How To Find Past Mugshots For Free

May 13, 2024

Do you want to learn how to find past mugshots for free or how to remove arrest records? The first thing you need to do is gather details about the person you’re researching.

You’ll need details like the person’s full name and date of birth. Any other identifying information can also help you find mugshots online.

For example, do you know their Social Security number or driver’s license number? It’ll be easy to research arrest records or find mugshots online for that person.

Additionally, try to get information related to the crime, which will help you find arrest records. Any information related to the crime, like the date, place and nature of the event, will be helpful.

With this information at your disposal, you can get in touch with the local police department. You may be able to acquire the person’s public records, such as their arrest records and mugshot.

You might also search court documents and public records. This can determine if the arrest resulted in a guilty verdict, imprisonment, or other penalties. For this, you will need to contact the Court Clerk in the appropriate jurisdiction. 

Moreover, you can also find details of a person’s criminal history, arrests, and mugshots online by searching the hundreds of mugshot publication websites on the internet.

Mugshot Websites May Have Your Information

Here’s something else to consider: If you’ve ever been arrested, you will likely find your mugshots online, too. This issue can quickly impact both your personal and professional life.

Here are just some of the ways that having your information accessible on a mugshot website can affect your life:

Harm to Your Online Reputation

When your arrest records and mugshots are easily viewable online, potential or current business partners, clients or employers will make judgments about your character. The same goes for those you meet socially, like a person you’ve connected with on a dating site. This could harm your reputation and lead to missed opportunities.

Difficulty Securing Employment

It’s common for potential employers to conduct background checks on those they’re considering hiring. If your mugshot is part of the public record, it’s bound to show up in a background search — or even a basic Google search. Chances are that the employer will not opt to hire you if they find your criminal records.

Unwanted Legal Attention

Having your private information show up on mugshot websites could attract attention from law enforcement that you’d prefer to avoid. For example, if you’re dealing with a legal issue that’s unrelated to a past offense, you could deal with extra scrutiny due to arrest records online that are found during the process.

Why Is It So Easy To Find Personal Info in an Online Database?

Turning your research efforts to the internet when you want to look up mugshots is often successful because nearly all criminal charges are posted in some form on the internet. Here are just a few of the ways that your information can end up in a Google search:

• Articles in a local newspaper offer arrest details
• Many law enforcement agencies are required to make criminal information public
• A disgruntled friend or ex shares your private info on social media

Once your personal information appears online, arrest record databases can easily categorize your information.

Then, those databases make it easy for anyone to search criminal records on a national or international level. Moreover, if a person is willing to pay the website’s fee, they may be able to access even more details about an individual.

Why and How To Find Mugshots Online

Whether you want to find your own mugshots or you’re researching someone else, there are many reasons why you may want to find data on a convicted offender.

Luckily, there are numerous tools that help you find someone’s old mugshot online as efficiently as possible. These solutions might help when researching an offender’s background details or looking to erase arrest records.

The ability to view mugshots online also comes in handy when trying to find information about an offender who’s being transferred between facilities.

Remember, if you’re looking for someone’s mugshots online, you will need some basic information about the individual. For most free mugshot publication websites, you’ll need the person’s full name and the state where the arrest occurred. Then, after finding their listing on the website or sex offender registry, you’ll see information about their charges, bond amount, etc.

Another benefit of doing an internet search is discovering more info about the jail itself, including details on the regulations and rules to be observed at the center. Public records databases or sites operated by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are all good sources for criminal record information, including jail and prison info. You can also find contact information regarding the facility.

Online Databases Are the Easiest Way To Find Criminal Info

If you are simply seeking to locate a person’s alleged charges, then your job is pretty easy. The best part is that you don’t have to leave your couch to do it. It’s possible to acquire court conviction records online, along with the location of the facility they have been sent to.

Another benefit of utilizing online searches is that it decreases the time spent going from police department to police department trying to find arrests and mugshots. Most of the time, you can simply head over to Google and type in the offender’s name coupled with the word “arrest” or “mugshot.” 

Other helpful bits of information found on these sites include the offenders’ date of incarceration, pending fees, and their expected discharge date. 

To find your past mugshots online and remove them from online searches, contact Erase Mugshots today for a free analysis.

How To Find Past Mugshots For Free: Past vs. Present

In the past, finding mugshots required visiting a local law enforcement agency or Court Clerk to request the criminal record.

Today, you don’t have to leave your home at all. Finding free mugshots and arrest information or learning how to find people’s mugshots on the internet is as easy as performing a simple Google search or using a basic people search website.

After working in the mugshot removal and online reputation industry for over a decade, our team has perfected how to locate both state and county records before eliminating them from the front pages of Google, Bing, and Yahoo. 

The Simplest Way To Find Arrest Records For Free

Today, all you need to find arrest records and mugshots online is a device with an internet connection. Using your iPhone or computer, head to Google and type in the following: [first name] [last name] + arrest.

For example, your search may look something like this: John Doe + arrest. Or, if you’re specifically looking for a mugshot, you could search for John Doe + mugshot.

It’s more difficult to find arrest records, criminal records and mugshots if the person has a common name. However, adding more details to refine the search, like a middle initial, city or town, or date of arrest, can help narrow down the results.

Some people search sites will let you refine your search in these ways. If you’re using Google first, you could search for something like this: John Doe New York, NY + arrest. Try different types of searches until you find what you’re looking for or until you determine that arrest records for that person don’t exist.

Organizing the Results

Once you have located a few websites featuring your arrest information, it’s best to create a spreadsheet to record all of the information. If you intend to request the removal of your information from these sites, you’ll want to first gather links to your profiles online and then submit removal requests.

If you search for your name on a people search site several times to find the link to your profile, this can cause your information to rank higher in search results.

Clicking on the profile link tells the website and Google that the link is important an in high demand.

You could inadvertently cause the information you want to hide to show up more prominently in searches for your name.

Once you’re finished building your spreadsheet and are ready to contact each website, start by seeing if the website has a removal option available. Otherwise, you may need to reach out to the website owner directly. You may be able to find contact information using website registration data lookup tools like ICANN. 

It’s important to understand that this process can be time-consuming and frustrating, as these websites are not legally obligated to remove your mugshots from their databases.

If the task of submitting multiple removal requests is too overwhelming, contact us today for a free removal analysis and to discuss your options.

Is Publishing Free Mugshots Online Legal?

Unfortunately, yes. No law prevents a website from publishing arrest information. This allows anyone online to view mugshots of you. 

Most mugshot websites are broken down by county or city records. This makes it easier for people to research anyone who’s been through the system. Most employers will utilize these websites during their hiring process, too. 

The truth is that it’s hard to dispute the fact you were arrested after your potential employer has seen your mugshots, even if the information is outdated or incorrect.

Why do employers use mugshot sites to research potential hires? Because it’s a free and quick way to get results about an individual’s past, such as criminal record information, without having to wait for a background check to clear. Although most of these websites have disclaimers that the records published should not be used during the hiring process, it’s still a common practice among employers.

Contact Erase Mugshots to Protect Your Online Reputation

Removing your mugshots online can help protect your reputation and prevent you from missing out on opportunities.

First impressions are important, and if a potential employer or dating prospect Googles your name, they could see your mugshot in the top search results. At that point, there may be no way to convince them to not judge you on what they found.

Managing your business and personal relationships hinges on knowing the information that people can find online. Furthermore, taking control over your online data can protect your privacy and the privacy of your loved ones.

For immediate assistance removing your sensitive information from online databases, contact Erase Mugshots today.

Free Mugshot Removal Analysis