In James City, Virginia, an active arrest warrant cannot be issued by any other state entity besides a court that holds criminal jurisdiction. When the police need arrest warrants, they are legally bound to approach the tribunals for such orders. However, it would be erroneous to assume that a person can only be taken into custody if there is James City outstanding warrant against him/her.
There are three scenarios in which an arrest made will be deemed legal even when the arresting officer does not have an active warrant. These include:
- An arrest made when the person in question is stopped for a routine check or is involved in an accident or traffic violation leads to the discovery of illicit substances or arms on his person.
- The accused is taken into custody while he is committing the criminal act.
- The police have the grounds to suspect an individual in a crime that has recently occurred or have reason to believe that the person in question will be involved in a felony in the near future.
However, barring these three scenarios, if an arrest is effected without an active or outstanding warrant, this can be challenged in a court of law. If the defense attorney can prove that the accused was wrongfully detained, the case can be dismissed, or at the least, it can impact the prosecution’s chances of winning the argument.
The police and all judicial entities that have a hand in the actual process of warrant issue are legal obligated to allow civilians to conduct warrant searches. If you are interested in the arrest records against you for employment purposes or would like to know about any arrest warrants against a prospective employee, you can approach:
- The court of James City:5201 Monticello Ave, Suite 6, Williamsburg, VA 23188
- The county clerk’s department: 321.45 Court Street, Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
- James City sheriff’s office: 4600 Opportunity Way Williamsburg, VA 23188, United States
Can you contact the James City Police Department over the phone for an arrest records or warrant search? (2021-specific information)
- If you want to inquire about recent arrests, call the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail at 757-820-3906.
- If you want to access inmate records, call the Records Unit of the Jail at 757-820-3918/757-820-3917/757-820-3908.
- If you want to complain about probation or parole violations, call 757-253-4860.
- If you want to file a non-emergency complaint against a crime, use the dispatch phone number of the Sheriff’s Office-757-253-1800.
- If you want to reach a detective working on a criminal complaint filed by you, call 757-253-1800.
- If you want to know more about arrest records and warrants search, call the Records Supervisor at 757-259-5144.
- If you want to submit a tip about an offender/accused who has an outstanding warrant against him/her, call the CrimeLine at 888-562-5887.
- If you want to access information on matters being heard by the Circuit Court, use the following phone numbers: 757-564-2350/757-564-2353 (Criminal Department), 757-564-2351 or 757-564-2353 (fines, restitution), 757-564-2360 (jury administrator), 757-564-2355 (judgments), 757/564-2360 (expungements) and 757-564-2355 or 757-564-2349 (judicial recordings)
- If you want information on the misdemeanor cases handled by the District Court, use the following phone numbers: 757-564-2400 (misdemeanor and traffic cases) and 757-564-2200 (juvenile and domestic relations cases).
Crime statistics for James City, Virginia
The annual total crime rate for James City went from a high of 980 incidents in 2018 to approximately 780 complaints in 2019. The notable drop of over 20% had an impact across the board, with both violent and property crime rates showing a significant reduction. Instances of crimes against persons went from 105 cases/annum to around 80 incidents, while property crimes plunged from 780 complaints/annum to 630 incidents.
A thriving urban area, James City, Virginia, witnesses no less than 1000 criminal acts every year. Of these incidents, only about 100 are violent in nature and include sexual assault with almost 5 instances per year. On average, a criminal report is filed in the area every eight hours, and in the majority of these cases, the victim is within a mile of his workplace or home when the incident occurs.