Doing warrant searches can pull up a whole lot of information. That being said, a lot of people are new to this process so they have a lot of questions. That’s perfectly fine, we’re here to learn about it together today so you can have a better idea of what you’re doing.
Knowing exactly what kind of information you can hope to get out of this kind of search can make all the difference in the world when you’re doing this kind of search. Not knowing what to expect can send you down the wrong path and, ultimately, leave you without the information that you wanted to get.
It can be a little confusing with all of the types of records that are kept by the criminal justice system here in the United States. Certainly, there are even some lawyers that get confused from time to time, even though law is the field that they dedicated their lives to.
So, let’s dive headfirst into this subject so we can all have a better understanding of this subject so you can be sure that you’re always getting all of the information that you need in order to be satisfied with the results of your search.
How is Criminal History and Warrant Information Connected?
There are a lot of intricacies in the criminal justice system of the United States. A lot of records are kept, a lot of people are involved, and a lot of these things are a lot more connected than one might realize at first glance.
Two things that are very connected as arrest warrants and criminal records. But how might these two things be connected? Well, it all has to do with one of the many processes that occur within the criminal justice system.
Here’s the breakdown and what records are related to each step:
- A warrant is issued by a judge or magistrate.
- This is related to warrant information, of course.
- The suspect is apprehended by the police.
- This would go onto the suspect’s arrest record.
- The suspect is tried in court for their crimes.
- The trial is recorded in court records.
- If the suspect is:
- Found not guilty:
- This is the end of the records that are kept.
- Found guilty.
- It would be logged in their criminal record.
This process can start with step two or step three, depending on the exact nature of the events that transpire. For example, someone could be caught red-handed for a crime. Then a warrant wouldn’t be issued.
Someone could also turn themself in for a crime that they weren’t suspected of, then this process would also start with step three, or step two depending on your perspective and how you define “being apprehended by the police.”
That being said, this process can never start after step three. That’s because you have a right to a fair and speedy trial. In the United States, you are innocent until proven guilty. In order to establish guilt, you have to be tried for whatever crimes you’re suspected of.
It would actually be a violation of your rights to not try you for your crimes before sentencing you. This is something that is guaranteed to you in one of the most important documents in the United States, the constitution. Specifically, the 6th amendment guarantees this.
What You Find When You do a Warrant Search
There are a lot of things when you do a warrant search. Most of those things would be pretty obvious to most people without much of a second thought. For example:
- The name of the suspect.
- The crimes they are believed to have committed.
- The county in which the warrant was issued.
- The date the warrant was issued.
- Physical description of the suspect.
It’s not an exact science because every state handles how warrants are filled out a little differently and each county controls what information is put out, but generally, that’s what you could be able to expect when you look into someone’s warrant information.
Now, what about someone’s criminal record? A criminal record is handled by the same people that handle warrant information, so one would assume that you could find them both in the same place.
Well, that would most certainly be nice if it was always the case, but it’s actually only the case if you use certain methods. We’ll cover those in a moment. Generally speaking, if you’re looking for warrants through something like a sheriff’s department’s database, you’re not likely to find criminal records there.
In most counties, the only reason why warrants are provided is that it can allow the opportunity for suspects to turn themselves in. That can avoid some pretty sticky situations involving the police that aren’t fun for anyone involved in the slightest.
Having warrants available also gives suspects the time to get their affairs in order before they get turned in. That can include things like finding a lawyer, getting someone to watch their pets or children, or really any number of other things. That’s important because once you’re arrested it could be a little while before you’ll have the chance to get those things taken care of.
Most people prefer not having to rush when they have to ask the people in their lives to help them take care of their affairs while they’re in jail, and if you’re pulled in out of the blue you really don’t have much time at all to get these things sorted.
Imagine only having a phone call to get everything in your life sorted out while you’re going to be gone for potentially years. A single phone call to get everything taken care of before it’s entirely too late for that.
That’s why a lot of people like to make sure that they don’t have any warrants before going about their days, and if they do they want to make sure that they can get everything handled as quickly as possible before turning themselves in, or doing whatever it is that their attorney says is a good idea.
How Can a Warrant Search show Criminal Records?
Now, you may be wondering to yourself, “if a regular warrant search won’t reveal someone’s criminal record, how could you find that information?” because, for some reason or another, this information is something that is relevant to your life.
People have a lot of different reasons for looking into this kind of information. Whether they want to make sure that the person they’re about to go on a date with is at least a relatively safe person or they just have some curiosity about their distant neighbor’s life.
Whatever the reason you’ve decided that it would be important to find someone’s criminal record, knowing how to do so is important. This task can feel impossible if you don’t know what you’re doing, especially if you just tried searching through your county or state’s department of correction’s website.
So, what does one do if they want to find someone’s criminal record along with any warrant information that might be available? There aren’t a whole lot of ways to do this, but the ways that exist are all very efficient and could have you with the answers that you seek pretty quickly.
The best way to go about this is to use something called a personal background check service. Personal background check services are incredibly powerful tools that anyone could use, no matter how bad they might be with technology.
All you need to do is find a good personal background check service, enter the required information into the corresponding fields, this information usually consists of the first name, last name, and current state of the person in question, then hit enter and the website will do the hard work for you.
These services are able to provide accurate and detailed records from all over the country incredibly quickly. Most of these services are able to pull these records instantly, which means that you can get the results just as quickly as the next page loads on your phone, laptop, or tablet.
If you’re looking to find out about someone’s criminal history, there’s really no better way to go about it. The best part is, these services are also able to pull warrant information. That makes these services that much more powerful to have at your fingertips. You can find out about just about any interactions the person in question has had with the legal system this way.
Get the Right Information the First Time
People all over the country want to find all sorts of information on other people every single day. It doesn’t matter what part of the country you look at, there are lots of people that have this very same interest and want to know how to get this information.
Fortunately, because of the advancements in technology over the last few decades, you can easily get all of the information that you need and more. All it really takes is knowing how to look and you can get everything that you need pretty easily.