A person can only be booked for a crime when he is arrested while in the act of trying to leave the scene of the incident after having committed it. However, this cannot always be accomplished as some criminal matters require investigation before the case can be closed and the suspect’s name emerges. In this case, an active warrant from Washington County, Illinois, is a requisite for taking the accused into custody.
For this reason, police have been given the right to approach the judiciary when they need arrest warrants. However, this can only be done when the proof collected is enough to be put down in black and white and submitted in court for the judiciary’s perusal. The court ensures that the evidence is indeed adequate to establish guilt.
While the charges do not have to be proven at this point, if a Washington County active warrant has been granted to the police, it is indicative that the judiciary did find merit in the matter. All arrest orders that cannot be executed immediately become outstanding warrants when included in the sheriff’s department and the FBI’s databases. Bear in mind that the office of the sheriff also maintains a list of Washington County’s most wanted
Apart from this agency, the magistrate’s office that issues the arrest warrants also has information about them. Arrest records from the county and the state can also be sought through the Washington County clerk’s office. This agency prepares the court dockets and maintains a repository of these trial records. This database can be accessed by visiting the justice center of Washington County. So, for a warrant search, you can go through:
- The office of the sheriff: 245 N Kaskaskia, Nashville, Illinois 62263
- The office of the magistrate: 1101 E. St Louis St, Nashville, IL 62263
- The office of the clerk of court: As given above
How do you get information on Washington County arrests and warrants over the phone? (2021-Update)
- For information on active warrants, arrests and inmates and incident/accident records, call 618-327-4800 (EXT. 335)
- For police reports, arrest records, accident reports and criminal records, get in touch with the law enforcement office at 618‐327‐8273.
- For general inquiries, get in touch with the Sheriff’s Office, call 618-327-8274
- For information on current and past criminal cases and accessing the judicial records of these cases, call the Clerk of Court at 618-327-4800 (EXT. 305)
- For victims assistance, call the Victim’s Services Coordinator at 618-327-4800 (EXT. 320)
Crime Statistics of Washington County, IL
Around 30 criminal complaints were filed in Washington County in 2019. Although in terms of the total annual crime rate, this isn’t a worrisome figure, the fact that nearly one-half of all offenses reported were violent crimes is certainly shocking.
Over 30 complaints were filed against violent crimes. Save for one instance of robbery, all other complaints made in this category were against aggravated assaults. Property crimes led to the filing of 37 complaints, which included 10 cases of burglary, 5 cases of motor vehicle theft and 22 of larceny-theft.
Nearly 120 criminal incidents were reported in Washington County, IL in 2011. Of these, almost 20% were acts that could be categorized as violent, while property crimes contributed nearly 35 cases to this figure. Theft and assault had the highest occurrence rate of all crime categories, with 23 and 25 complaints filed in such matters in the year mentioned.