Locally, the Jefferson County Appraisal District has an excellent website available at www.jcad.org. By clicking on Property Search, public real estate records for Jefferson County can be searched by account number, name, or address. An advanced search feature can search by owners name, subdivision, range of street numbers, deed number, or value. Many other counties and taxing entities around the country offer similar services.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has a website at records.txdps.state.tx.us where Megans Law registered sex offenders are listed (free), and where detailed criminal histories can be obtained (fee). Clicking on the Sex Offender Search link on the left side of the page opens a page where the site Caveats are listed, and must be accepted. Once opened, the database can be searched by name, date of birth, city, and zip code. Recently, the DPS added a mapping function, where an address can be entered, and a map is dynamically created centered on the given address, with the location of registered sex offenders shown in relation to the address. I do a Megans Law presentation for most of the Sociology classes at Lamar Institute of Technology, and I ask students to volunteer a zip code. Once the list is generated, the offender list shows the name and address, date of birth, gender, race, and physical characteristics of the offender. A click on the magnifying glass icon adjacent to each listing will open that listing, where detailed information on the offender is available, often including a photograph, as well as the crimes for which they have been convicted which mandate the listing, and, sadly, the demographics of the victim (usually a child). I am frequently asked what is the meaning of the number listed adjacent to the offense; it is the section of the penal code for which the individual was convicted. To search the general conviction database, click on the link on the left of the page. First time users are required to register. Once registered, credits can be purchased to pay for the searches.
One of the more popular commercial (fee based) websites with a massive amount of available information is PublicData at www.publicdata.com. Based in Irving, Texas, the site is now nominally located offshore in order to avoid the regulations in some states controlling the internet availability of such records. For an annual fee of $25, up to 250 searches (10 cents each) can be completed; volume users can get an even lower per-search rate. Sex offender searches for 25 states (including Texas and Louisiana) are available for free from the opening page at publicdata.com. For the fee, this site offers criminal record information from 37 states (including Texas), and drivers license information from 9 states, Texas included. Once a license appears on the screen, clicking on the link for the address will show all licensed drivers at that address; clicking on the nine-digit zip code on the license will show a list of licensed neighbors. Utilizing public information gleaned from the Department of Motor Vehicles listings for 11 states (Texas included), the registered owner of a vehicle is available based on the license plate number. Similarly, from 11 states (Texas), vehicle ownership can be traced by VIN number. Civil court records are available from three states, and Dallas County. Voter registration information is available for Ohio, and Texas, as well as separate listings for Harris and Dallas counties.
Other Texas specific information includes the registries from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Medical Examiner (physicians licenses), and Texas Real Estate Commission licensees. It should be noted that these same Texas listings are available for no charge directly from the agency websites. Other listings on PublicData.Com are aircraft registrations, and other federal registrations, including Federal Elections Commission (campaign contributions), Federal Firearms Licenses, and the Social Security Death Index. Again, this information is also available directly at no charge from the source.
The State of Texas has a listing on its main page at www.Texas.gov for free listings of Occupational and Professional Licenses. This listing includes licensing information or directories for almost 100 professions in Texas, ranging from A/C Refrigeration Contractors to Well Drillers and Pump Installers. Information on physicians is available from the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners at www.tsbme.state.tx.us, which includes education, hospital privileges, certifications, disciplinary actions, criminal history, malpractice complaints, awards, honors, publications, and other information. Similar databases are available on nurses (online license verification at www.bne.state.tx.us), real estate agents (licensee information search at www.trec.state.tx.us), and other professions.
These sites are just the proverbial tip of the iceberg as there are many other sites listing personal information. AT&T provides comprehensive telephone listings at www.anywho.com, where a reverse lookup (searching by phone number) is popular.
Personally, I have often found these and other public information sites most helpful for a variety of legitimate purposes, and hope to see them continued. My fear is that a small minority of users will abuse the information resulting in unfair restrictions on the rest of us.
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