Idaho Arrest Warrants

Unlike popular belief arrest warrants in Idaho are not issued through the Sheriff's department or the police department. Arrest warrants are instead issued through the court. Once issued the warrant will be submitted into the national and local Law Enforcement database systems. These are located at the Warrant Unit within the Sheriff's Office.

All warrants are categorized by court information. All the information on the arrest warrant will then be verified to ensure that there is no error. The verified content normally includes eye color, date of birth, tattoos present, hair color, and any other details defining the individual.

After the individual is arrested a copy of the custody paperwork will be sent from the database to verify with the individual in custody. After verification all paperwork is sent back to the court including the original warrant, a copy received, and the signature of the judge. About four hundred new warrants are issued in Idaho each month, with about seven thousand files already lingering. The Idaho Warrant Unit manages all files by the Federal Bureau of Investigation standards.

Definition
When a crime has been committed a judge may issue a warrant for a specific individual's arrest. This can either be for a suspect of a crime or a suspect through suspicion. The individual can then be taken into custody for allegation purposes.

Prior to issuing an arrest warrant a victim to the crime, the district attorney, or a police officer who witnessed the crime will need to swear by the court a statement of how the crime took place. When a warrant of arrest is issued the arresting officer has the authority to enter the individual's place of residence or a vicinity where he or she is believed to be dwelling.

The privilege to forcibly enter a residency is on a limited basis and needs to be based on probable cause. The officer also needs reason to believe that the individual is within the residence at the time of forcible entry. Officers are required to first state their presence and knock, unless there is reason to believe that announcement would lead to the individual's flee or destruction of evidence.

After an arrest warrant or an affidavit for arrest warrant is issued through a judge, the record is released to the public. These records cannot legally be held due to issues of safety.

Bench Warrant
A bench warrant is a type of arrest warrant that is also issued through a judge. But rather than seeking an individual for the first time, a bench warrant seeks an individual who may have jumped bail. If an individual does not appear at his or her assigned court date, upon being released on bail, the judge presiding over the case may issue a warrant for his or her arrest.

The court will assume he or she was attempting to jump bail, and he or she will receive addition bail allotment when brought to the court. Once the individual is arrested, he or she will automatically be brought before the court and a new date assigned.