When interacting with the Police, in Wisconsin

FPC Informational Memorandum: Confirmation of Warrants Prior to Arrest
Issue:
Under Wisconsin Statute Section 968.07, a law enforcement officer may arrest a person when the
law enforcement officer believes, on reasonable grounds, that a warrant for the person’s arrest
has been issued in this state. The information that a warrant for a person’s arrest may exist is
usually obtained when an officer “runs a wanted check” either via radio with the district station
console operator or through the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) laptop squad computer. The
district station console operator is usually a civilian office assistant with access to the National
Crime Information Center (NCIC), Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), and local warrant
databases. Once the possibility of an existing warrant is identified through an initial check of the
databases by the console operator, it is the responsibility of the officer executing the warrant to
determine that the subject is the person for whom the warrant was issued. A person can be
identified as the subject named in a warrant by matching various factors such as date of birth,
social security number, physical description, fingerprint, photograph, or other means of positive
identification.
Once a person is identified as the subject named in the warrant, it must then be confirmed as a
valid, active warrant with the police agency that entered the warrant into the database.
Confirmation of a warrant is always necessary, since the computer database may not accurately
reflect the most current status of the underlying case upon which the warrant was originally
issued. The existence of a warrant in the database merely indicates the likelihood of a valid
warrant. Authority to make an arrest does not exist until the officer has confirmed the actual
existence of the warrant. If the warrant is issued by another police agency, the console operator
must contact the originating police agency either telephonically or electronically and request the
status of the warrant. The length of time required to confirm the existence of a valid warrant
varies but is typically a matter of minutes rather than hours. Since the majority of warrants are
confirmed as valid, some officers have made it a practice to take a subject into custody before a

Beliefs and Superstitions in the Law

There are many beliefs in the upholding of the law, of the criminal justice system. Such as if you do the crime, you must do the time. Crime does not pay. Yet there also exist the superstitions that locking up people will put an end to crime.  Couple with the belief that people are bad, not the system Now, if this was truly the case then. Why are there so many new laws on the books on how to lock people up? Since we can no longer convict people and burn then at the stake or cut off their head or hands for misdeeds neither.

 Who questions any of this? Or do we struggle with belief or superstitions when complying with the law.Here is a prime example; my sister got a parking ticket awhile back. But this was not just any old parking ticket that was just waiting on her car to be picked off the windshield of her vehicle.  Plus the place was once designated as no parking because it was a bus stop. This ticket was tucked in the windshield, to the point that my sister’s anger at just leaving work late and unable to settle a job related issues. She just could not see the parking ticket at that time. So, this did not allow her to notice that the parking ticket was placed on her car, until something flew up in the wind and was carried way as she drove off in a huff.

Upon reaching home, she then places a call to find out yes, she did have a parking ticket and the amount of it was troubling to my sister. She was also given instruction on how to pay for her mistake.

Believing that she should pay, as we all do. My sister paid the ticket. This was part of her belief. But it was through getting on her nervous that made her question her actions. I questioned her about “was the spot marked; saying no parking”, were there other people parked there or sign that would have stated park at your own risk? This is what drove her to call and take action on the ticket matter.

The location as she finds out was no longer designated as a bus stop for more than two years. Yet while trying to tell her story to various departments that she called to get some relief to the matter at hand, it fell on deaf ears. She was even told why you paid the ticket then? Never mind the fact that other might have been given tickets for parking there.

However, it was my sister’s feeling guilty because she had broken the law and had to pay. That made her not hold back and see if she was indeed wrong for parking there like some many others. She also stated that she did not want to go to court. Yet after paying the ticket and now wanting her money back, she still has to file a contest complaint. After all she wants to be a good citizen and believes that the laws should not be questioned.

So in closing. Remember that belief are important. Belief in what is right also matters. But belief in something that does not exist that is just plain superstition. There might be a few missed guided individuals. But plenty of the laws on the books should not just be accepted as facts or belief. But questioned to see if the still hold true, and what are they importants and impacts.