When the irrefutable fact of a person’s involvement in a criminal activity exists, the individual will be arrested and presented before the court to answer for his/her transgressions. An arrest can be made in three scenarios; when the police have been issued a written directive to arrest a person in the form of an arrest warrant if the crime is committed in the presence of a peace officer, and when a law enforcement officer has reason to believe that an individual will commit a crime.
What is an arrest warrant?
The criminal court issued a written directive at the federal or state level or US congressional chamber that authorizes the law enforcement agency to arrest and detain an individual until a court sets bail and this bail is paid. While an arrest record grants certain powers to the police officers, it does not compromise a person’s fundamental rights. If you or a loved one has been involved in a legal infraction, it would certainly help to know your rights.
How is an arrest warrant issued?
The police cannot just arrest a person on a whim; they have to go to court with all information about a case and an individual’s involvement in the crime. After carefully considering the probable cause and other details in the writ petition for a warrant, the sitting judge issues an arrest order. This document has to be served to the person in question before he/she is taken into custody.
The difference in active and outstanding warrants issued in Tompkins County
In terms of the powers they provide to the law enforcement agencies, an active warrant is no different from an outstanding warrant. So, in essence, the difference only lies in terminology. To put it simply, an active warrant that does not get served in a specified period is called an outstanding warrant.
Information about arrest records in Tompkins County, New York
If you want to conduct a warrant search, you can approach the Sheriff’s Department of Tompkins County for information with the person’s name about whom the warrant details are requested. The Sheriff’s Office is located at 779 Warren Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. An online warrant search is also an option, so use the form above to access an internet database of nationwide arrest records.
How do you get information on Tompkins County arrests and warrants over the phone? (2021-Update)
- For an incident/accident/arrest report, contact the Records Division at 607-257-1345.
- For information on active warrants and to provide tips on people with outstanding warrants, contact the Sheriff’s Office at 607-272-2444.
- For details on recent arrests and inmate arrest records, dial the phone number of the Corrections Division- 607-257-5316.
- For information on requesting a criminal background check and criminal records from the County Clerk’s Office, call 607-216-6610.
Crime Statistics for Tompkins County, New York
The Tompkins Sheriff’s Office received more than 2100 criminal complaints in 2020, as opposed to the 1,864 cases reported in 2019. These included almost 1,950 non-person crimes and around 170 violent crimes.
The non-person crimes category included around 1700 larceny thefts, 226 burglaries, and over 40 motor vehicle thefts. The violent crimes category included over 80 aggravated assaults, 45 rapes and almost 40 robberies.
At the beginning of the last decade, Tompkins had a low violent crime rate with less than 1000 reports filed each year; however, there has been an astonishing increase of almost 100% between 2001 and 2008. The police filed nearly 8000 criminal cases in the county over this period. About 6000 were thefts and robbery incidents, while violent felonies were rare, with just 2 cases of homicide and less than 70 reports of sexual assault.