Sleaze ball or sweetheart? A new cell phone app claims it can help singles tell the difference.

Date Check allows you to run a criminal background check and more on your potential mate. And a whole lot more – their slogan, Look Up Before You Hook Up covers a lot of territory, here.

Once it's downloaded on an iPhone, Blackberry, or Android phone, the application only needs a name or cell phone number to search publicly available records.

If you activate the app's Sleaze Detector, it scans criminal records to determine if anyone with that name has been charged with drug possession, assault and battery, sex crimes, DUI and other offenses. Again, this is all information available to the public – the app just runs several searches all at once and gives you the results. Wouldn’t you like to know if the guy picking you up isn’t allowed to live within half a mile of a school?

If you click Net Worth, it looks for information about home ownership and property value.
It can also check social networking sites, such as LinkedIn to provide employment and education information.

"Date Check is like having a private investigator in your purse," John Arnold, co-founder of Intelius and executive vice president of business development, said in a statement. "Letting a stranger into your life is a huge risk, and in the age of Internet anonymity, a simple online search isn't enough to tell you everything you need to know. "

This application, the company says, "gives singles a safer way to mingle."

But though the app itself is free, the services can cost up to $40, depending on the kind of searches that are selected, so use this application with caution. Also, be aware that there are a lot of Bob Smiths out there, so there might be some muddled results on your search unless you can be more specific than that.