Have you ever wanted to run a criminal background check on a potential new roommate or that creepy looking guy your daughter is dating? Docket in Your Pocket (DYP), which officially launched today, will let you perform a simple criminal records check in about five seconds on your smartphone.

The service currently only has access to criminal records in Pennsylvania, but co-founder Matt Haindfield, an attorney in Iowa, tells LAUNCH they are looking to expand to places with major metropolitan areas.

The current DYP database contains data obtained from the State of Pennsylvania dating back to Jan. 1, 2000. Users can find public records related to criminal charges, lawsuits, civil judgments, traffic offenses as well as access to some civil court records.

The DYP app for Android and iOS are available for $2.99 in both the iTunes App store and Android Marketplace.

The DYP database of court information is updated twice a week and its users can access those records the day after DYP receives the update from the state. DYP also has a system in place to remove records expunged by the state.

Matt tells LAUNCH that he had the idea for DYP while in the middle of a deposition with a witness he believed was being untruthful. He didn't have a lot of time to get to a computer, so he tried accessing the Supreme Court's website to look for the record on his iPhone, but found the menus were difficult to navigate and the whole process took too much time.

He searched for an app, but there wasn't one that provided reliable information so he began working on the project Labor Day weekend 2010.

DYP was first released on the Android platform in December 2010, because it was the easiest to create the project for, Matt says.

The company solicited feedback from attorneys and members of law enforcement to use the product and ensure the accuracy and completeness of the database.

While there will be some people who don't want people to have such easy access to their criminal records, Matt says, it's a matter of public record and in the interest of public safety it's better to have the information out than not.

SCREENSHOTS

You can search for a person's records by searching through a combination of a person's name, docket type, county and even birth year.

Here is an example of the type of results you will get using DYP.

After selecting a specific case, a user can read through the details included on the public record.

CONTACTS & LINKS

Docket in Your Pocket
Website: http://docketinyourpocket.com/
Twitter: @docketinpocket http://www.twitter.com/#!/docketinpocket
iTunes App Store: http://lnch.is/sOOUDv
Android Marketplace: http://lnch.is/uTCqK7

Matt Haindfield, co-founder
Email: Matt at Docketinyourpocket dot com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/matthew-haindfield/11/8a9/aa8

LAUNCH Blog