Public Arrest Reports
Public Arrest Reports are not good for the people with their names in them but definitely welcomed by others whose names are not. Not only are they freely retrievable for specific uses, they are in fact publicly posted by a great many enforcement authorities on a routine basis. These reports keep the public alerted while having a psychologically deterrent effect on potential criminals at the same time.
Arrest Reports are official documentation of arrests made by enforcement authorities that result in detention or confinement. They comprise a list of all the offenders arrested, their personal particulars, details of the incidents and the resultant charges if any. On its own, each individual report forms part of the arrestee’s criminal records.
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.
The primary purpose of Public Arrest Reports is to document those incidents on record. Being effectively an official statement, it is also often used as evidence or substantiation to make charging decision by the Prosecutor or Grand Jury. Although it is well known that Public Arrest Reports are almost always one-sided, it will still have a strong bearing upon the Prosecutor in his willingness to plea bargain, trial tactics and case approach.
Public Arrest Reports are considered as a public service. They can thus be requested from government agencies tasked with the function as long as procedures are followed. An alternative and preferred way to retrieve them is by purchasing them from commercial information providers. On top of government sources, they also tap into private and proprietary information networks, often coming up with extras but fees are charged.
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