Have you ever stopped to think about how violent our

Have you ever stopped to think about how violent our society is? Has it always been that way or do we just hear more about it because of the increase of media coverage world side? It seems that domestic violence and abuse are one the main things that is reported nightly on the news. I know that domestic violence has been around since the beginning of time, but is it on the rise? That is a question that the experts seem to disagree on.

One thing that most experts do agree on is that domestic violence is generational. If you were born and raised in a family that settled disagreements with physical violence this is probably the way you will also deal with conflict. The best way to end this cycle is to find and practice different ways of conflict resolution with your children. Do not show them through example that hitting is a way to solve issues. This begins with forming relationships. Many of us that live in larger cities, especially if we are new to an area, have no way of knowing if a person has a history of violence. This is where criminal records search or background checks come into play. Now with the use of the internet anyone can complete a criminal records search on another person with some basic information.

In the past the ability to complete a criminal records search was limited to law enforcement officials or private investigators. Criminal records are public information, but before the information systems of today finding out this information could be time consuming because you had to go to the locations where the crimes took place. Today most law enforcement agencies as well as court administrations place this information on data bases that can be accessed through the internet. These data bases can be used by anyone once you know how to access them. A basic search, such as finding out if someone has been convicted of a crime, can be completed by knowing the persons full name and date of birth. A search may be done with only the persons first and last name and age, but if the name is common the search may not be narrow enough to insure that the information gathered is about the person you are researching. Also the information gathered is only going to be about convicted offenses, not arrests. Arrests that are not carried through to conviction are not public information so it takes a persons written consent to access this. Having the basic knowledge about someone is one way to avoid a relationship with a person with a violent past.