the.com/rap sheet
a paper biography written entirely by people who arrested you.
means A rap sheet is a person's official criminal record, listing arrests, charges, and convictions as compiled by law enforcement.
from The "sheet" is the literal page of records. The "rap" comes from old slang where a "rap" meant a criminal charge or accusation — to "take the rap" was to take the blame, and to "beat the rap" was to escape conviction. This sense traces back to the verb "rap" meaning to strike or knock, which by extension came to mean a sharp accusation or rebuke. The term "rap sheet" itself crystallized in American police and underworld speech in the early 20th century.
- origin
- rap meant criminal charge in 1900s slang
- official name
- the FBI calls it an identification record
- long lives
- arrests can linger even after charges drop
- the flex
- some treat clearing it like a credit score
- sealing
- expungement can legally erase entries entirely
al capone — arrested 1931 with charges including tax evasion, operated chicago organized crime for years
bernie madoff — convicted 2009 for $65 billion ponzi scheme, longest-running financial fraud in history
john dillinger — fbi's public enemy #1 in 1930s, shot dead in chicago 1934 after numerous bank robberies