A City Background Check: Performing a Tampa Warrant Search & Tracing Arrest Records
Background checks are usually run on several different levels - starting with the lowest level, the city, and ending with the state. In this article we’ll be covering what you need to know in order to perform a Tampa warrant search and find arrest records so as to make certain that people you interact with on a day-to-day basis will not put you, your loved ones or the business you worked so hard to build in danger. We will then moved on to inquiries using the resources Hillsborough County puts at your disposal, and we will finish with a criminal history search on a state level.
A City-Level Criminal Background Check - Finding Tampa Warrants & Arrest Records
To Start your Tampa warrant search go to the Records Unit of the city police (TPD) located at 411 N. Franklin St., Tampa, Florida 33602, phone number: 813-276-3200 and simply inquire whether the one you are checking is a wanted person. The police have no problem disclosing this type of information for reasons of public safety.
To save you time, you can file an online request for police records at: https://cityoftampa.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/(S(rgqeekr4ri0jhgaxmn4nwyde))/RequestSelect.aspx?sSessionID=. You will need to sign up and you may be charged a couple of dollars search fee depending on the type of docket you wish to view.
Your record request can also include incarcerations made by the TPD, and so you can use it to garner information on Tampa arrest records.
Moving on to the County Level
A Tampa warrant search is limited to the city jurisdiction. Since most court proceedings happen on the county level, we advise that you expand your background check to the county level.
The first thing you should do is turn to the Sheriff Office. They have an online inquiry tool (http://webapps.hcso.tampa.fl.us/WarrantInquiry/) which presents warrants in Hillsborough County. It's a free name-based search and results include the suspect's personal details, body traits and address as well as the court where the warrant was issued, case number, the agency that asked for the arrest, charge description and offense date.
The Sheriff's website can also be utilized to inquire about Hillsborough County arrest records. This website contains an inmate search tool through which you can trace current detainees by inserting a name, booking date or booking number.
Another option is looking for criminal court records. These records provide valuable information regarding convictions in court and jail/prison sentences. They can also be searched electronically on the website of the Clerk of Court at https://hover.hillsclerk.com/html/case/caseSearch.html.
Looking up Statewide Records
There are also resources available that enable you to do a comprehensive Florida background check. To get information on a person's incarceration history in all of FL counties, refer to the FDLE Computerized Criminal History (CHH). Pay attention, each search will cost you $24.00 +$1.00 credit card fee.
To find out about outstanding warrants in Florida, use the wanted people search maintained by the FDLE's Crime Information Center (the Public Access System found at http://pas.fdle.state.fl.us/pas/restricted/PAS/person/WantedPersons.jsf)
Lastly, to check if a person has ever been charged and convicted of a sex offense, refer to the FDLE's Sexual Offender and Predators Search (https://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/sops/offenderSearch.js). You can track an offender by name, city, county, Zip code offender type or status and state status (in-state or out-of-state persons).
Tampa Crime Rates
In the course of 2021, Tampa suffered from 2,146 violent crimes including 41 murders, 105 rapes, 329 robberies and 1,671 aggravated assaults. A person chances of falling victim to a violent crime were 1 in 179 compared to 1 in 258 in all of Florida. The city also had to cope with 6,292 property crimes which consisted of 938 burglaries, 4,674 larceny cases and 680 motor vehicle thefts. A person's chances of falling victim to a property crime were 1 in 61 versus 1 in 56 in the entire state. Overall crime rate was 21.92 per 1,000 residents.