When the government made it mandatory for all criminal record offices to open their archives to the general public, many citizens were happy with the news because that means that they will be able to conduct their research about suspicious people around them.
However, there are still some people who are skeptical about the whole idea because they argue that doing that is a direct invasion of a person's privacy.
They say that making these details known to the public can be risky because it opens the possibilities of being used by others to commit identity theft or even to harass and discriminate former convicts.
While that may sound logical in the outset, the government still pushed through with the initiative because they believe that this is for the greater good of the people.
Actually, these policy changes is in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks since that was the time that major adjustments were made to ensure the security of the country.
Along with that, making criminal record resources more publicly accessible also helps families and citizens gain the protection that they deserve when it comes to criminals living around them such as those who have records about embezzlement, theft, abusive behavior and other crimes.
These days, it is even easier to obtain certified copies of these documents because there are now many online criminal record websites that people can go to if they want to do a research about anyone.
Through using the information that one could get from these resources, a person could be guided as he makes important decisions involving other people.