What are arrest records and arrest warrants?
Arrest records in Wyoming are the responsibility of the Division of Criminal investigation; the Criminal Justice Information Unit which is operated by the agency for the purpose of offering background checks to civilian applicants as well as other law enforcement and justice agencies. The central repository of crime history data maintained by the agency contains information on the issue of all active warrants from WY, arrests that have taken place within the state, data on criminal disposition of cases, sentencing and correctional details.
This information is collected through various state sources. In fact, the crime reporting act of the state governs the collection of this data from all the justice and law enforcement departments in the state. In accordance with these rules, as soon as arrests are made and fingerprints are gathered, the law enforcement agency in charge of the criminal investigation is legally required to send information about the detention and the charges under which the arrests were effected to the DCI. Typically, crime history records will be compiled by:
- Receiving final disposition data on all cases from the offices of the district attorneys
- Criminal occurrence and commissioning details including arrests from all the sheriffs’ departments
- Information on cases where a criminal charge was not filed against the defendant but arrest records are available
- All criminal judgments including dismissals, acquittals, and discharges
- All court orders seeking remand and reversal or a conviction or modification of sentence
- Judgments that terminate or undo conditional or parole discharge or release
- All criminal convictions
- Correctional data including the execution, escape, death, pardon, parole or commutation of sentence
When you conduct a warrant search in WY, generally, you will find details on criminal matters including arrests and active warrant issued from the state of Wyoming as well as the Western Identification Network that includes 7 states: Idaho, Alaska, Montana, Oregon, Nevada, Washington and Utah. The clerk who handles the request will include details on all criminal proceedings initiated against the subject/applicant except for municipal ordinance violations.
What are arrest warrants from Wyoming?
These are judicial directives which order police officers to apprehend a person accused of criminal misdoings in the state. Active warrants as they are frequently termed cannot be issued by the tribunal of its own volition. To begin with, the court would have no way to find out about the criminal occurrences in its jurisdiction unless the police participate in the process.
Hence, arrest warrants are only issued when the sheriff’s office files a criminal instrument in court. This affidavit is a sworn statement from the affiant detailing the criminal act and the evidence that shows the involvement of the accused in it. This statement is carefully studied to find probable cause. This means the magistrate has to ensure that the proof presented would be enough for any person of reasonable mind to buy into the claims of culpability made against the accused.
Wyoming outstanding warrants can be served in any part of the county in which the order is sanctioned as well as the state. Police officers who are acting under such directives are allowed to garner the support of other law enforcement agencies and even civilians, if need be, in making arrests. Unlike summons which can be served by any person above the age of 19 years or any individual designated by the law, only deputies of law enforcement agencies are allowed to execute arrest warrants.
How do I search for Wyoming arrest records and warrants?
Although it is possible to find out about the arrest warrants issued in your own name through the Division of Criminal Investigation any such move will undoubtedly lead to custodial detention. Also, the DCI will not offer third party warrant searches. However, it is possible to seek information on criminal matters from the state judiciary.
Because arrest warrants are only issued after a court hearing is held and after detentions are effected, the accused is eventually taken to court for a bail hearing and subsequent trial proceedings, the office of the county clerk is bound to have all information on criminal trials that have taken place in the area.
The Office of the Wyoming Supreme Courts keeps a court dockets database that has details on the civil and criminal cases heard by the tribunals. You can search for this information online or by visiting the agency in person at the Supreme Court Clerk’s Office, 2301 Capitol Avenue, Cheyenne, WY 82001. For an online inquiry, go to https://efiling.courts.state.wy.us/public/caseSearch.do. You will find three options for initiating the inquiry: case, participant or issue.
Wyoming crime statistics
The overall crime scenario of Wyoming has taken a hit with the reduction of 6% in overall criminal activity being overshadowed by an increase of 10% in the number of violent criminal acts. Overall, approximately, 17,000 crimes are reported in Wyoming every year which is undoubtedly lower than many other states in the country.
Of the complaints lodged, about 8% are of a violent nature while the remaining are related to property crimes such as thefts, robberies, burglaries and carjacking. The maximum number of reports are filed against thefts at almost 12,000 cases per annum.