Hiring decisions take a lot of careful consideration; most employers consider the qualifications and experience level of prospective employees and their aptitude, but what about their arrest records and background information? You will be jeopardizing your venture, employees, and customers if you do not conduct a warrant search on any and every person you intend to hire.
In Illinois, private citizens have the right to seek arrest records from the local Sherriff’s Department. The law enforcement agency has access to a central FBI repository of crime data from all over the country. However, before you walk in requesting information, it would be sensible to familiarize yourself with warrants and their powers.
An arrest warrant is issued by a judicial entity that handles criminal cases, so in Peoria County, all arrest orders are granted by the local criminal court. However, these include criminal warrants and not summons and bench warrants, which can also be issued by other judicial branches, including the family court.
For an arrest warrant to be released, the police have to turn to the criminal court’s sitting magistrate, who considers the information presented in the writ from the Sherriff’s Office before issuing an active arrest warrant.
Despite a warrant in hand, sometimes, the law enforcement agency is not in a position to take the person into custody. This can happen when they cannot trace the suspect and have other more severe matters to resolve. Regardless of what causes the warrant to go un-served, such arrest orders are kept back in the system as outstanding arrest warrants to be served when possible.
For a warrant search, the best place to start would be the Sherriff’s Office of Peoria County at 301 N Maxwell Rd, Peoria, Illinois 61604. Although you can speak to the records clerk on the phone at 309-697-8515, you will not be offered arrest records through this communication channel.
This is undoubtedly a problem for people who may have a warrant in their name as they will be arrested when they visit the precinct in search of information. A simpler alternative is an online warrant search for which the form above has been provided.
How do you get information on Peoria County arrests and warrants over the phone? (2021-Update)
- For information on arrests and inmates, call the phone number of the Corrections Sergeant 309-697-7841.
- For police reports, arrest records, accident reports and criminal records, get in touch Records Information at 309-697-7830.
- For general inquiries, get in touch with the Sheriff’s Office, use the switchboard phone number- 309-697-8515
- For details pertaining to an investigation, call the Detective Division at 309-697-7822
- For information on arrest warrants and to provide information about a person who is in the warrants list, contact the Sheriff’s Office at 309-672-6011
- For victims assistance, call the Victim’s Services Coordinator at (309) 697-7855
Crime Statistics of Peoria County, IL
Although there was an increase of around 4% in the annual crime average of Peoria County, the overall crime situation still seemed to have improved. And, this was squarely attributed to the significant dip in the rate of violent crimes, which plunged to an annual average of 55 incidents in 2019 from a high of 105 cases in 2018. The property crime average of 2019 stood at 866 cases.
In the nine years that started inn1999 and ended in 2007, almost 77,000 crimes were reported in the area with nearly a 10% violent crime rate. Over 8000 crimes take place annually, and a criminal incident occurs every hour in Peoria. The overall rate of crime has gone down by almost 50%, and if the trend continues, residents of the county can expect to live in a considerably safer environment.