What is the Difference Between Bench Warrants and Arrest Warrants?
Whether you have a bench warrant or an arrest warrant issued for you in Delaware County, you should take the warrant seriously. Both types of warrants result in your arrest and possible incarceration. The difference between the two is that a judge issues a bench warrant for the failure to appear in court or pay a fine. Like arrest warrants, bench warrants give the officer the authority to apprehend and detain you until you appear before the judge. You may want to do a warrant search if you suspect that an arrest warrant or a bench warrant has been issued for your arrest.
How do You Find out if you Have a Warrant?
The easiest way to determine if an arrest warrant has been issued against you is to check for active warrants through the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. The office maintains a list of active warrants on its website; however, this list may be outdated. It would help if you referred to the disclaimer on the website before relying solely on this information. When I need to be sure that someone I represent has no outstanding warrants for their arrest, I will contact the Sheriff’s Office directly at 280 Phoebe Lane, Suite One, Delhi, NY 13753. The office can also perform criminal background histories and provide copies of arrest records for a fee.
To perform a thorough warrant search, you should contact the courts in Delaware County responsible for issuing arrest warrants. You can also search for open criminal cases and get copies of court records from the Clerk of Court. The Clerk of Court for both the Supreme and County Courts is located in the Delaware County Courthouse at 3 Court Street, Delhi, NY 13753.
Can you get any information about Delaware County warrants and arrests over the phone? (2023)
- For information on recent arrests, call Jail Intake at 607-832-5863.
- Connect with the Records Division at 607-832-5862 for arrest records and incident reports.
- To report a crime, use the phone number of non-emergency dispatch- 607-832-5555.
- To inquire about the investigation of a criminal case (filed by you), call the Criminal Investigation Division at 607-832-5861.
- For the victim’s assistance and information, call 610-891-4227.
- For information on initiating a criminal case search, call the Clerk of Court at 607-376-5400.
Are Criminal Court Records Easy to Find?
The county clerks should record each case on the day’s court docket to maintain their database. Of course, it is unrealistic to think that the few people tasked with updating the entire county’s court records will keep pace with the number of cases the courts see in a day.
I say that because state and federal law mandate that court records be made available to the public. However, the amount of time they have to get those documents released to the public is not specified. Merely looking at the public records, or going to a third-party database that scours all of the records for you, does not guarantee that you are getting accurate information.
I have seen far too many people search their names in public databases and found that no court cases were pending in their names. Only to later find out that the systems were not updated. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t know until it was too late, and they had to be detained.
That is why you have heard me stress throughout this post that it is vital for you to call the sheriff’s office or go to the county courthouse yourself. When you go there, you should bring your photo I.D. so you can prove who you are.
Delaware County Police Blotters?
Police blotters are the foundation of how information is stored from each case or each police report. The book documents everything from arrests and any other events that happened that day. These police logs should be updated each time an arrest is made.
But why are police blotters important to civilians like you and me? These police records are federally required to be made open for public viewing. Congress passed an entire law titled “The Freedom of Information Act” dedicated to ensuring we (as civilians) could police those who police us.
Several different pieces of information need to go in the blotter. They should include; the person’s name, age, address, the reason for arrest or apprehension, and the time and place of the incident. If the police log is missing any of these details, they run the risk of having your case thrown out.
Delaware County, NY crime data
In Delaware County, roughly 460 criminal complaints were lodged in 2020. Approximately 390 of them were for property offenses, such as larceny-theft (276), burglary (96), and motor vehicle thefts (19). In the category of violent crimes, there were 37 cases of aggravated assault and 29 cases of rape.
From 2001 to 2008, a crime was committed approximately once per day in Delaware County. Ten percent of the almost 3,500 crimes that occurred during this time were violent. Only four murders occurred in Delaware County, while there were over 3,000 thefts and burglaries. Overall crime rates in Delaware County, including the violent crime rate, increased by roughly thirty percent.