Now Internet Services Can Help You
Keep Your Children Safer
One of the most disturbing trends of our time is the
increase in sex offenses against our children.
A study by the US Department of Justice found
- 67% of all victims of sexual assault were juveniles, under
18 years old
- Thirty-four percent of the victims were younger than 12
- One of every seven was less than 6 years old
This is such a tragedy but at least parents are becoming
more aware of the problem. They're taking steps to safeguard
their children by keeping them from going out alone or from
going anywhere unsupervised.
If you're a parent, now there's even more you can do to
protect your children.
How the Internet Can Help You Protect Your Children
Your computer and the Internet can play a major part in
helping you keep your children safe. If you're like most
folks, you probably have at least some experience looking up
information online, using Google or Yahoo search perhaps.
What you may not realize is how much information you can
uncover online about sex offenders and other criminals who
pose a threat to your family.
Specialized background checking services now exist that take
you directly to criminal histories and sex offender records.
While the common search engines are good for finding general
information on a variety of topics, they're not so helpful
when you want to search for criminal records. The
specialized services make it a whole lot easier and faster.
I became familiar with these criminal background checking
services from my work as a professional writer and
researcher. If you're a parent trying to protect your
children, you'll want to find out as much as you can about
what's available.
You Can Now Find Out Secrets Once Deeply Hidden While
Sitting at Your Computer
It used to be time consuming and costly to check someone's
background to see if they had a criminal history. You had to
hire a private detective or go through some expensive
reporting agency. Not today - not with Criminal record
databases so readily available to us.
Sometimes referred to as Internet Detective sites, or
Personal Search sites, these web-based search services give
you the low-down on all kinds of formerly-hidden
information.
They let you make complete criminal background checks and
give you access to detailed information including:
- Sex Offender Status Records
- Geographic Locations of Registered Sex Offenders
- Criminal Records for all kinds of crimes
- Prison Records
- FBI and other Law Enforcement Agency Files
- Criminal History
Why Checking
Criminal Backgrounds Can Help You Spot Crime Before It Happens
The unfortunate truth is that many offenders commit crimes again
and again. The DOJ tracked one sample group of around three
hundred thousand offenders and discovered an amazing fact. This
one group of felons has so far accounted for nearly five million
arrest charges over their recorded careers.
Here are more disturbing findings from US Department of Justice
studies:
- When criminals were arrested for a new crime, more than half
of them were out on probation, parole or pretrial release for a
previous crime.
- 39% of jail inmates had already served 3 or more prior
sentences.
- Of the hundreds of thousands of criminals released from
prisons during a one year period, an estimated 67.5% were
rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years,
46.9% were reconvicted, and 25.4% resentenced to prison for a
new crime.
And the most chilling statistics
- Sex offenders were about four times more likely than non-sex
offenders to be arrested for another sex crime after their
discharge from prison.
- Of released sex offenders and child molesters
arrested for
committing another sex crime, 40% perpetrated the new offense
within a year or less from their prison discharge.
It's extremely troubling but the very fact that so many
criminals are repeat offenders is what makes using criminal
background checks so effective. Those past crimes leave a trail.
Access to that trail, that criminal history, is easily available
through the specialized background check services.
The criminal history you can easily find out there can forewarn
you. You'll know if someone has a criminal background and is
therefore likely commit a crime again. It's not pre-judging.
It's just being realistic and practical.
Experts Recommend Parents Use Criminal Background Checking
Services
Safety experts are starting to recommend that parents use a
criminal background checking service regularly. By running a
criminal background check on anyone you find suspicious or even
anyone your child might come into contact with, you'll know if
there's anything to worry about. You'll be armed with the
knowledge you need to take appropriate action.
You can use the search services to check out your baby sitter,
nanny, au pair, day care center and staff, and even school
teachers and workers.
You can use it to search geographically and find out if known
sex offenders live near you. It's now possible to determine
exactly where they live.
|
 |
When You Choose a
Criminal Background Search Service, Here's What to Look For
To help you find the best possible service for criminal
background checking, here are the things I've found important to
consider during a review:
1. Free versus Paid
I've been disappointed by the free services. Better to pay the
small fee and get quality information you can trust. Many of the
better services have special offers of multi-year memberships
for a low one-time fee. The cost can be less than what you'd pay
for a low-priced blouse or golf shirt.
2. Speed
You want a service that responds quickly and gives you exactly
the information you need. Make sure you try it out. Check both
speed and accuracy!
3. Proprietary Database
If a service compiles their own database, it's a sign they're
more likely to be in the business for the long term. That's
because a proprietary database is costly to build and maintain.
A company wouldn't invest if they didn't expect to stay in
business.
From a usability standpoint, a dedicated database is better too.
You get a single interface that you can quickly learn.
(One note: I've never seen a free service that has its own
database. Most of the free services I've checked out are really
just link farms - they just point you at some public or
government database. You could get that from the general search
engines.)
4. Training and
Support
Be sure you can easily learn to use any service you choose.
Actually, you'll find that the better services are pretty
intuitive: you'll know what to do just by looking at it. But
better services will also provide extra, in-depth searching. If
you ever need the extra, it might require you dig into it a bit
before you can fully use it. Just make sure your service has
easy, accessible ways to learn, like tutorials.
And don't ignore support. Sooner or later you'll have questions
or there will be something you need help to get resolved. The
best services offer free, live support with a phone number or
live chat where you can talk directly with a person.
Final Word
It's a threatening world but fortunately, you can use modern
technology to better protect your children. Like the experts
recommend, sign up for Criminal Background Checking service and
use it regularly. |
