What does a TCIC/NCIC inquiry typically not provide?

A TCIC (Texas Crime Information Center) and NCIC (National Crime Information Center) inquiry is designed to provide a wide range of law enforcement-related information, but it does not typically offer a complete criminal history.

The purpose of TCIC/NCIC inquiries is to give law enforcement access to pertinent real-time data such as information on missing persons, details about active warrants, and reports on stolen property. Each of these categories is crucial for immediate investigative purposes and ensures that law enforcement has the necessary information at their fingertips when responding to incidents or inquiries.

However, a complete criminal history encompasses detailed records that may include every arrest, conviction, and contextual information about a person’s interactions with the legal system over time. This comprehensive history is generally maintained in local or state databases and is not fully represented in the TCIC/NCIC database, which focuses on specific, actionable data relevant to ongoing investigations or incidents. Thus, it's understandable that the complete criminal history is not typically provided within the confines of a TCIC/NCIC inquiry.