Monterey County, California Criminal Records

A background check is the process of viewing any records available to gain a glimpse into the integrity, moral standing, and past history of an individual being considered for an important position. Depending on the position, job, or post being offered, a background check can be basic or extensive. Some background checks merely check for any criminal history such as a felony conviction, while others may go as far investigate all of a person’s past places of employment. Some background checks for positions of trust, like caring for the elderly, mentally disabled, or young children, can even involve fingerprinting. Criminal records are fairly easy to obtain in most states, although a processing fee may be required for their access.

Court Records

You can glean much of the information you need for a background check from readily available public records such as criminal and court records. For court records in Monterey County, California, you will need to request them from the Monterey County Superior Court System. Two of the six total branches of the Superior Court deal with criminal cases, and their contact information are as follows:

Salinas Division
240 Church Street, Salinas CA 93901

Phone: 831-775-5400

King City Division

250 Franciscan Way, King City CA 93930

Phone: 831-386-5200

Court is open to the general public between the hours of 8:00am – 4:00pm, Monday through Friday. The Monterey Superior court also has website, which contains a wealth of additional information about the court system, including a criminal case record search. The court’s website is located at this link: http://www.monterey.courts.ca.gov/Default.aspx.

Public Records

Probably the most useful public records pertaining to a person’s background check are the local criminal records on file with the county sheriff’s office. In Monterey County, you can find the sheriff at the following address: 1414 Natividad Road, Salinas, California 93906. The sheriff’s non-emergency telephone number is 831-755-5111, and can be called during normal business hours. If you wish to contact the sheriff via e-mail, you should forward all inquiries to this address: webmaster@co.monterery.ca.us. To visit the sheriff online for more details about how to obtain records, click the following link: http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/sheriff/Default.htm.

Online Resources

If you need to make sure that the person you are doing a background check on has not been a past criminal offender or parolee with the California Department of Corrections, check their online offender database. This is a free service provided to web users, and can be located by clicking this link: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Reports_Research/Inmate_Locator.html.

The California Department of Justice makes it easy and convenient for residents of California to run their own background check from their website. Results are usually returned within 72 hours, and to begin the process, you simply go to their webpage: http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/security.php.

If an organization requires you to order and procure your own official fingerprint-based background check, you can also go through the California DOJ online. There is a webpage for an automated official background check located at this link: http://ag.ca.gov/fingerprints/.

To use the Megan’s Law sex offender registry in your background check process, simply go to the online webpage that houses the database, located here: http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/