I Think I Might Know Something About An Incident Listed On A Report Who Should I Contact About This
If you read an incident report and believe you have knowledge that would help an investigation, please contact the Seattle Police Non-Emergency Number at 625-5011 and provide the General Offense Number located on the top left side of the report.
If you need to remain anonymous, you may contact Crime Stoppers. Mention the General Offense Number and date and time of the incident.
Warrant And Capias Information
Q: What is the difference between a warrant and a capias?
A: A warrant is an order which authorizes a law enforcement officer to arrest and bring a person before the judge. A warrant may be issued when a person is charged with a crime, convicted of a crime but failed to appear for sentencing, owes a fine or is in contempt of court. A capias is also an order for arrest of a person, typically issued by the judge or magistrate in a case. It is commonly issued after a defendant fails to attend a scheduled court hearing.
Q: How do I know if I have an outstanding warrant or capias?
A: Respond to any Police District or ask an officer on the street to run a query on your social security number. You should provide some type of identification, if possible. To protect your privacy, police will NOT run a query if you simply call a district on the telephone.
Q: If there is an outstanding warrant or capias, will I be arrested on the spot?
A: Most capiases allow an officer to re-cite, meaning you will be given a new court date. However, if you have been re-cited numerous times and have continued to ignore the court date, the officer may choose to physically arrest you. Most warrants require an officer to physically arrest the person. Once you are re-cited or processed through the Hamilton County Justice Center, the warrant/capias is cancelled by the Hamilton County Central Warrants Department .
Request A Police Incident Report Copy Online
Request and receive all types of San Francisco Police Incident Reports through an online portal. Report types include traffic collisions, domestic violence, and all other incidents of general crime. Using the portal is the most secure and convenient way to request and receive incident reports from the San Francisco Police Department. An account can be created within the Incident Report Request Portal to track the request and receive reports and correspondences securely online.
Traffic Collision Reports: Before attempting to obtain a copy of a collision report, please allow a minimum of five days from the date of the collision to allow the report to be reviewed and approved for release.
FAQ: Why is it taking so long to receive a copy of my report/record?
As the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and an understaffed Unit, increased workload, and financial restrictions CISU is currently experiencing a backlog of requests for public records. We appreciate your patience during this time. Please DO NOT make a duplicate request for a copy of your report/record. This could potentially further delay your request, it is advised you follow the steps below.
FAQ: How do I send an email asking for a follow-up on the report/record I’m still waiting for?
Important Note
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How Do Insurance Companies Use Police Reports
After a car accident, when a claim is reported, the insurance company will conduct its own investigation. One of the first things that an insurance company will ask for is the police report. This is because, as we discussed above, the report contains a vast amount of information pertaining to the car accident.
Sometimes the insurance company and police officer’s opinions are different. This is why there are times when the police report is in your favor in terms of a fault determination, but the other driver’s insurance company still denies your insurance claim.
Learn more about the role of insurance in a car accident case.
How Can I Get A Copy Of A Police Report
How can I get a copy of a police report if I am a victim of a crime?
If you want to request a copy of a crime report, you must mail your written request to Records & Identification Division. You can only receive a crime report if you are an authorized person such as the victim, the victims representative, or as provided in Section 6254 of the Government Code.
Victims of domestic violence are entitled to one free copy of their incident reports made within five years from the date of completion of the incident report. Victims of Sexual Assault, Stalking, Human Trafficking, or Abuse of an Elder or a Dependent Adult are entitled to one free copy of their incident reports made within two years from the date of completions of the incident report.
Additionally, victims of identity theft are entitled to a free copy of their incident reports.
Report requests are mailed to:
Mail to:
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What Type Of Information And Data Is Contained In A Police Report
The following are types of data and information that may be included. Please note that there is no universal police report. Information will vary from department to department.
- Identifying information for all parties involved in the incident, including full name, address, phone number, date of birth, social security numbers, drivers license numbers
- Date of the occurrence or incident
- Location of the occurrence or incident
- The officers name and ID number
- The names of other officers who were present
- Diagrams or drawings of the scene
- The names of witnesses and their statements
- Reference number
The law enforcement case file may also contain motor vehicle information, as well as specific details of the incident and any evidence associated with the case.
Examples of police reports may include but are not limited to domestic disputes, traffic accidents, thefts, fraud, assault, burglaries, and stalking incidents. Other information that may be available includes crime surveys, crime statistics, calls for service, weather information, and traffic accident surveys.
What Are Criminal Conviction Records
Criminal conviction records are documents that detail events leading from complaint or arrest to the formal conviction of an individual in a trial court. These records are commonly known as “arrest and conviction records” by most state criminal justice institutions. Like all public records, criminal conviction records are available from the clerk of court in the court where a judge.
Court clerks generally maintain physical copies of the criminal conviction records. Criminal conviction records can be obtained in-person or by mail request, but these means are not always convenient or fast. Thus, most record custodians also store digital copies of criminal conviction records on online databases.
Criminal Records Dictionary
Acquittal: When the court hearing a case, formally absolves the defendant from blame in regards to the charges brought against them. The defendant is found not guilty.
Arraignment: The first formal court appearance in a criminal case, in which the defendant is formally required to plead either guilty or not guilty, and future plans for trial and/or sentencing is set by the court.
Arrest Records: This is a record of all arrests-or stop and detainments-made by law enforcement of a criminal for committing a specific offense. This record typically offers the criminal charges owned by the arrest, the law enforcement arresting the individual, and the jurisdiction in which the arrest was made.
Search Includes
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How To Look Up Free Police Records
The term “police records” is thrown around so often in your favorite binge-able procedurals and popcorn flicks that we don’t often realize how general a phrase it is police records encompass a huge swath of territory, including arrest and incident reports, arrest and response logs, search warrants and coroner’s office reports. Some of these are a matter of public record while others are not, but in any case, you only need to pick up the phone or take a trip down to your local police department to start your search.
What Is A Bench Warrant
A bench warrant is a court order that a judge issues for the arrest of a person who failed to appear in court. Defendants that are due to appear at trial must attend on the said date and time. Failure to do so without prior authorization will cause the presiding judge to deem the absent defendant in contempt of the court.
In executing bench warrants, the police can forcibly bring a suspected criminal to trial. Given the circumstances surrounding issuing a bench warrant, the suspected person is not eligible for release on bail or bond.
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Are Arrest Records Free
Truly free arrest records do not typically exist, though many arrest records are inexpensive. Costs such as copying fees, certification fees, and authentication fees may apply to an arrest search. While some public records are free, such as census data, property information, and judgements, many can be difficult to find without the aid of government services or third party public record search websites.
If A Report About Me Is Online Can It Be Removed
Reports on certain crimes, such as sexual assaults and those involving children, are not listed on this site to protect the identity of the victims. Additionally, addresses, victim names and other identifying information have been redacted from all of the reports available online.
If you see information about a crime you were involved in and believe the information is inaccurate – please contact the followup detective in your case and talk to them directly about the information.
If you are upset that a report is online and want it removed entirely, contact SPD Legal Unit at 206-233-5141 to discuss this on a case by case basis.
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What Is The Difference Between A Dui Owi And Oui
DUI, OWI, and OUI are serious traffic violations that generally refer to the same offense. DUI means Driving Under Influence, OWI means Operating While Intoxicated, and OUI means Operating While Under The Influence. A common characteristic of these traffic violations is that the driver is in physical control of the motor vehicle and shows signs of impairment, as established by sobriety tests. Generally, states enact drunk driving laws that criminalize driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or any substance that can impair a drivers physical or mental status.
States set measurable physical and chemical criteria for identifying an impaired driver. Generally, drunk driving laws empower law enforcement to conduct field sobriety tests or chemical tests that measure blood alcohol content if an officer deems the driver impaired after a traffic stop. Usually, a BAC above 0.08 is the legal limit. Nevertheless, several states have zero tolerance for drunk driving. Thus, even with a BAC lower than 0.08, law enforcement can still charge a driver with drunk driving if an open alcohol container or a minor is in the motor vehicle.
What Is A Car Accident Police Report
In the context of a car accident case, a police report is a written document that is usually generated at the scene of the crash, typically by the responding law enforcement officer. The police report often contains:
- details of the crash and the people/vehicles/property involved
- statements from drivers, passengers, and witnesses
- a drawn diagram of the accident , and
- in some instances, the officer’s findings or conclusions as to how or why the accident might have happened.
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How Do I Obtain Criminal Records
Interested persons who wish to look up criminal records have two options. The first is submitting an official request to the record custodian. Most record custodians have record request protocols that allow public requesters to make in-person visits, send mail requests, or conduct an online search for the criminal records of interest. Of these three means, online search is the fastest. However, in-person and mail requests for criminal records are characteristically slow. The other alternative is to use independent, third-party search services for on-demand access to criminal records. Free public criminal record checks are possible too. However, the information obtained is typically limited or incomplete.
What Is The Sex Offender Registry
The sex offender registry is a public database of individuals convicted of sex crimes in the United States. Per Megan’s Law, every person convicted of a sex crime must register as a sex offender for a specified period depending on the severity of the crime. In turn, municipalities and states must maintain a searchable database of sex offenders registered or living in that jurisdiction. Likewise, the Department of Justice maintains a national sex offender registry.
Any member of the public may search an official sex offender registry for information on a suspected or convicted sex offender. A person may use information obtained from the sex offender registry to satisfy personal curiosity or protect loved ones. However, states have laws that caution against using the information obtained from the registry to harass, blackmail, or embarrass a sex offender.
Meanwhile, Megan’s Law also ensures residents receive notifications when a sex offender moves into the community. The sexual assault and murder of Megan Kanka of Mercer County, New Jersey, made these measures necessary. Megan’s attacker, Jesse Timmendequas, was a sex offender with two prior convictions of sex crimes against young children. Yet, the community was unaware of his status as a sex offender before he committed the despicable crime.
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Are Police Reports Admissible In Court
While police reports are commonly used in car insurance settlement negotiations, admitting a police report as evidence when you file a car accident lawsuit is not quite as clear cut.
In small claims courts, litigants are usually permitted to use police reports as evidence in their car accident case. You will not be expected to know all the rules of evidence, so judges typically will allow plaintiffs and defendants to use the police report in explaining what happened.
If your car accident case goes to trial in your state’s court of general jurisdiction , you should know that parties in these cases are held to the rules of evidence and must contend with whether the police report falls within the rule against “hearsay” evidence, which keeps out many out-of-court statementsby definition, any assertion made in a police report is a statement that was made out of court.
In some jurisdictions, the police report may fall within the “public records” or “business records” exception for admissibility. In other jurisdictions, different exceptions to the hearsay rule may apply and allow you to admit some or all of the police report as evidence.
What Is The Description Of These Crime Types
PART I CRIMES: The four crime types currently posted here Burglaries, Robberies, Aggravated Assaults and Homicides are among those known as Part I or Major Crimes. These terms refer to seven crimes designated by the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting System as a basis for charting crime trends across the United States. The seven crimes chosen by the FBI as Part I crimes are: homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, which comprise Violent Crimes and burglary, larceny/theft and vehicle theft, which comprise Property Crimes.
People sometimes confuse the criminal behavior involved in a burglary versus a robbery. They may also not realize there is a difference between aggravated assaults and less serious assaults. The official FBI definitions of the crime types posted here are, as follows:
BURGLARY: the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft.
ROBBERY: taking or attempting to take anything of value from another person by force, threat or force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.
AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS: an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault is usually accompanied by the use of a weapon or by other means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.
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How To Get A Police Report
By law, certain police records and violation reports prepared and maintained by the Police Department are accessible to the general public.
If you need to get a copy of a police report, do this. First, begin by researching the requirements of the police department responsible for the jurisdiction in which the incident occurred. Then, follow the departments exact protocol for requesting and receiving those records. Start by checking the police departments website. Expand your search to the city website if you dont find anything on the police departments website.
Obtain and Fill Out Request Forms
Some departments may require that you complete a request form, sometimes called a request for public records. This may also be known as a request for open records. When you check the department website, look to see if you can download the request form from their site. If so, fill out the request form and submit it according to the directions.
Most request forms will require you to provide the first and last names of at least one of the involved parties. In addition, youll need the location, date, and time of the incident, and in some cases, the incident or case number.
Submitting the Request Form
Important Notes Regarding Submitting Requests for Police Reports
- It may take a few days or more to obtain the official documents
- Charges for obtaining copies of the documents may vary by city or jurisdiction
- Very few departments allow access to records online
Checklist For Reporting Crime:
The ability of the police to locate and arrest criminals often depends on the thoroughness and accuracy of the report. Use the following list to assist you in reporting your crime:
- Date and time crime occurred
- Location: exact street address and nearest cross street
- Number of persons injured and types of injuries
- Vehicle information type, license number, color, year, make, model, additional people in the vehicle, and unusual characteristics
- Suspect information race, gender, age, height, weight, hair color, hair length/style, eye color, facial hair, clothing type/color, other characteristics and information on where they went after the crime was committed
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