The Truth About the Missouri Warrant Roundup

What is the Missouri Warrant Roundup?

The Missouri Warrant Roundup is a state wide effort carried out in many towns and cities at various times of the year. The purpose is to collect debts on outstanding warrants and apprehend suspects with an arrest warrant in their name. If you're on the warrant list you can be arrested at any time or any place in the state of Missouri especially if a warrant roundup is in place. The best way to find out if you have an outstanding warrant in your name it to run an online background search. Start by typing in your first and last name in the search box above and you're on your way to finding out in seconds.

In Missouri, to ensure efficiency, the database of outstanding warrants is kept in three main systems:

• Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System
  Highway Patrol Database
  (Operated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol in Jefferson City.)
• Automated Law Enforcement Response Team
  Kansas City Database
  (Operated by the Kansas City Police Department.)
• Regional Enforcement Jurisdiction Information System
  St. Louis Database
  (Operated by the Regional Enforcement Jurisdiction Information Services in St. Louis.)

Every local law enforcement agency throughout the state of Missouri has access to the information in the databases of all three entities. Municipal and state court officials issue warrants for citizens who commit crimes, fail to appear in court, and flee prosecution. This information helps in locating and identifying people who have outstanding warrants with the state. Since it's law enforcement's responsibility of upholding the law, it's essential for them to utilize this information.

If for any reason you are engaged with the law, law enforcement agencies use the database to retrieve information about your status including outstanding warrants, validity of your driver’s license, any traffic violations you may have, or if you're on probation or parole. This makes it very easy for an officer to make an arrest during one of the many warrant roundups carried out throughout the state.

What is an Arrest Warrant?

In the simplest terms, an arrest warrant is a legal document signed by a judge and administered by the police which ends in an arrest of a suspect. It allows law enforcement to take an individual into custody based on probable cause. Probable cause must be proven in court through physical evidence or witness testimony that shows the person in question "more likely than not" committed the crime. Only after a judge has carefully considered the facts and has concluded the suspect is the most likely perpetrator will an arrest warrant be issued. In the United States, law enforcement are not allowed to randomly carry out an arrest without the consent of the judicial system. To protect your Constitutional Rights, all citizens are innocent until proven guilty.

Civil Warrants

Civil Warrants are commonly issued for a specific jurisdiction in small claims court cases where civil suits are involved. A civil warrant, like all other warrants, is an order signed by a judge that requires an individual to appear in court at a specific location and time. Because civil warrants are issued at the local level they are rarely enforced. Instead, an individual who fails to appear in court automatically loses his or her case. The other party automatically wins the favor in the civil judgment. The civil warrant is then closed along with the civil case.

Outstanding Warrants vs Active Warrants

The difference between an outstanding warrant and an active warrant is basically the same thing. The terms are used interchangeably. An outstanding warrant is used to refer to warrants that are several years old. Active warrants are the ones that have been issued more recently. Regardless whether you have an outstanding warrant or an active warrant, law enforcement has the authority to arrest you at any time and place. It's strongly advised to come forward and satisfy your warrant with the state before you get caught in one of the Missouri warrant roundups

If you have a warrant in your name in Missouri or any state, the best advice I can give you is to seek legal counsel. A lawyer will act on your behalf to get the warrant satisfied with the state, represent you in a court of law, get your sentence reduced, or help you get the record removed from your personal file if the warrant is eligible for expungement.