In San Mateo County, California, an arrest warrant is a court document signed by a judge that orders law enforcement to arrest a subject for an alleged crime. An active warrant orders that the subject is brought before a judge and includes a list of the charges.
A bench warrant is a little different type of document that results when a subject has disobeyed a court’s order, such as the failure to appear for a scheduled court date. Bench warrants are mostly used in civil cases without a prior arrest and less often in criminal proceedings.
In San Mateo County, it may take three to five days for law enforcement authorities to enter a warrant into the Automated Warrant System (AWS), which other counties use, including San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Alameda. Suppose the arrest warrant is entered into the Wanted Persons Systems (WPS). In that case, it is accessible to all California law enforcement agencies. It obligates the issuing agency to transport the subject from where he is arrested anywhere in the State of California.
If you would like to carry out a warrant search for yourself or someone else, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office has an excellent site at www.smcsheriff.com, which contains much information and is highly organized.
If the warrant you are searching for is civil, you can go to the San Mateo County Civil Division located in the Hall of Justice 400 County Center, Redwood City, on the 3rd floor. You can also call them at 650-363-4497.
If your arrest warrant is criminal, you can go to the same address above, to the 4th floor, call 650-363-4302.
Suppose you desire to find records regarding a specific case or person. In that case, The Superior Court of California County of San Mateo is located at 400 County Center, 1st Floor, Room A, Redwood City, CA 94063, or by phone at 650-363-4922.
For the State of California criminal records database, you can refer to the above search reference.
To see if someone is currently incarcerated or obtain information about specific facilities, the Corrections Division of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office lists all the information you would need http://www.smcsheriff.com/divisions/corrections-division#correctional-services.
Can you find arrest records and information on San Mateo County warrants over the phone? (Updated in 2021)
- To connect with the Detention Center, use the phone number of the San Mateo County Main Jail- (650) 363-4000.
- To file a non-emergency report, call the Sheriff’s Office on (650) 363-4911.
- To reach victim’s services, call the DA’s Office on (650) 599-7479.
- To know about arrest records and active warrants, connect with the Records Bureau at (650) 363-4525.
- To learn about the status of a criminal case filed by you, call the Detectives Bureau at (650) 599-1536.
- To avail of fingerprinting services, call the agency at (650) 599-1570.
- To inquire about recent arrests, call the Maguire Correctional Facility at (650) 363-4000, ext. 6070 or 6071.
- To get information about current inmates, call (650) 599-3000 to reach both the Maple Street Correctional Facility and the Men’s and Women’s Transitional Facilities.
- To know/complain about a person who is in the Sheriff’s work release program or electronic monitoring program, call the law enforcement office at (650) 599-3030.
- To access arrest records and to initiate a warrant search through the San Mateo City Police Department, call (650) 522-7710.
Crime statistics for San Mateo County, CA
The increase of almost 10% in the annual crime rate of San Mateo took the caseload of the local law enforcement agency to well over 3500 reports in 2019 from a low of 3150 incidents in 2018. The total number of cases filed in 2019 was the sum of around 3250 property crimes and 325 violent crimes.
The total reported crimes in Sam Mateo County, California were over 180,000 between 1999 and 2008, of which almost 134,000 were thefts, over 1,400 rapes, and about 180 murders. On average, a crime is reported every 28 minutes, resulting in about 18,000 each year. Overall, reported crime and violent crime have grown by 16% in San Mateo County, CA, during the same period.