An Alabama outstanding arrest warrant stands out like a bright beacon for police all around. It’s logged in a central system, marking someone for arrest, and law enforcement can spot it from afar. So, when one is out there, hiding is not an option. Amazingly, more than 7.5 million of these warrants are active across the US, showing both their frequency and importance. Staying aware protects neighborhoods. Here’s a cool fact: even background checks can uncover these warrants, making them tough to escape.
When a crime is committed in front of a peace officer, an arrest can be made on the spot, the emergency provision for taking a person into custody without a warrant is also available in cases where an individual is caught with illicit substances/items on his/her person.However, if an individual has not been arrested while he is in the act of committing an illegal activity, the only way to detain him/her is through the use of a warrant.
To get a warrant, the police department has to approach a judicial entity in the county that is authorized to hear criminal cases. The judge has to be presented with all case facts including witness testimony and evidence gathered in the matter.
It is crucial for all the information to point towards a probable cause. This means that through their investigative process, the police have to prove to the judge that there is a strong likelihood the incident that has occurred is indeed a crime and that it has been committed by the person in question.
Contrary to popular belief, the magistrate is not acting on behalf of the police when issuing a warrant; the judiciary plays the role of an impartial third party that ensures the protection of the individual rights of the accused. However, after due deliberation, once the warrant has been issued, it stays active till an arrest is not made under its provisions.
If for some reason, an active arrest order is not used, it merely gets stored in the national criminal database as an outstanding warrant. You cannot get information on outstanding warrants from the local sheriff’s department or the county clerk’s office in the state of Alabama.
In fact, despite its own version of the Freedom of Information Act, private entities and individuals cannot request crime history information from police department in the state.
Looking for information on Alabama outstanding warrants
There are two options available for people who seek information on outstanding warrants issued in Alabama; your choice should largely depend on who the warrant was issued against. If you believe that the arrest order was meant for you, it would be a grave mistake to approach the local police department for information.
The second option is to find out if the local justice center offers crime history and warrant data.A lot of counties across the state offer this facility at their municipal justice center offices which have public kiosks that can be used to access crime history information and outstanding warrant details. However, this facility is not available in all Alabama counties.
Also, there is a good chance that you may be asked to produce some form of identification before you are allowed to use the public access terminal. Once again, if you have a warrant out in your name, you stand the risk of being arrested on the spot.
A more suitable and decidedly safer option would be to look for information online. Many third party establishments offer nationwide crime database access. You can simply rummage through these repositories for a small fee and find out if a warrant exists in your name. It is also easier to use this source when looking for background information on others.
Because you will have a nationwide crime database at your fingertips, it will be easy and quick to get information on all criminal charges filed and warrants issued against an individual across the nation. The small fee charged allows you to circumvent the laws of Alabama State and the option is undoubtedly more affordable than hiring the services of an attorney just to find out if a warrant has been issued against you.