Just how possible is it to access the criminal records and is it possible without having to pay for it.
It's very possible to access criminal records and whether you pay for it or not depends on how thorough you want the search to be.
If you want a free inmate record search then you must be prepared to do a lot of work to get the information that you want.
Inmate records are available for public viewing in most states.
You can approach the relevant government structure that keeps these records and ask to see the record that you are interested in.
What you will get in this case is exactly that and nothing more.
If the person has any prior convictions and in different states you will not be able to know.
Luckily there are some people who have taken the time to bring together the records of all the states and archived them into a simple to search database.
If you want a free inmate record search you will probably find one or two sites that offer this service.
What you must bear in mind is that compiling this data takes time and lots of money.
I would very much doubt the reliability and correctness of free sites.
Alternatively you could try the fee based sites, for a relatively small fee you can get up to date and reliable information on the search that you want carried out.
Inside an inmates record you will find their name, the penitentiary at which they were held and the crime they were convicted for.
If you want more intricate details concerning the case you would have to access court case records, police records, etc.
The fee based sites will be able to give you all this information from just the one search.
A free inmate record search will give you only a slice of the information that you want.
Check out one or two fee based sites you will be surprised how inexpensive they are.