Outstanding warrants in Massachusetts refer to arrest directives that have not yet been served. Serious crimes like murder or rape are prioritized, and warrants related to minor misdemeanors often take lower priority and may remain unexecuted for extended periods.
Various factors can influence the delay in carrying out these orders, depending on the severity of the crime and available resources.
In fact, it would be safe to suggest that not all active warrants are made similar. To put it simply, these directives will carry varying weights depending on how and why they were released. For example, one of the primary basis on which decrees for detention can be divided is the release procedure followed for their issue.
Straight warrants is a term frequently used to refer to detention orders released against criminal indiscretions that carry prison terms. On the other hand, default or bench warrants are those directives which are used to command the arrests of individuals who have given the law a slip after procuring bail or who stand in contempt of court because they have disobeyed a command from the tribunal.
Although these directives are a clear order to detain the accused, for the former, the police have to petition the tribunal while bench warrants are released by the court of its own accord. Needless to say, active warrants will be executed on a priority basis as compared to default orders for arrests.
The restrictions and powers of arrest warrants!
To better understand how outstanding warrants differ from bench directives, it is crucial to understand the restrictions placed on these decrees and the powers enjoyed by police officers who are working under the provisions of these orders.
Active warrants from MA have unlimited reach in terms of geography and time. However, bench orders can only be served within the issuing county and at the most the commonwealth. Also, outstanding warrants stay valid for as long as the offender is not captured. Furthermore, these orders can be executed in any part of the country and by a member of any law enforcement outfit.
Police are allowed to access public and private properties in their quest to detain the accused and the arrest can occur at any odd time of the day or night. In fact, even the home of the offender is not off limits to officers who are acting under such orders. As opposed to this, when serving warrants linked to trivial misdemeanors and even bench orders, the police have to carry out the execution of the directive within the 6 am to 10 pm margin if they need to barge into the home of the accused.
Launching an MA outstanding warrant search!
There are three ways to look for information on arrest records and warrants in MA:
The local justice network: This includes the offices of the sheriff, the county clerk and the magistrate. Because all of these agencies work towards releasing arrest warrants, any of them can be approached for crime history information.
The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security: This is a statewide network that is in charge of the Department of Criminal Justice Information Service. The agency and its subset offer crime history background checks to justice entities, individuals as well as commercial organizations. To avail their service, go here.
The Apex Tribunal: The MA Supreme Judicial Court keeps information on all criminal and civil matters heard by the tribunals in the state. To connect with the administrator of the SJC, you can go to the Maryland Judicial Center, 580 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401.