Mariposa County, California Criminal Records

A background check is basically the entire process of looking into the relevant areas of an individual’s past and current status, in order to determine their worthiness or fitness for some particular task or position. A background check can be wide and all encompassing, or it can be narrowly focused for a specific purpose. Some of the things that act as details in a background check include criminal records, sexual offender registration, social security number, and past bankruptcies. In addition, court records, educational credentials, and driving records could all comprise items in a background check. Background checks happen most frequently when applicants are being screened for potential employment. The background check will be considerably more invasive and stringent if an applicant endeavors to gain employment in a high security setting, or are applying for work around individuals considered vulnerable. This would include children at a daycare, or elder people at a nursing home.

Court Records

Public records, such as those maintained by the local superior court system, will aid greatly in discovering pertinent information for a county individual’s background check. For Mariposa County, California, you will need to solicit case records from the Mariposa County Superior Court. If you wish to visit the courthouse in person, the address is 508 Bullion Street, Mariposa, California 95338. You can speak to someone in the criminal division if necessary by calling 209-966-5711, or e-mail the courthouse at grycelb@mariposacourts.org. You can also look up court information online by going to the following web address: http://mariposacourt.org.

Public Records

Either at the beginning or the end of a background check, you will probably need to petition the local county sheriff for arrest and criminal records. In Mariposa County, the sheriff’s office is located at 5099 Old Highway, P.O. Box 276, Mariposa, California. You can call the sheriff 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 209-966-3615, or fax the sheriff at 209-742-5090. The sheriff also has a webpage setup at the Mariposa County website that includes many helpful tips and quick links pertaining to background checks. You can find the webpage located here: http://www.mariposacounty.org/index.aspx?nid=82.

Online Resources

To find out if a job applicant or neighbor is a recent parolee, or a parole absconder, you can check their information against the names stored online with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The California DOC has an offender search setup for web users located at the following link: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Reports_Research/Inmate_Locator.html.

California residents who visit the California Department of Justice’s website are presented with a couple of different options for doing their own background checks. One is a personal background for the amount of $25.00, if a county resident wishes to view what their own check contains, and can be found at this webpage: http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/security.php.

The second one is a fingerprint-based background check for those who are required to have them by a business or legal entity, or a pre-employment condition. Click the following link to begin this particular background check process: http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/.

To rule out an individual being a local registered sex offender, check their name in the Megan’s Law sex offender registry at this link: http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/.