Your best options for a warrant check and details on recent arrests in Washington DC
The thing about trying to access arrest records from Washington DC is that you only have to approach one law enforcement agency. Also, the local judiciary covers a smaller geographical area, which means you have fewer courts to cover for a warrant lookup. On the plus side, this means that you don’t have to do a lot of running around and that the information is easy to locate.
On the flip side, this also means that you don’t have a whole lot of options if one agency declines your request for an arrest inquiry. So, the question is- Will it be easy to access information on Washington DC arrest warrants or will you reach a dead-end before you get access to the arrest log for the area? Continue reading to find out…
Does the local police offer Washington DC arrests records to the public?
Although they should have no problems offering information on Washington arrests, surprisingly, the Metropolitan Police does not make it easy for the public to access this data. This creates two issues:
- People who cannot locate a loved one have to go down to the local law enforcement office to find out if DUI arrests are responsible for the disappearance of their subject. It goes without saying that things would be far simpler if they could initiate the arrest inquiry online.
- Those who need to find arrests records, even instances of recent arrests in Washington DC as a prelude to a criminal background check, have to do quite a bit of running around for details. Usually, this information is conveniently offered online in most other parts of the country.
So, if you do need access to data on arrests, you will need to approach the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Department or the law enforcement branch of the agency that is in charge of your area. Their contact details are:
- The headquarters of MPD: 300 Indiana Avenue, NW, Room 5059, Washington, DC 20001. Phone: (202) 727-9099.
- First district: 101 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024. Phone: (202) 698-0555 or
- Second District: 3320 Idaho Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016. Phone: (202) 715-7300
- Third District: 1620 V Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009. Phone: (202) 673-6815
- Fourth District: 6001 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20011. Phone: (202) 715-7400
- Fifth District: 1805 Bladensburg Road, NE, Washington, DC 20002. Phone: (202) 698-0150
- Sixth District: 5002 Hayes Street, NE, Washington, DC 20019. Phone: (202) 698-0880
- Seventh District: 2455 Alabama Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20020. Phone: (202) 698-1500
If you are not sure about the Police Service Area of your neighborhood, you can get information on it here.
Is there any way to do an arrest records check online?
If you are looking for an actual arrest inquiry tool, like the one you are likely to find on the websites of some other law enforcement agencies, you won’t have any luck. However, the MPD does provide a concise version of the police blotter on their website.
Check their news page at here. On there, you will find information about the criminal cases handled by them, including those in which the perpetrators were arrested as well as those matters in which the suspects managed to escape.
Unless the detainees are juveniles, they will provide the name of the persons arrested along with the charges that were filed against them as well as the location at which the arrests were made/crime occurred. So, this is one way to get a head start on your arrest records search although it is not the easiest way to get your inquiry underway.
How different is an arrest log from an arrest report from Washington DC?
An arrest log is quite simply the list of all individuals who are taken into custody over a specific period of time by a particular law enforcement agency. So, this could be a list of all arrests made in the last 24 hours or over the last 5 days or even over the last 1-3 months.
In contrast, an arrest report is a more individualized form of criminal records. So, you won’t find out about those who got busted. Instead, you will get to know how many times your subject got busted or even about the arrest that occurred in connection with a specific criminal incident.
Isn’t local law enforcement obligated to give the detainee his/her arrest report?
Yes, they are and they do, but you will have to wait for it. At your first court listing/appearance, which is also known as arraignment, the prosecutor/state will hand your lawyer a bunch of documents known as the initial discovery packet. You don’t have to pay anything to get this packet and the documents in it include:
- The initial plea offer made to you.
- Results of the initial criminal background check.
- Police reports (PD-163 also known as the prosecution or arrest report) against you.
- Copies of statements that you have made to the police.
- Photographs and property receipts.
Is there a way to access the Washington DC arrest records before the arraignment?
The MPD will provide an abbreviated form of the PD-163 arrest report. Known as the PD-251, this is a two-page report that contains information such as the:
- Date and time when the crime occurred.
- The name of the officer who arrested the suspect.
- Description of the charges against the suspect.
- Name and other details about the complainant.
At the time of writing this article, the MPD had waived the $7 fee for police reports. You can access the arrest report in three ways:
- In person: Either you or your lawyer can approach the criminal records office of the MPD for the report. They work out of the headquarters of the agency (address given above), Room 3075. You will need to provide the full name of the suspect, the date, time and location of the incident/crime and the CCN number (6-digit report number).
- Through email: To receive the report by mail, send all the information mentioned above to public-docs@dc.gov.
- By mail: Send a letter with the required information mentioned in it along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Metropolitan Police Department, Public Documents Section, ATTN: Accident/Incident Reports, 300 Indiana Avenue NW, Room 3075, Washington, DC 20001.
What is the difference between criminal records and arrest records from Washington DC?
As discussed above, arrest records pertain to just one specific criminal matter or only offer details on instances of arrests faced by the subject along with a brief summary of the charges against him. In contrast, criminal records also known as the Police Clearance contain just about every bit of information pertaining to all criminal instances that the subject was involved.
This is a paid inquiry and you can get two options for requesting the report. In fact, the information offered will be different based on the option you choose:
Option A: You can request a police clearance to check your eligibility for sealing/expungement of records. You will have to pay $7 for the inquiry and wait for up to 10 business days to receive the report. It will have information on all instances of arrests, including those that did not result in a conviction as well as those for which the sentence has been served.
Option B: You can request this report in person or authorize another individual to access the arrests records for any purpose other than expungement. The fees and the processing time are the same as above but this report only contains details on all adult convictions for which the sentences were served no more than ten years prior to the date of the inquiry.
You will need some form of government issued ID card to initiate the search. This could be your driver’s license, a non-driver’s ID, your original birth certificate or your social security card. You will find the PD-70 form required for filing the request at the counter of the Arrest and Criminal History Section of the MPD Headquarters.
Can the judiciary help you to get your hands on details about arrests in Washington DC?
Yes, they certainly can. However, once again, you won’t get access to the arrest log, but to the arrest history of an individual. In fact, this is a better bet when it comes to an arrest inquiry because you get information on so much more than just your subject’s most recent brush with the law.
Because all criminal matters eventually end up in court, as search of judicial records can basically get you data on all criminal complaints against the subject. To top it all, you can conduct the search for arrests records online through the judiciary and you don’t have to pay anything for it. Plus, there is no registration process, which means the arrest inquiry can be conducted discreetly.
So, unless you need a formal report, which can only be obtained once you have the subject’s permission, this is truly the best way to access the criminal records against the subject. Criminal court records can be searched by using the tool here.
You get the option to search by using the name of the subject or the case number. In case of the name, you will need both the first and the last name. You can narrow down the results by using the date of birth of the subject as well as a time range for the criminal complaints if you are looking for information about a specific case.
The results yield a wealth of information, including the criminal court docket of every case against the subject, details on the charges and the verdict, sentencing information, including possibility of conditional release.
How different are jail records from the arrest list for Washington DC?
The arrest list, as discussed above, is simply a compilation of data pertaining to all arrests that were made in a certain period of time. The detainees in this case are suspects/under-trials. In contrast, with jail records, you are basically being given access to the data maintained by the Department of Corrections.
The results of your inquiry will get you details on convicts who are currently serving time in a federal penitentiary that serves the Washington DC area or those who have been released either after the completion of their sentence or on parole/probation. In both scenarios, you will get complete correctional data pertaining to the convict, including:
- The full name of the person.
- The DOC ID number.
- Charges for which the inmate was convicted.
- Name of correctional facility where he is being held.
- The duration of the sentence.
- Possibility of conditional release of parole/probation.
- Date when released (for convicts who have served their sentences).
Can you access the jail records for Washington DC?
Yes, you can but this information is not offered online. So, you will either have to visit the office of the DOC or contact them on the phone. It is possible for crime victims to receive jail records by registering on VINE. Here is the information you will need:
General inquiries: If you are not the victim of a criminal act and simply want information on an inmate, you will only need his/her full name or the DOC number to initiate the inquiry. Call the Records Office of the DOC on (202) 523-7060.
Information for crime victims: If you are a crime victim, you can register with the Victim Information and Notification Everyday Service (VINE) by calling on 1 (877) 329-7894. You will need to have the DC Department of Corrections Number (DCDC number) or the identification number from the MPD (PDID), the criminal case number or the inmate’s full name. Once you register, you will receive daily updates about the movement of the convict through and within the DC correctional system.