Search Washington Arrest Warrants
Searching for arrest warrants in the state of Washington
An arrest warrant is a document that is issued by a court when the police or other authorities have managed to prove to a judge that they have enough evidence to detain someone on a felony or criminal charge. Sometimes even important witnesses can have arrest warrants issued against them, if law enforcement professionals in Washington think that they have essential information and might be reluctant to speak to the authorities for some reason!
The arrest warrant itself will contain personal details about the wanted person, such as physical description, their full name, date of birth, last-known address and even any alibis that they are known to use. Because these people are often still wanted by the authorities in the state of Washington, a lot of the information in outstanding arrest warrants is publicly available, to allow the general population to help in tracking them down.
Many people have a reason to search for arrest warrant records in Washington, including potential employers, people looking into the background of their new partners or even just members of the public who are suspicious about someone that they know. Perhaps a new neighbour has moved into the neighbourhood and something about their behaviour is making you suspicious; by searching on the current arrest warrants that have been issued in the state of Washington you can put your mind at rest that they are not wanted by the police.
Some information in the arrest warrant may not be available to the public, depending on how long ago the crime was committed, if the person has since been tracked down by the authorities in the state of Washington or if a minor was involved in the case. If you need to see more detailed information in the arrest warrants on record in Washington, then you might need to prove to the authorities that you have a good reason.
The local and federal police in Washington will often have details of outstanding arrest warrants on their website, as well as the documents themselves being stored in police and courthouse archives. Active arrest warrants are more likely to be available online as these are the people that law enforcement officers in the state of Washington need your help to catch. We have all seen the lists of “Most Wanted” people in police stations, and now these, as well as longer lists detailing other outstanding criminals; can also be searched online, allowing the public to check up on suspicious behaviour by those they know.
Not all of these arrest warrants will have been put onto computer files, however, especially much older records. Some people in the state of Washington might want to look at these older arrest warrants for research purposes, while looking into their family tree. In these cases, there is no alternative but to head down to your local county or state courthouse and search through the archives. Luckily, the staff at these establishments is expert in searching through public documents such as arrest warrants and will be able to give you lots of advice, as well as details on what kind of information you can expect to find in records maintained by the state of Washington.
If you live outside of Washington, then it might be difficult for you to get there and carry out a personal search. You can always contact the courthouse staff and ask them to search for someone on your behalf, but they will often charge a fee and it can take a long time for the information to be returned to you. This is where the Washington websites can come in handy, as well as other commercial sites that have various public and court records computerized for easier searching. You will need some basic details about the person or arrest record you are searching for before using one of these sites, and they may also charge you a fee if your search is successful and you want to see more detailed information. These sites can also be useful if you are not sure that the arrest warrant you are searching for was actually issued in the state of Washington, as these sites often offer nationwide searches too.
