What Should I Do If I Have a Warrant?

It happens all the time on police dramas and reality cop shows. A person is stopped for a minor traffic violation and when the officer looks up the person in the system, they inevitably have an outstanding warrant for their arrest so the officer slaps on the cuffs and hauls them in.

What is a Warrant?

There are 2 kinds of warrants:

Bench Warrant―A legal document that tells law enforcement to arrest someone. These are usually for things like a failure to appear in court, failure to pay a fine such as on a parking ticket or pay court-ordered child or spousal support.

Arrest Warrant―A legal document issued when law enforcement has evidence that a person has committed a crime.

What Happens if I Ignore a Warrant?

If you know you have a warrant for your arrest, you shouldn’t ignore it. If you have a warrant and are stopped for minor traffic infraction, you will be arrested and your vehicle will be impounded. If you’re at home when you’re arrested, your children will be scared and confused and if they’re underage, they’ll be taken away and put into foster care. Or what if you’re at work? You’ll have to suffer the humiliation of being arrested in front of your co-workers and you could even lose your job. If you’re planning on flying somewhere, especially internationally, you will probably be taken into custody at the airport because they’ll assume you’re attempting to flee.

Why would you want to let anything like that happen to you?

Be Proactive

If you deal with the warrant head on, you can save yourself the embarrassment and stress of having a warrant hanging over your head.

If your warrant is for something minor like failure to pay a traffic ticket, solving the problem may be as easy as posting bail on the charge with local law enforcement or the courts before the arrest you. It may simply mean signing an admission of guilt and paying fines and court costs. If the charge on the warrant is more serious than a traffic ticket, call your attorney (or get one). Your attorney may be able to get a bail amount set or even to have you released on your own recognizance if you agree to the court’s terms. She can set up a time for you to surrender yourself to law enforcement for the warrant and then be released on bond.

Taking a proactive approach to your warrant may allow you to turn yourself into a station instead of having the police pick you up, or schedule a hearing before your arrest. It works to your benefit to turn yourself in. Not only does it show that you’re taking responsibility for the warrant, but it also means you can plan ahead like arranging some time off from work, finding a bail bond agent, and choosing which day to turn yourself in―you don’t want to do it too late in the week and risk having to spend the weekend in jail.

Ignoring a warrant won’t make it go away. If you have a warrant and are in need of a bail bond agent in Florida, Mercy Bail Bonds is here to help. Our expert bondsmen can make arrangements to get you out of jail in a few hours. Call us today at (727) 856-7775 anytime, 24/7.