Politics is often considered a cutthroat world where appearance matters and one small slip-up can ruin a political career. However, it’s also a world where many individuals in the general public have a sense of distrust toward the political figures they are exposed to and believe that corruption is rampant.
As such, it’s easy to believe that many politicians have criminal records or have been involved in criminal activities – discovering this information about the politicians representing you or asking for your votes is an essential part of vetting political candidates and staying informed.
Our article discusses why criminal records matters for politicians and the best methods for researching a politician to determine if they have any previous notable criminal activity on their record.
Why Do Criminal Records Matter for Politicians?
A large part of politics in today’s world is appearances. Politicians that want to win over votes, earn the trust of the people, and make a name for themselves and the political items that they stand by need to appear neat, composed, and unflappable at all times if they want to achieve these things.
All of that being said, criminal records are an incredibly important item for politicians to keep under control if they want to make a good impression on the individuals around them.
That’s not to say that having a criminal record discounts a certain politician and their viewpoints, but rather that politicians need to have a game plan when it comes to previous criminal offenses. Some politicians make names for themselves by embracing previous offenses or using them to point out flaws of a system in a way that adheres to their viewpoint.
The problems with criminal records for politicians occur when an elected politician or popular public political figure makes attempts to hide their criminal record, or commits offenses while elected and either attempts to hide these items or gives no remorse about the activities they were caught doing.
Simply put, politics is highly appearance-based, and a criminal record, not to mention how a politician handles it, matters when it comes to the general public opinion of that politician.
Politicians With Criminal Records – What You Need to Know
If you are unsure which politicians have criminal records, or you want to perform more research on local political figures and ensure they align with your ideals, you can use some of the search methods below to discover this information.
Run a Criminal Record Check
Performing a criminal records check (like the one linked from Information.com) is an easy way to figure out whether or not a politician has a criminal record. All criminal records are counted as public record, and utilizing an online search tool will help to pull this information and compile it in one place so you can look through it.
Search Public Record Manually
Manually searching through public records for criminal records that belong to a politician might be more time-consuming, but it is an effective, thorough way to discover any hidden or undisclosed criminal records.
You can access most public records for different states online via county websites or public records offices. Keep in mind that you might need to pay a fee to search through these areas even online or to have this information returned to you via a document or report.
Stay Informed of Current News
Current news is the best place to figure out whether or not a politician that you are following has been convicted of a crime or has a criminal record from recent times.
Most fair news reporting outlets will give a rundown of the crime or conviction that a politician has been charged with and any other important information such as how the politician is handling the criminal record information or if they are trying to cover up their criminal offenses.
Staying informed of current news from a variety of sources will help give you the best, most accurate picture of politicians and their criminal records.
Evaluating Your Political Choices
Politics is often a hot-button subject in today’s world, and there are many politicians out there looking to gain your trust or earn your votes. It’s important to thoroughly evaluate your political choices so that you can make an informed decision about who you are voting for, who might be representing you, and what their potential criminal history looks like.
With this information, you can make the best choices about politicians in your jurisdiction and ensure you are supporting something that aligns with your personal views.
