Criminal Records Resources
Databases/Websites
Some of these will be free and some will require a subscription. Many of these sites, such as Ancestry, have a TON of free databases to search in (they call them catalogs). And often if there is a catalog that you have to pay to access on one site, it may be free on another. So don't fret!
- Ancestry - Court, Governmental, & Criminal Records (933 catalogs)
- More content coming soon!
State & National Government Sites
United States Court Records - https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/United_States_Court_Records
State Prison/Historical Websites
Cyndi's List - Prisons, Prisoners & Outlaws:
- Full List - https://www.cyndislist.com/prisons/
- California - https://www.cyndislist.com/us/ca/prisons/
- New York - https://www.cyndislist.com/us/ny/prisons/
Newspapers
Newspapers are a GREAT resource to find information about criminal activity. It is usually the one resource that kicks off the adventure of learning about your criminal ancestor.
- Newspapers.com (paid site for full access) - https://www.newspapers.com
- Caifornia Digital Newspaper Collection - https://cdnc.ucr.edu/
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