How to Track the Case of Someone Who's Been Arrested

If a loved one is arrested in Denver County, it can cause feelings of confusion. You have a lot of questions and you want answers. This is especially true if they are asking you to get involved in some way, such as by contacting a bail bond agent or co-signing a bail bond. Or both. Even if the person is not related, you may want to track their case to collect case details for an attorney or as a matter of public interest. So how do you do that? In this guide, we'll dive into the issue of tracking the case of someone who's been arrested.

First Things First: What Happens to Someone When They are Arrested?

Tracking the case of someone who's been arrested means starting at the point where they ran afoul of the police. Here is how the process unfolds from there:

The arrest is made

The police have several justifications for arresting someone: probable cause related to an incident, an outstanding warrant or as the result of an investigation. During the arrest, the police must inform the suspect why they are being arrested.

The person is transported to jail

Once the arrest is made, the individual is transported to the county jail that is in the jurisdiction where the arrest was performed.

The individual is booked

Booking constitutes the process of officially entering a person into the system. Typically, booking includes gathering fingerprints, running a background check and more.

Bail

If the alleged crime is not considered serious and the person is not considered a risk to the public, they will likely be offered bail from a bail schedule and may be released in a few hours to await their court date at home.

On the other hand, the state can insist that the suspect remain in custody until they can be presented before a judge. By law, that needs to happen within 48 hours of their arrest. At that hearing, the charges against them will be formally presented, and they may or may not be offered bail.

Why Track a Case?

Tracking or monitoring a case is often about staying informed regarding a troubling situation with a loved one, friend or employee. And because arrest records in Jefferson County and throughout Colorado are considered public information, doing so is usually a pretty straightforward process, as long as you know where to look.

By monitoring a person's case as it works its way through the legal system, you can:

• Stay up to date on court proceedings, trial dates and other particulars. If the hearing date changes, you will know and, if applicable, inform the accused.
• Get a better understanding of the charges so you can make informed decisions regarding the loved one's legal strategy or whether to continue to employ the accused individual.
• Clear away the fog of confusion and gain a clear picture of the situation facing the accused.

How to Track a Case in Colorado

Now that you understand the arrest, incarceration, bail and judicial process a little better, let's look at some of the ways you can track a case in Colorado.

Start by confirming the arrest

The first step in tracking someone's case is confirming the arrest. In Colorado, that can be done through the website of the sheriff's office in the county where the arrest was made. To confirm the arrest, choose the search option and enter the person's full name.

For Denver-area arrests, helpful starting points include:

• Denver Sheriff Department – Inmate & Bonding Info
• Jefferson County Sheriff – Inmate Lookup & Booking
• Arapahoe County Sheriff – Detention & Inmate Info

Search court records

If you need more detailed information about the person's case, you can search through court records. Once a case is filed, all relevant information is entered into the Colorado court system database. To obtain the information you need, go to coloradojudicial.gov/courts-records-search or CoCourts.com and search by the person's name or case number.

Conduct a statewide criminal history check

If, for some reason, you need an even more detailed account of the person's case, go to cbi.colorado.gov. This is the website for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Through that site, you can link to the Internet Criminal History Check database.

This will provide arrest and criminal history details from across the entire state. Not just the county where the person was arrested. Be aware, however, that you will be required to pay a modest fee to access information in that database.

Locate a prisoner

If the person you have been tracking ends up in prison, you can find out where they are through the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) Online Inmate Locator.

Colorado Inmate & Arrest Lookup Tools

Below is a quick-access table of online lookup tools for Denver metro area jails and other major jails and resources across Colorado.

This video explains the difference between jail and prison:

Make an open records requests

In rare instances, information about a particular individual may not be online, in which case you can track them by making a Colorado Open Records request. Be aware, however, that this process can take time.

Helpful Tips for Those Tracking a Case

There are several ways to monitor someone's case these days, some fast and easy and others that require fees or patience or both. In any case, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when attempting to track someone's case:

• Be patient: The booking process is not always fast and efficient, meaning it may take several hours for a person's arrest information to appear online.
• Always use full legal names: Avoid using nicknames, abbreviations or incomplete versions of a person's name.
• Take advantage of different sources: If it's important that you obtain as much detail about a case as possible, make sure you take advantage of multiple sources of information, as they typically contain different pieces of information.
• Be aware of privacy laws: Some cases, such as juvenile cases or sealed cases, are not available to the general public.
• Secure the help of an experienced bondsman: You'll want your loved one out of jail as soon as possible. So make sure you work with an experienced bail bond company, one that offers 24-hour bail bonds.

Summary

If you need information regarding the arrest and processing of an individual in Colorado, you have several options. Which ones you choose will depend on exactly how much information you need about the person's case. When monitoring someone's case, just remember to be patient, be precise when entering search data and be aware that information in some cases may not be accessible to the public.

Contact Tayler Made Bail Bonds

Tayler Made Bail Bonds offers affordable bail bonds 24 hours a day in Jefferson County, Golden and beyond. Our goal is to ensure your loved one does not spend 1 minute more than necessary behind bars. If you need help, give us a call at (303) 623-0399.