Oregon Warrant Search

Oregon Statutes 133.110 deals with the issue of arrest warrants and citations. Pursuant to this title, an order for arrest can be issued on the basis of a complaint filed in court if the magistrate is satisfied that there is probable cause to hold the person in question responsible for a criminal incident. If the offense is subject to the issue of a citation, the magistrate may order a peace officer to release such an order.

Who has the authority to issue active warrants in Oregon?

According to Oregon Statutes 133.030 and 133.120, a judge of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals may issue a warrant of arrest for any crime committed or triable within the state, and any other magistrate mentioned in ORS 133.030 may issue a warrant for any crime committed or triable within the territorial jurisdiction of the magistrate’s court. Also, these judicial entities’ authorities have the power to issue other legal processes like search warrants, bench orders, etc

The content and form of OR arrest warrants

All judicial orders including search warrants, directives for detention, and bench warrants are to be issued in writing. Active warrants are supposed to contain information on the criminal act that has transpired, evidence that was used for the establishment of probable cause, the name and personal identifying information of the accused and a clear order to law enforcement officials to apprehend the alleged offender.

Apart from this, all Oregon arrest warrants will have the date of issue and the county of release printed on them. These documents will have the signature of the judicial officer who granted the order and his office’s name. Warrants for arrests will also have details on the conditions for detention, particularly if they vary from what has been prescribed in the laws. Also, the document will have a description of the clause for release if it is applicable. All of this is stated in the Oregon Statutes 133.140.

Who can make arrests under warrants?

Pursuant to Oregon Statutes 133.220, law enforcement agents who are authorized to detain an offender under the provisions of a warrant are:

• Peace officers
• State troopers
• Parole or probation officers
• Federal officer
• A private person making a citizen’s arrest

The procedure followed when making arrests

Oregon Statutes 133.235 states that when acting under a warrant, a peace officer can apprehend the accused at any time of the day or night and from any place within the acting jurisdiction of the law enforcement agent. Depending upon the nature of the crime, an offender may even be arrested outside the county in which the warrant was issued.

However, this is generally done when the legal transgression commissioned by the accused is a felony or a serious misdemeanor. When effecting arrest, the officer in charge is legally bound to inform the arrestee of the authority of the officer and the reason why the accused is being taken into custody.

Even if this law enforcement agent does not have the warrant on his person while making the arrest, the detainee has to be informed of the existence of the judicial order. The document should be made available to the defendant or his legal representative upon request. Peace officers are authorized to use physical force and to enter premises by breaking in, if need be, to effect the arrest.

Procuring information on arrest records and outstanding warrants in Oregon

Although the Oregon State Police also entertain civilian requests for warrant searches, the results of such a check will only bring back information on cases that are still in trial or those that have ended in conviction. When it comes to complete crime history reports, access to these is only granted to law enforcement agencies in Oregon.

Another issue civilian applicants face when looking for arrest records and warrants is that this information cannot be sought anonymously as in some other states. State agencies are legally required to notify the subject of such an inquiry about the fact that they have received a request for a background report on this person and the name of the applicant of the inquiry.

So, even if you were to get in touch with the local sheriff’s office or the clerk of court for such records, they will inform the subject of the search. Yet, if you were to ask for non-criminal data from the court records database maintained by the county clerk’s office, this inquiry would be dealt with discreetly. However, you can only look through the civil court dockets. Another way to look for crime data is to check out the most wanted list posted on the sheriff’s website.

If you would rather approach the Oregon State Police, you will need to take your warrant search to their Identification Services Unit. They accept requests for personal background inquiries as well as third-party crime data checks. For more information on this, you can visit the agency’s website.

To initiate the search for crime records, you will need to fill out the form here. And send it to the Oregon Department of Human Services, Background Check Unit, PO Box 14870, Salem, OR 97309. The inquiry will be charged $10. For personal background checks, you can submit fingerprint cards to the agency. An online search is also possible, but you will need to register with Open OSP records and get a business account.