Find and Access Police Arrests Information

The police forces of the United States of America are entrusted with the maintenance of law and order. They also help to safeguard the life and property of the residents and are responsible for containing crime within their areas of authorization. Individuals violating the law are detained or taken in custody by the law enforcement authorities of the region and placed under police arrests. The term arrest denotes restricting the liberty of an individual for the purpose of investigation or as a means of crime prevention.

The policing of the entire nation are carried out at different levels of the country. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) [http://www.fbi.gov] forms the highest ranking authority and can arrest persons found guilty of crimes across all the states of America. The state police is positioned at the intermediary level with all the state troopers as well as the highway patrols belonging to the state unit. The lowest level is formed by the sheriffs’ departments, city police forces as well as a few other county police agencies which operate at the county level of each of the 50 US states.

Arrest Procedure

All police arrests have to follow a standard procedure. The police normally handcuff the suspected offender guilty of serious crimes like felony or misdemeanors. The offender is then taken to the police station or jail for incarceration on the basis of suspicion alone. The suspect continues to remain in custody until the bail amount is deposited or an arraignment takes place.

The police can also issue a summons or a notice to appear in court on a specific date and time to the offender if the charge involves a minor traffic infraction or a petty misdemeanor. Failure to appear at the court entails a separate charge altogether and the police has every right to arrest the offender based on this ground.

The police is not required to read the Miranda Warning to the arrested individual during the time of his detention. Failing to caution the suspect of his/her rights during interrogation becomes a violation of the law in itself. The breach of a court order permits the police to arrest the offender on non-criminal charges known as a contempt of court. The statistics of the police arrests made nationwide can be viewed by accessing http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm

Offenses leading to Police Arrests

Serious crimes against persons amounting to a homicide or a manslaughter, a brutal rape or an aggravated assault is considered to be an arrestable arrest under the law of the United States of America. Burglary, theft, arson or forcible detention of a citizen of the country are criminal offenses as well and the police has every right to make an arrest in such circumstances. The drug trafficking offenders are liable to be arrested by the police even without an arrest warrant particularly when the police recovers the drugs from their vehicles or on their person.

Certain offenses against the judicial system of the country amounting to misprision or preventing the natural course of justice may result in arrests as well. Giving false information or seeking the help of the police unnecessarily is an offense too resulting in a formal arrest. Instances of domestic violence as well as landlord tenant disputes may initiate the police into arresting the offender. However, in case of civil arrests the arrest warrant becomes an absolute necessity and the suspect cannot be apprehended by the police on Sundays or on holidays.

Minor traffic infractions as well as the local rule violations often end in arrests as well. The Gun Control Law is enforced in the States of New Jersey, Washington, New York and Chicago. Possessing private arms is deemed illegal in these states and the offender may be arrested by the police after confiscation of the concerned weapon.

Arrest Records

Most of the states of America have now adopted the ‘Open Records’ policy and allow the members of the general public to access all forms of the arrest records. The objective behind this facility is to promote general awareness among the residents who will then find it necessary to take adequate protection against the offenders inhabiting their neighborhood.

The arrest records also form the main basis of the background checks. Most employers as well as business partners do search for arrest records before making a concrete offer. Ruling out instances of the criminal history also becomes mandatory specially when you are on the verge of hiring an unknown domestic care giver or a live in nanny for your kids. It is also possible for you to find out the existence of your own arrest record by visiting the local police station in your area.

Requesting the police for specific records will enable you to search through all the records including those where the charges have been dropped or termed as reasonable doubt cases, plea bargains as well as other forms of compromises.

The criminal records under the federal jurisdiction may be viewed by accessing the Public Access Electronic system for the court records online at http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/ . The arrests which ended in dismissals or acquittals cannot be viewed from this system.

A few US states allow the public to access their arrest records. A statewide search of the Florida arrest records, for instance,can be made by logging in to http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/CriminalHistory .

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Public Records can be contacted at (850) 410-8109 for additional information on the arrest records of the state. The individual police stations as well as the county courts need to be contacted if you are interested in finding out about the arrests made for minor offenses.

The State Police of Illinois, on the other hand, can be contacted at (217) 782-6637 for retrieving specific information about the police arrests pertaining to the state. You can also download a request form from http://www.isp.state.il.us/services/uciaformreq.cfm in order to get the relevant information.

Texas shares most of its arrest records with its residents except those considered to be non-public information. The citizens can directly contact the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) – Executive Services at P.O. Box 99, Huntsville, TX 77342-0099 or E-mail at exec.services@tdcj.state.tx.us. The requests can also be made by Facsimile at 936.437.2125.