A criminal history record can be created in a series of different ways:
The first and most popularly understood method for how a criminal record is created is when a person is handcuffed and arrested by a law enforcement officer. The second most popularly understood method for how criminal records are created is when a person is indicted, but this list doesn’t end there.
Other methods for how criminal records are created are when a person is not arrested but instead issued a ‘Notice to Appear’ (in court that is), or when information or other charging document is filed by a prosecutor.
So, as you can see, there is more than one way for a criminal history record to come into being. But creating a criminal record is relatively easy, however, erasing a criminal record, not so much. Another interesting fact about criminal history records is that there are significant constitutional differences that apply to a single criminal arrest record. What do we mean? As you may well know from your middle school civics class, the United States Constitution has three branches of government: The Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, and the Judicial Branch. And just like the U.S. Constitution, the Florida Constitution (which is an extremely important document!) also has the same three branches of government, but at the State level.
Therefore, when a criminal record is created, there is more than one record created, in fact, there are in theory infinite records created.
Why? How? What do we mean?
Because as soon as an arrest record is entered into the law enforcement agencies' systems, it is copied forward into the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s systems, the FBI, Homeland Security, and most shockingly, private third-party criminal background companies; the same companies which then plaster your mugshot all over the internet.
