Maryland outstanding warrants are legal documents that are released by a judicial officer who acts as an impartial neutral supervisor. These legal orders come into play when a criminal incident occurs and the police cannot immediately make arrests after the act has been commissioned. Although cops are allowed to take suspects into custody without warrants when the crime in question is a felony, the additional authority that comes with a warrant is always welcome.
Hence, procuring an arrest warrant from the courts is the preferred course of action for law enforcement. Another reason why cops choose to take the warrants route is because this takes the onus of having adhered to the probable cause requirement off their shoulders. Warrant petitions are heard by the court and the magistrate is in charge of deciding if the evidence is sufficient to explain why a person is being held accountable for a criminal act. So, the defense cannot in time question the determination of probable cause made by the police and ask for the dismissal of the case on these grounds.
Why are warrants issued?
There are a plethora of reasons for the inclusion of warrants in the legal mechanism of the state; these judicial orders can be used for ordering the capture of a fugitive and to command the custodial detention of a suspect. Search warrants are frequently issued to allow police officers entry into a privately held property. Directives for arrests are generally released when the police have little or no information on the suspect.
The issue of the detention directive means that the case will be kept alive and kicking in the crime system of the state and the county even if the accused cannot be immediately apprehended. Warrants also allow for the seizure of property; however, it should be understood here that just because the police walk into a house with an MD arrest warrant in hand they cannot search the premises as a matter of authority. However, they are allowed to pick up any incriminating objects that are kept in plain view.
Finding information through a warrant search in Maryland
To look for details on active warrants from MD, you can approach the office of the local sheriff’s department, the county clerk or the court of the magistrate. However, to approach these agencies, you will need to visit them in person. Fortunately, there are also several online recourses that can be used to hunt down details pertaining to arrest records and warrants.
One of the fastest and easiest ways to get information on some of the more dangerous criminal in an area is to look at the most wanted list posted on the website of the police department. This webpage will usually have details such as the name of the accused, a recent photograph, information on charges and outstanding warrants against him and more.
However, seldom is a search tool offered to scour through this data; this simply means that you will have to make do with what is on offer and may/may not be able to always find details on a specific suspect in the list. Some of the law enforcement agencies that offer this service are:
- DEA: http://www.justice.gov/dea/fugitives/wdo/wdo_div_list.shtml
- Parole and probation violators: www.dpscs.state.md.us/publicinfo/DPP-violators/index.shtml
- Baltimore County: http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/police/wanted/index.html
- Calvert County: http://www.co.cal.md.us/index.aspx?nid=376
- Carroll County: http://ccgovernment.carr.org/ccg/sheriff/mostwanted.htm
- Harford County: http://www.harfordsheriff.org/wanted/10_most_wanted/
- Anne Arundel County: http://www.aacounty.org/Sheriff/MostWanted.cfm
You can also check out the website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at https://www.fbi.gov/services/records-management/foipa which has a database of Maryland crime history including the arrest warrants issued in the state.