Attorney for Warrants in Cincinnati
The attorneys at Joslyn Law Firm represent clients with an outstanding warrant initiated by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Cincinnati Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies in Hamilton County, Ohio.
We help clients with an outstanding felony warrant, misdemeanor warrant, violation of probation warrant, bench warrant, arrest warrant and capias. We also represent clients being held in another county or state while awaiting extradition back to Hamilton County, Ohio.
We are familiar with the procedures used by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Cincinnati Police Department and the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST). If you have a warrant for your arrest, call an attorney to find out the best way to surrender on the warrant and whether a “Motion to Recall the Warrant” can be filed in your case.
Call to speak directly with an experienced criminal defense attorney about your case. Let us put our experience to work for you.
Procedures for Recording and Service Warrants in Cincinnati, Ohio
The Cincinnati Police Department Procedure Manual is to provide an official guide outlining the way to do many of the routine operations which confront the Cincinnati Police Department.
The purpose of the procedures in Procedure Number 12.260 for adult warrants is to establish a uniform system for handling warrants throughout the Cincinnati Police Department. Last revised on 07/05/11, the procedures also identify the warrant service responsibilities of police districts, sections and units receiving warrants for service.
It is the police of the City of Cincinnati Police Department that district, section and unit commanders will continually review and evaluate the warrant load of the unit and ensure the load remains at a manageable level. The Police Department utilizes Record Management System (RMS) to track the status of warrants in the City of Cincinnati.
The procedure for recording warrants requires the Hamilton County Central Warrants Processing Unit (CWPU) to prepare and forward warrants in the following manner:
a. Misdemeanor, Domestic Violence, Felony 4 and Felony 5 warrants will be forwarded to the appropriate unit based upon the defendant’s address.
b. Felony 1, Felony 2, and Felony 3 warrants will be forwarded to the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST).
CWPU will prepare warrants with the name, address, date processed, warrant number, charge, bond (if any), date of offense, and assigned district. Warrants sent to the wrong district/section/unit should be forwarded to the correct district/section/unit through interdepartmental mail.
Form 481, Cincinnati Police Warrant Transfer, will be completed in duplicate. The original will remain with the transferring unit. The copy will be forwarded with the warrant. Units will immediately enter warrants into RMS.
a. Felony warrants will be assigned to the police officer who signed the warrant.
b. Misdemeanor warrants will be assigned to the beat officer who signed the warrant or who is assigned to the beat of the defendant’s last known address.
c. City warrants for county residents will be assigned to the unit warrant officer.
d. An Open Warrant List will be printed and distributed on a daily basis to all district/section/unit personnel after warrant assignments are made. (The open warrant list will include a list of capiases issued on the previous court date).
Information will be recorded relative to a warrant on the Open Warrants List. The unit will also process warrants for persons held at the Hamilton County Justice Center or other correctional facilities through CWPU. When the serving officer learns of the incarceration, the officer will contact CWPU for further instructions.
When serving warrants, the procedure requires that criminal warrants issued for City of Cincinnati cases by the judiciary are the responsibility of the Cincinnati Police Department. The service areas for Hamilton County follow U.S. Postal zones. The following zones will serve as boundaries outside the City limits:
- Service areas for District Two: 45230, 36, 42, 43, 44, 55 and parts of 45111 (Camp Dennison), 45140 (Loveland) and 45174 (Terrace Park) within Hamilton County.
- Service areas for District Three: 45211, 33, 38, 48 and parts of 45001 (Addyston), 45002 (Cleves), 45030 (Harrison), 45033 (Hooven), 45041 (Miamitown), 45051 (Mt. St. Joseph) and 45052 (North Bend) within Hamilton County.
- Service areas for District Four: 45212, 15, 16, 17, 37, 41, and 46 within Hamilton County.
- Service areas for District Five: 45218, 24, 31, 39, 40, and 47 within Hamilton County.
The unit must record all information obtained about the wanted person on a Form 311, Incident Closure Report, and return to the warrant officer for entry into RMS. If the warrant can be served at an address different than the one listed, the police officer will complete a Form 481 and forward it to the correct district/section/unit. Units will attempt to serve the warrants within a 30 day period.
Additional Resources
City of Cincinnati Police Department Procedures for Warrants – The procedures for both felony and misdemeanor arrest warrants, violation of probation warrants, bench warrants or a capias are set out in Cincinnati Police Department Procedure Manual in Procedure Number 12.260 Warrants for Adults: Service and Recording, Procedure Number Arrest/Citation: Processing of Adult Misdemeanor and Felony Offenders, and Procedure 12.900, Processing Juvenile Offenders.
Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) – SOFAST has made a tremendous impact by arresting the most wanted fugitives in Hamilton County and the greater Cincinnati area. Over the past year, SOFAST has arrested hundreds of fugitives, clearing hundreds of federal and state felony warrants and hundreds of misdemeanor warrants. The task force is also responsible for taking firearms off the streets and seizing various amounts of illegal narcotics.
Finding an Attorney in Cincinnati for a Warrant
If you think you might have an active warrant pending, then contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at Joslyn Law Firm. Our attorneys represent clients throughout greater Cincinnati and the surrounding areas of Hamilton County, Ohio, with an outstanding warrant for a misdemeanor or felony, violation of probation warrant, or fugitive extradition warrant.
Let us put our experience to work for you. Call (513) 399-6289 to speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney about your case.
This article was last updated on Monday, November 16, 2015.
