Here's how to background-check your Valentine's Day date (2024)

He's sexy, he's funny, he's got an edge. She's beautiful, she's smart, she's got a wild side.

Your new boo is perfect, but why do you always have to drive?

In the world of online dating, potential mates often meet without exchanging last names, let alone criminal histories. Though this information is public record, it's not tracked by regular search engines like Google, meaning you'll have to dig a little deeper.

Luckily, Arizona makes it easy to find almost any brush with the law in the state from the comfort of your own computer. Here are six places you can search — five online — to do your due diligence and keep yourself safe. (You will need a last name.)

http://www.azcourts.gov/

In Arizona, all non-federal courts report to the state's Supreme Court, which runs this website. The information offered on azcourts.gov alone is minimal, but it's where you'll want to begin any criminal check.The site's search engine encompasses nearly every municipal and criminal courtinside the state, meaning you'll find everything from traffic tickets to major felony offenses.

To start, click on the "Case Search" tile, and then enter the person's first and last name. If it's a common name, you'll also need their month and year of birth.

This site will let you know the date of any charged offense,direct you to the court that handled it, and tell you the disposition — i.e. whether the person pleaded guilty, was acquitted, etc. For the juicier details, you'll have to move on to the specific court's website or make a trip to the clerk of the court's office.

http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/

If your sweetheart turns up in the criminal section of a superior court website (like Maricopa County's), he or she was once facing a felony charge. This doesn't necessarily mean they were convicted, so make sure you poke around for details. The site will give you the dates of court appearances and a list of documents filed for the case.

From the home page, click on "get case information," then "criminal court cases" and enter the name. Again, watch out for the birthday.

For a bit more detail on what went on during those court appearances, check out the case's minute entries. (This doesn't cover sex crime cases, however.) To do this, copy the case number, visithttp://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/CriminalCourtCases/Index.asp, and click on Minute Entries. Paste the case number into the search bar there, and delete the hyphen.

Family court

Want to check on the status of that "divorce"? In Maricopa County, visit http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/FamilyCourtCases/and simply enter the name. Find a "consent decree," "decree of dissolution" or the like, and congrats! Your hunny is (legally) single and ready to mingle.

Sex offender registry

The Arizona Department of Public Safety's sex-offender registry is a more robust search engine than most, offering searches by city, address, email address as well as name. The registry also showcases the dozens of offenders who are out of compliance. Check outhttp://www.icrimewatch.net/index.php?AgencyID=55662.

Clerk of the Court's Office

OK, yes, he has an armed robbery charge, but was it really that bad? Was anyone hurt? Was he maybe just the unwitting accomplice?

The only way you'll find the dirty details is by driving down to the clerk of the court's office. For Maricopa County Superior Court, this is located at 601 W. Jackson St.in Phoenix. Walk downstairs and you'll see a room of computers occupied by attorneys, journalists, and people just like you!

Hop on one of the computers, enter the name and date of birth, and you should see a list of searchable documents. For a basic breakdown of the allegations, find the document labeled "direct complaint." More often than not, this will contain what's known as a Form IV, which details a police officer's probable cause for arrest. (If you want the full police report, you'll have to submit a request to the arresting agency, which can sometimes take months.)

If the case is older, you may get lucky enough to snag a presentencing report. This is a document filled out by the defendant's probation officer, outlining the aggravating and mitigating factors that should weigh into the sentencing. Read: Lots of dirt here. You'll get witness statements, juvenile records, and comments your boo made to the probation officer.

Department of Corrections

If you find your date on the DOC website, the bad news is he or she has done hard time. The good news is... photos! You can find both current and former inmates on the site's data search (https://corrections.az.gov/public-resources/inmate-datasearch), and cross-reference the name with their booking photo. Click on their inmate number and scroll through all the details of their time behind bars, including sentence length and disciplinary actions. Bonus: There's an official record of his real height.