Utah outstanding warrants are issued when the local police go to court with a request for the release of an arrest order against a person who is a suspect in a criminal matter. Although police officers are allowed to make arrests without active warrants, such detentions come with a lot of restrictions. Also the responsibility to establish probable cause in such cases rests in the hands of the police.
This means that through the pre-trial stage, the sheriff’s department can be accused of making arrests without reasonable proof and this can lead to the dismissal of the case if this point can be proved. On the other hand, when an active warrant is issued in the state, the onus shifts to the judiciary as the magistrate decides on the reasonable cause requirement. However, the cops do play an active role in the process used for the issue of arrest warrants.
How is an active warrant released in UT?
Once the sheriff’s department closes the investigation in a criminal case, and if arrests have not been made up to this point, they put the information collected in writing and take it to a criminal court in the area. The sitting magistrate than studies these details to determine if the evidence is enough to convince any layperson of the culpability of the accused.
If this requirement cannot be fulfilled, the warrant petition will not be accepted. However, the sheriff’s office is allowed to bring in the witnesses to offer their testimony under oath. It should also be noted here that the cops do not have to prove guilt beyond doubt at this juncture like in the trial proper. They merely have to show that a criminal offense has occurred and that based on the proof there is a strong likelihood that this crime was committed by the suspect.
Why are UT outstanding warrants the preferred option for arrests?
Apart from the explanation given above, cops go for arrest warrants because these directives give them additional powers when detaining the accused. Among the many liberties granted to officers acting under UT active warrants are:
- The ability to make arrests at any time and from any place including the home of the accused or third party premises
- The authority to rally the support of other law enforcement departments in a bid to nab the accused
- The power to cross state and county lines in pursuit of the criminal
- The provision to effect arrests years after the offense has been committed and the warrant issued
How can you find details on UT outstanding warrants?
There are two approaches to get your hands on information pertaining to arrest records and active warrants. You can either get in touch the UT Department of Public safety and launch a formal background inquiry or you could approach the state judiciary for crime history data. Of this, the first option is only open to agencies that have the legislative authority to conduct such warrant searches.
You can launch personal and third party inquiries into arrests and warrants by sending your search request by mail or visiting the DPS office in person. You will have to pay $15 for the facility and the required forms can be downloaded from the website of the Department at http://bci.utah.gov/forms/ . You will need to send this to the:
Bureau of Criminal Identification3888 West 5400 SouthSalt Lake City, Utah 84118To access UT court dockets, you can use the online facility offered by the judiciary which is available at https://www.utcourts.gov/records/index.htm . You will have to incur a setup cost of $25 and a monthly charge of $30 which will get you 200 searches during the billing period. Alternatively, you can connect with the administrative office of the judiciary at:450 South StateP. O. Box 140241Salt Lake City, UT 84114-0241