Finding Records of Outstanding Warrants

Outstanding warrants are arrest warrants that have not been served yet. An arrest warrant may be an outstanding warrant if the person mentioned in the warrant avoids the law enforcement authorities intentionally, or the law enforcement agency supposed to conduct the arrest has a backlog of warrants to execute, or a combination of these two factors. Outstanding warrants are a variant of arrest warrants. Warrants are usually issued for misdemeanors. However, if the police have enough reasons to believe that a person has committed a crime, the individual may be arrested without a warrant.

Warrants are issued by the courts. A warrant is issued if any particular crime is committed and the person mentioned in the warrant is believed to have committed the crime. Active warrants are also regarded as outstanding warrants until they are executed.

It is important to know that warrants do not have any expiry date as such. An arrest warrant never expires. So if you have a warrant issued against your name, it will not expire till it is executed.

Records of Outstanding Warrants

Almost all the states maintain arrest records as a part of their criminal records. These records contain details of all the persons with arrest warrants and also outstanding warrants against their names. The records also keep a track of why the person was arrested and the events that followed the arrest; why the person was arrested, whether he was proved guilty of the charges against him, and the punishments sentenced by the court. These records in most of the states are accessible by the common man. In a few states the records are selectively restricted for view only to the law enforcement agencies or other authorized personnel.

Checking the Records

The records are viewed by various employment agencies for performing pre-employment background checks.You may want to check the records too for several purposes. You may want to perform a background check on a neighbor or your new baby sitter. You may also want to see your own records, to see if there is an arrest warrant against your name. It often happens that you broke the speed limit or you unknowingly broke the parking rules and forgot to pay the fine. An arrest warrant will be issued in your name in these cases and you may never know. If you check your own outstanding warrant records you may come to know about these and take the necessary steps. It is always better to show up on your own in the court than to have a policeman drag you in.

Another very important reason why you may want to see your own records is so that you can clear them. If you have any previous arrest record, it might prove to be potentially hazardous to several aspects of your life. The records might prevent you from getting employed. One way to stop this is to expunge your records. You may contact the authority of your state or county and request the expunging of your records. You may know about the proceedings by visiting the official website of the state or county you reside in.

Warrants help in conducting any criminal investigation. But outstanding warrants may prove to be harmful for your career and also your personal life. By viewing your own arrest records you may avoid future complications. By viewing others’ records you can ensure safety to your family.
 

State-Specific Outstanding Warrant Information:

Texas Outstanding Warrant