An arrest is deemed lawful only in two cases; a person should either be taken into custody when committing the crime or an arrest warrant out against him/her. Like the rest of the country, the issue of arrest warrants in Lake County, IL, is governed by the statute of limitations, which confers certain rights on the arresting officers and the person who is being detained.
An arrest warrant can only be issued by a state or federal criminal court. It authorizes the police to use any form of force necessary to restrain the person in question. An active arrest warrant once entered into the nationwide criminal database stays in effect unless an arrest is made. So, even an old warrant for arrest can lead to police detention.
Because an arrest warrant legalizes an arrest, it can be issued at any time of the day or night to facilitate the alleged criminal’s immediate arrest. The police are under no obligation to issue a notice informing the person about the arrest warrant against him/her except at the time of detention.
An active arrest warrant is an order of arrest from the local criminal court’s magistrate, which is only issued after the admittance of a writ petition that informs the Lake County criminal court of the incident, evidence, and suspect. If a person is not arrested for a while after an arrest warrant has been issued against him/her, the warrant is backlogged and termed as outstanding.
An outstanding arrest warrant will also lead to an arrest even after years of it being issued. So, if you want to conduct a warrant search in the county, get in touch with the Sheriff’s Department with your photo ID and the first and last name of the individual for whom the warrant search is being conducted.
Call on the Lake County Sheriff’s Department at 25 S. Martin Luther King Jr Ave, Waukegan, IL 60085, or check out their website apps01.lakecountyil.gov/sheriff/pdfs/activewarrant.pdf for arrest records. You can also speak to the records clerk over the phone by dialing 847-377-4000.
How do you get information on Lake County arrests and warrants over the phone? (2021-Update)
- To know about recent arrests, call the Corrections Division at 847-377-4150.
- To find out about outstanding warrants and/or to complain about someone with an active warrant against him/her: Call the Warrant Services Team at 847-377-4300.
- To access inmate records: Get in touch with Corrections at 847-377-4188.
- To know about the investigation of a criminal case filed by you: Call the Criminal Investigation Unit at 847-377-4250.
- To get information on most wanted sex offenders or to complain about a most wanted sex offender, call the Sheriff’s Office at 847-549-5200.
- To get general information from the law enforcement agency or to file a non-emergency complaint, call the Sheriff’s dispatch phone number- 847-377-4000.
- To know more about accessing criminal court records, contact the Criminal/Traffic Division of the Circuit Clerk’s Office at 847-377-3239.
Crime statistics for Lake County, IL
In 2019, approximately 900 criminal incidents were reported in Lake County. Of the complaints handled by the police, the majority, at over 770 cases, were instances of property crimes. They included more than 500 cases filed against larceny-theft and around 200 cases filed against burglary. Violent crimes resulted in the filing of a few over 100 cases, of which more than 63 were aggravated assault cases.
The crime rate in Lake County, IL, increased marginally between 2008 to 2009 to a little above 20.5 per 1000 people. The area figures on the list of counties with the highest crime rates in Illinois.