launched for use by the professional and amateur alike to delve into strangers, friends and neighbors criminal histories. If you have ever suspected that the weird neighbor you have has committed some horrendous crime or is reminding you of “The Burbs”, there is a weapon that can be added to an arsenal of investigative or just plain snooping tools.

The creators of the website called PeopleFinders.com, which is a pay site, launched the new criminal investigative tool to the public called CriminalSearches.com. The site is still sporting the infamous BETA logo as most web launches do these days. The tag-line of the new site is, “Do you really know who people are?” After that you are encouraged to start scouring the database with the suspected’s first and last name.

After you first submission you can get more detailed with middle names, city, state, zipcode, county, year of birth or age range. With a quick glance you can see someones criminal offense or offenses with a legend that gives you an idea of the type of criminal they are. Once you get some hits you can view details to pull up offense dates, aliases, previous addresses and more.

Skipping over the individual search for criminal histories, you can also do a broader search for your entire neighborhood. This will produce a long list of offenders that are within just a few feet or miles of your house. You will be able to get addresses of their location, offenses, pictures and identifiable information such as ethnicity, hair color, height and more. Clicking on offense icons on the Google Map layout will take you to the detailed pages of each offender.

While this is a great tool for families with kids, single parents, school officials or just the concerned neighborhood watchdog, it can also open up abuse. It is stated in the terms and conditions of CriminalSearches.com that information cannot be used “(a) as a factor in establishing an individuals eligibility for personal credit or insurance, (b) as a factor in evaluating an individual for employment, (c) in connection with any personal business transaction with an individual, or (d) for any purpose for which one might use a “consumer report,” as defined in the FCRA. You must certify that you will comply with these Limits on Your Use of Our Site prior to accessing information on this Site.” This statement in the terms and conditions will most likely not keep employers, hiring agencies, apartment owners or any number of agencies from using this information to disqualify or scrutinize applicants. We did not experience any verification process or disclaimer of these rules until we dug into the terms and conditions.

Even with the highest standards of usage there is one more flaw that could wreak havoc on someone’s personal life if falsely accused. Accuracy of the information is not guaranteed and another person’s similar identity could be mistaken for someone else. It is stated on the website in the disclaimer section, “The content, information, documents, graphics and images published on the Site may contain inaccuracies, typographical errors or other errors. We make no commitment to update the Site.” It’s most likely enough to be ridiculed and flagged as a danger to society if the information is true but false information could be incredibly damaging to people that might be wonderful neighbors and co-workers.

It’s not as if this public information is anything new. The information is all available from multiple resources throughout the Internet and courthouses. The problem lies in the slew of websites that try to charge for the access to public information. With this new launch the information will be made freely available and more accessible to anyone regardless of their resourcefulness or contacts.

Just as stories appear in the news of employees getting fired because of their Facebook or MySpace pages, you just may see people getting fired for their unknown criminal histories. With the growth of the online dating industry this service could obviously do some good to alert someone that a potential date may not be that dream catch after-all. Families will be able to have more knowledge at their fingertips and understand the dangers in their neighborhood better. All types of relationships in life could be reevaluated if shocking information is found lurking in the piles of criminal records. How do you think this will work? Do the benefits outweigh the potential downsides?