In Washington County, Indiana, the police have to mandatorily go to court when they need an active warrant to bring a suspect in. These judicial directives exclusively issued in criminal matters are very different from other legal provisions like bench warrants and summons. Arrest warrants have perpetual validity and can be executed without any restrictions of time or place.
Unlike other judicial instruments issued in Washington County, arrest warrants remain in effect for no less than 99 years. They get stored in justice and law enforcement databases as outstanding warrants. Another crucial difference between an active warrant and other judicial orders is that the police have to approach the local tribunal for these decrees.
In essence, the court cannot issue a warrant of its own accord because it merely does not have the essential information needed to ascertain the probable cause. When a warrant hearing is held, the police affidavit is treated as a formal complaint that notifies the crime’s court and the accused’s involvement in the infamous incident.
This is how judicial entities like the magistrate’s office of Washington County and the clerk of court’s office get information about criminal matters in the area. Because all these agencies maintain their exclusive database of arrest records and orders, you can initiate a warrant search through any of the offices mentioned in this article.
- Law enforcement: 801 Jackson St, Salem, Indiana 47167
- Magistrate’s representative: 99 Public Square, Salem, IN 47167
- Clerk of Court: 99 Public Square, Suite 100, Salem, Indiana 47167
Can you get any information pertaining to Washington County warrants and arrests over the phone? (2021-Update)
- The Washington County Jail is operated and managed by the Sheriff’s Department, so call the agency at 812-883-5999 to find out about recent arrests
- Salem PD handles arrests and warrants related to the criminal matters investigated by them; call this agency at 812-883-5100 for such criminal records.
- The Superior Court issues most warrants, so contact them at 812-883-4949 for a warrant search.
- The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office provides help to crime victims, so contact the agency at 812-883-6560 for victim’s assistance
- The Clerk of Court handles all judicial records, so contact the agency at 812-883-5748 for a case search
Crime statistics of Washington County
In 2019, over 1,000 criminal cases were filed across all trial courts in Washington County. The annual average dipped by almost 10% in the following year to reach a yearly filing rate of a few over 900 cases. These included 327 misdemeanor cases, 186 miscellaneous crime cases and 390 felony cases.
Washington County, IN, has the lowest crime rate in the state, with figures not crossing into the 50 incidents mark each year. Crime rates have held steady at around this point since 2001, showing a downtrend to reach just about 30 occurrences in 2008. Overall, there has been a reduction of over 90% in the crime figures of the area.