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Public Arrest Reports

By: Jed Elaine 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.

An Arrest Report is a record by law enforcement authorities of apprehensions that lead to detention or confinement. It constitutes a list of all arrestees with their personal details plus other information surrounding the incidents together with the ensuing charges if any. Individually, they form part of the Public Arrest Records of the offender.

The Police are largely the ones to generate Public Arrest Reports and that's why they are often called Police Arrest Reports also. Having that said, the compilation and issuance of these reports are performed directly by the Sheriff Office in several locales as well. There are other enforcement agencies which also hold the capacity to issue Public Arrest Reports such as Narcotics, Vice, Traffic, Military and so forth.

After an arrest has been completed, a report is put up by the arresting agency to document the incident. It is then submitted to the Case Intake Prosecutor assigned to it for further action. The report basically recites the entire event of the arrest furnished with all the pertinent details where possible such as the personal particulars of the arrestee, the time and place of the incident, case number and type, grounds of arrest, witnesses' names and addresses and even environmental conditions such as weather.

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.