Florida Criminal History Records
Below are answers to basic questions about Florida criminal history records.
- What is a Criminal Record?
- Who Maintains Criminal Records?
- Who Can Access my Criminal Record?
- Are Juvenile Records Treated Differently than Adult Records?
What is a Criminal Record?
Your criminal record (also known as your criminal history) is the electronic and written documentation of any contact you have had with the criminal justice system. This includes field interviews, arrests, or criminal court cases you have had, regardless of how the cases were resolved.
Types of Criminal Records
There are two types of criminal records maintained in Florida: Non-Judicial Records and Judicial Records.
Non-Judicial Records
Non-judicial records are those records maintained by federal, state, and local government agencies. They includes minor records such as field interview reports and unsubstantiated complaints. They also include arrest reports, incident reports, and mug shots.
Judicial Records
Judicial records are records maintained by the Clerk of Court as a result of a person being arrested formally charged with a crime. They include charging affidavits, arrest warrants, formal charging documents, court opinions, and court minutes among other things.
Who Maintains Criminal Records?
Criminal justice agencies maintain your criminal history at the national, state, and local level and do not necessarily share their information with each other.
National Criminal History
The FBI maintains the National Crime Information Center database. The NCIC is a computerized index of all national and state level criminal records, warrants, stolen property, and missing person reports.
Florida’s Computerized Criminal History
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) maintains the Florida Computerized Criminal History Central Repository database (CCH) and the Florida Crime Information Center database.
The CCH database consists of all of a person’s arrests in Florida and the final disposition; whether it is by dismissal, plea, or trial.
The Florida Crime Information Center database consists of any warrants or domestic violence injunctions a person may have.
Local Criminal History
Local criminal history primarily consists of any documented contact you have had with a specific law enforcement agency’s jurisdiction. This would include if they did a field interview with you, but did not arrest you.
Even though local law enforcement may maintain internal records of field interviews or other non-arrest contact, they generally do not forward this information to other law enforcement agencies or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement unless a specific request is made.
Who Can Access my Criminal Record?
National Criminal History Access
A national criminal history check through NCIC is unavailable to the public at large. Access is primarily limited to law enforcement, governmental agencies, and companies with government contracts.
Florida Criminal History Check
A Florida criminal history check through CCH is available to the public at large through FDLE and includes all arrests and court dispositions, even if adjudication was withhold.
Local Criminal History Check
A local criminal history check is available to the public at large, but usually must be made in writing to the specific law enforcement agency with the information. It usually only consists of field contact reports and arrest information.
Are Juvenile Records Treated Differently than Adult Records?
The confidentiality of juvenile criminal history records is governed by Florida Statute 985.04(2).
Consequently, misdemeanor juvenile criminal history records are confidential and exempt from disclosure as a public record and will not show up on a background check. [1] However, juvenile criminal history records related to the commission of a felony are not confidential, may be disclosed by the arresting law enforcement agency, and will show up on a criminal background check.
Contact Orlando Criminal Lawyer
Orlando expungement lawyer Richard Hornsby has the ability to help you achieve your goal of clearing your criminal record. So contact Orlando Expungement Lawyer Richard Hornsby to start the process of clearing your criminal record.