Arrested – How can you find out if you have a warrant?

The following is a scenario that could very well happen to the law-abiding but somewhat forgetful average citizen:

You are having a stellar day: the weather is magnificent; You just closed a deal at the office that means a big bonus for you; and a beautiful woman (or cute guy) just gave you a nice, cheeky smile. You feel healthy, wealthy and wise. But then, as you approach your car, you see something that puts a damper on our entire day: a parking ticket under the wiper blade. You pull it out, annoyed, and once you’re in the car, you toss it into the glove box and return to your earlier, more pleasant thoughts.

A couple of months later, having completely forgotten about the parking ticket, you get pulled over for a minor moving violation. The police officer performs a routine check on the computer on board him, and finding an outstanding warrant, arrests him.

If you have reason to suspect that you have an outstanding warrant, you can verify its status by consulting the appropriate authorities. However, different cities and counties have different policies and systems regarding how information about outstanding warrants can be accessed.

In the case of New York City, the FAQ page of the NYPD website has the relevant details on who to contact. Under the question, “I think I have a warrant for my arrest. How can I find out?” they inform us that, “You may contact the Writs Section’s Telephone Inquiries Unit at (718) 217-8484. You will be asked a series of questions and an investigator will search the records for you.”

On the other hand, the FAQ page of the Los Angeles Police Department website recounts this sobering news under the heading “Wishes or Warrants”: “If you want to know if there is a pending warrant or warrant for you , you must appear in person at an LAPD Community Police Station. No specific information is provided regarding requests or warrants over the phone.”

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department maintains an online warrant inquiry system, the database of which is updated every 24 hours. Simply enter a name and date of birth in the appropriate fields to find out whether or not there is an outstanding warrant for that person. If there is, the system provides detailed information about it, including the type of order, the number, the date of issuance, the issuing court, the main charge, the degree of the offense (misdemeanor or felony), the amount of the bail and whether or not a court appearance is required. mandatory.

Many cities, like Austin, Texas, for example, give you the option of calling or looking up order details online. The Austin Municipal Court website states that, “You can call our interactive voice response system at 512-974-4800. Choose the Court Orders option from the voice menu. You can also search for your court order online… “. If you live in San Francisco County, you can contact the Central Warrant Office by phone at (415) 553-1871. The FAQ page on the City of Santa Maria California website reports that “to find out if you have a warrant, you should contact the Superior Court at (805) 614-6590.”

So when it comes to asking about outstanding warrants, who you ask and how you can get in touch with them varies from place to place. In many cases, you can get information about court orders online. For example, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has a Wanted Persons page on its Public Access System website that provides state warrant information. But they do include this disclaimer:

“FDLE cannot represent that this information is current, active, or complete. You should verify that a warrant is active with your local law enforcement or reporting agency.”

Of course, if you find that there is an active warrant for your arrest, you will need to contact your local law enforcement agency or the court that issued the warrant to find out what steps you will need to take to resolve the problem. .

One thing I do not recommend is using one of the many websites that charge a fee to find information on outstanding warrants. I do not recommend this for two reasons:

1. This is information that you can find on your own for free.
2. There is no reason to believe that these for-profit websites access or provide accurate information.