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New Jersey Arrest Records

New Jersey Arrest Records

New Jersey's arrest rates generally are some of the highest in the country despite the fact they have been steadily declining over the past few years. Currently, an estimated 97,000 individuals are taken into custody every year. Most of the arrests are typically from drug-related offenses, assault, and stalking. Based on the arrest rate trends, males accounted for three-quarters of the arrests compared to women.

New Jersey has an arrest rate of 2,364 per 100,000. That is lower than the national average, which happens to be 3200 per 100,000 people. New Jersey also usually reports lower numbers compared to its larger neighbors, like New York, which has an arrest rate of 2,200, and Pennsylvania at 2,500 per 100,000 residents.

What Is an Arrest Under New Jersey Law?

The state expressly follows the common laws of arrest, allowing a law enforcement officer to implement a warrantless arrest of an individual following probable cause that a crime has been committed. There are cases for an arrest warrant as well. Laws like N.J.S.A. 2C:104-1 indicate the criteria for obtaining an arrest warrant, such as needing a judge to find probable cause set on the affidavit. N.J.S.A. 2C:29-1 also handles the resisting of arrest. That generally concerns the conduct of an individual during apprehension, which is complicity. An arrest typically also has to be considered lawful to be acceptable.

Type of Arrests in New Jersey

Law enforcement officers may be granted authority to implement arrests in any state location for crimes committed in their presence. However, the basis of their arrest is rooted in probable cause. That said, arrests may be separated according to warrant or warrantless arrests.

Warrant Arrest

A New Jersey judge may issue a document allowing law enforcement agents to apprehend a person. As mentioned, the warrant is based on probable cause that a person has committed or is carrying on with criminal activities. It may also be a bench warrant, where the judge or magistrate issues documentation to arrest the person when they fail to appear for a court summons. A bench warrant may also be issued if the person does not comply with given court orders.

Arrests Without a Warrant

There are scenarios where law enforcement officers may initialize arrests without having a warrant. This can generally occur in one of three ways. In view, arrests are implemented when a crime is committed in the presence of a member of law enforcement. There is also a probable cause arrest when the police officer believes the suspect has committed a crime. This may also occur if the felony was not committed in the officer's presence. Thirdly, misdemeanor arrests may happen if the law enforcement officer has cause to believe the crime was committed. It typically includes cases of traffic stops, illegally carrying firearms, or possession of narcotics.

Other arrest types in the state may include:

  • Citizen's arrest
  • Juvenile arrest
  • Traffic arrest
  • Domestic violence arrest

What Are New Jersey Arrests Records?

What Are New Jersey Arrests Records?

New Jersey arrest records are official documentation of details surrounding an arrest and may include the date of the arrest, the arresting law enforcement agency, the arresting officer, charges filed against the person, identifying fingerprints, the location of the incident, and the person's mugshots. The arrest record may also illustrate bail and bond information in some instances. That is the amount set for the person's release from jail. It may also show information concerning court appearances, like hearing dates, times, and respective locations.

While arrest records typically concern the details of being taken into custody, criminal records in New Jersey generally provide a detailed report of the person's interaction with the justice system. Criminal records normally contain all the data found in New Jersey arrest records but with the addition of court proceedings, convictions, outcomes, and sentencing details. They are typically also much harder to access due to the nature of the information found within them and the number of coordinating agencies that store this data. Overcoming the red tape needed to access this information usually requires a proven relationship with the individual whose records are being sought.

How Can Arrest Records Be Accessed in New Jersey?

New Jersey arrest records are available to the public by the Open Records Public Act. This statute generally indicates the persons that can access these records and the means of access. For one, arrest records may be requested from the police department where the person is in custody or the county sheriff's office. Some law enforcement agencies like the sheriff's office may also have accessible online databases where they can be viewed.

Despite the general accessibility of these records, there are certain exceptions limiting access. Sealed or expunged records generally cannot be accessed by anyone other than the individual on the record. Similarly, records involving juveniles or ongoing criminal investigations are also withheld for privacy and security reasons, respectively.

New Jersey State Police Criminal Investigation Unit

Interested parties may obtain arrest records from New Jersey law enforcement agencies. That is by visiting the arresting law enforcement agency in person or online if they have a specific page. For example, the New Jersey transit police has an available online portal. Alternatively, one can visit the New Jersey State Police Criminal Information Unit for personal records. To get arrest records from the platform, may use the following approach.

  • Choose the type of request, which can either be a personal record or a third-party request. If the requester is getting their record, provide proof of identity. For third-party requests, when an interested party is seeking another person's record, they need a written consent form from that individual. That is unless one is a law enforcement officer, insurer, or legal representative.
  • Visit the New Jersey state police platform and download the request form for arrest records. Fill out the form accurately.
  • Submit the request form. It can be done in person at specific locations, by mail to the New Jersey State Police Criminal Information Unit, or Online.
  • The fee for an arrest record is $20 per request. The processing times may also vary according to the volume of requests. It may be several days or a few weeks.

Local Police Departments and Sheriff's Offices

In certain New Jersey counties, requesters may utilize online forms from the relevant county sheriff's office to access these records. Parties may also request that the documents be delivered by mail. This requires the record seeker to issue the personal information of the requested person. Each request, whether online, via mail, or in person, costs a fee. The cost depends on the law enforcement agency. An arrest record fee schedule and means of payment are often found on the department's website.

How Long Will an Arrest Report Stay on Your New Jersey Records?

In the state, arrest records remain on that person's file until they are expunged. That is the process of getting them removed from their criminal records. That means an arrest record will remain on the individual's file and may be accessed in background checks done by law enforcement agencies, employers, and other allowed entities.

Can You Expunge Your Arrest Records in New Jersey?

Can You Expunge Your Arrest Records in New Jersey?

New Jersey state regulations usually allow individuals to request their arrest records to be sealed or expunged. The sealing of a record makes it invisible to the public, though some entities may still access it. Expunging, on the other hand, completely removes all arrest records. It also removes it from the courts and detention facilities. Because many agencies preside over the same records, including those of both the police department and the courts, expunging may be time-consuming. Hence, the reason is to seek legal counsel experienced in expunging arrest records to generally help through the process.

According to New Jersey statutes, if one has committed one indictable offense or a felony, they are eligible for expunging in five years. Parties arrested for being disorderly or for other petty offenses may also get their records expunged. That is the equivalent of a misdemeanor offense, and one may have up to five offenses expunged from their record if they do not have a previous criminal record.

The clean slate provision in New Jersey generally allows one to be eligible to have their complete arrest records expunged following a decade of completion of supervision. Even if one was previously unable to expunge the offense because of earlier expunging or multiple indictments, it is now possible to do so for the whole arrest record. That said, severe crimes like murder or sexual assault are not eligible under this statute.

It also takes three to four months to complete an expungement process in the state. Should the prosecutor object to the expunging of the record, the requestor will have to take their case to court to contest this objection. This may lead to extending the timeline for expunging the record, though. If the court approves the request, the party will get a signed order via mail confirming that the court has cleared the record. This is then presented to the relevant police department or sheriff's office to clear the record.

Is Citizen's Arrest Legal in New Jersey?

Residents generally have the right to lawfully arrest another individual without a warrant if they know that a crime has been committed and probable cause exists to suspect the person of interest committed it. When an arrest without a warrant is made, the alleged offender has to be taken before the nearest appropriate law enforcement official or judge.

That said, force acceptable for police officers is restricted in a citizen's arrest. It has to be reasonable, depending on the circumstances. Excessive force will result in criminal charges being leveled against the arresting individual. Similarly, if the person making the arrest is mistaken and no crime has been committed or the wrong individual was taken into custody because of mistaken identity, then the person making the arrest typically could be liable for false arrest. It is important to note, as well, that making a citizen's arrest carries a significant risk, both legal and physical.

How to Look Up Arrest Warrants in New Jersey

How to Look Up Arrest Warrants in New Jersey

Parties may also find active arrest warrants in the state by utilizing the relevant databases maintained by police departments. Requestors may also seek information on warrants from specific police departments by phone. There are typically some sheriff's departments that have a local database of active warrants in the locality of the district. Some sheriff's offices allow interested parties to register for an alert system that issues arrest warrants in the exact location.

It also depends on the reason or the profession of the individual requesting the arrest warrant information. The other way of searching for arrest warrants is by contacting municipal or county courts in New Jersey. Courts that issue arrest warrants have a database in which they are stored. The record seekers may go to the courts in person and use the terminals on-site. That is aside from contacting the judicial officer or the magistrate who issued the arrest warrant for records on the party of interest.

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