Free Arrest Reports
May 27th, 2008 by Jed Elaine
While it’s reassuring to see so many websites on the net posting Public Arrest Reports for people’s awareness and information, it’s also disturbing to note the rate of occurrence of such incidents. These reports send informative and cautionary messages simultaneously to both the public and potential delinquents alike. They can also be individually retrieved for its own specific purpose.
An Arrest Report constitutes a complete list of arrestees over a specific period duration accompanied with information details on personal particulars, situation of the incidents and charges of each case. It stands as an official record of detention or enforced custody by an authorized agency and will be documented into the respective individual file of each of the arrestees.
Public Arrest Reports are mostly generated by the Police although there are other government agencies which are also authorized to do so. As a result, they are also known as Public Police Reports. Police come under state jurisdiction so there may be variations between the states but by and large, the function in regards to Public Arrest Reports is tasked to the respective individual Police Departments.
It is standard procedure that an Arrest Report is put up soon after the police has made an arrest and submit it to the assigned Case Intake Prosecutor for further proceedings. The report basically summarizes the events leading up to the arrest along with numerous other details like personal particulars and bio-data of the arrestee, time and place, case number, grounds, witnesses information and even weather conditions.
Public Arrest Reports are posted on various media by many Police Departments and Sheriff Offices for public viewing and attention. Weekly update is the norm but there is no fixed schedule, with some as frequent as live and some at monthly intervals. Cumulative lists over the years are also commonly available. Such reports are usually of a collective nature listing all arrests conducted over a certain period within a particular locality. Expunged records and those of arrestees below a certain age are usually omitted.
Apart from carrying out Standard Operating Procedures and fulfilling documentation requirements, Public Arrest Reports are raised as statement or evidence by the arresting agency to aid the Prosecutor or Grand Jury in fixing the appropriate charges. They also play a key role in the determination of bail, plea bargain or trial tactics and Prosecutors are known to make decisions by just cursorily reviewing these reports.
Public Arrest Reports are Public Records which are mandated by law as a right to anyone to retrieve. As such, they can be requested from government agencies which are tasked with the function. Not unlike most public services, there are procedures to follow and lead-time to wait through. That’s why if time is of the essence, people turn to commercial record providers which can deliver in a matter of minutes.
