Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes which is known as the criminal procedure lays down the law for the issue of an arrest warrant in response to a verified complaint. Section 171 of the title states that when a complaint that is verified by oath whether in the form of a witness testimony or a written affidavit of probable cause is presented before the court and if the magistrate of the tribunal is satisfied by this information of the offense indeed being committed and the involvement of the accused in it, he should issue a warrant of arrest
The form of an Oklahoma active warrant is explained in section 172 which states that a judicial order for arrest must be a written directive for the detention of an individual. It must be signed by the magistrate and have the date of issue and the place in which it was released clearly mentioned on it. Furthermore, it should bear a clear command going out to all peace officers in the state or the county, as may be applicable, to apprehend the accused.
The charges that the person is being accused of should also be mentioned on the warrant along with information about the suspect that will aid in his arrest like his name, gender, address, physical description, etc. If the name of the alleged offender is unknown, he may be addressed by any name. If the offense that this person is being accused of is bailable, this should be clearly mentioned on the warrant along with the bail amount set for release.
The execution of Oklahoma active warrants
The powers of the peace officer who is serving the warrant are explained in section 174-175; they state that while a warrant has to be executed by a law enforcement agent, he can seek the assistance of a civilian to detain the offender if need be. It is also clarified that all arrest warrants except for those that have been issued against city ordinance violations can be served in any county of the Oklahoma.
The time of making the arrest has been clarified in section 182. Pursuant to this law, an arrest in a felony case can be made at any time of the night or day. In contrast, for misdemeanor offenses, the person in question can be taken into custody only between 6 am and 10 pm unless otherwise instructed by the issuing magistrate. However, such an arrest can be made at any time if the accused is in a public place or on a public road.
Finding information on Oklahoma active warrants
In case of a general warrant inquiry that is not aimed at a particular individual, it would be best to seek information through the most wanted list posted on the website of the local sheriff’s office. Although few law enforcement agencies offer this data online, some that do are:
- Creek County:http://creekcountysheriff.com/wanted.php
- Oklahoma County: http://okcfox.com/news/oklahomas-most-wanted
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections also offers its statewide list of fugitives at http://204.62.19.160/fugitives/most_wanted.aspx . Alternatively, you can also get information on active warrants issued in the area from the court dockets database available on the official website of the state judiciary at http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/casesearch.asp.
This website allows you to search for case records by using the name of the defendant, the case number or the name of the attorney handling the matter. In terms of county or city specific arrest warrants related information, only the city of Shawnee and Oklahoma county police departments offer this information online
A list of outstanding warrants can also be procured from the site of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at http://www.ok.gov/osbi/Investigative/Wanted_Persons/.