Legal Question in Criminal Law in California
When and where?
Do the police have the manpower and the finances to arrest everyone that has a warrant out for their arrest! My nephew was accused of over $7,000 bucks in property damage - I guess vandalism. The cops were called and my nephew accused by the property owner. The cops are or were investigating and from what I've heard an arrest warrant might be forthcoming if not already issued. Why then have they not come to arrest my nephew? He's not hiding but he also has not and will not talk to the police. My nephew claims innocence! We live in a very populated area of L.A. County and I'm sure cops just can't go out and arrest everyone that has a warrant. I guess they figure sooner or later that someone with a warrant out for their arrest will get a ticket and then be arrested?????
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: When and where?
You're right that the police don't have the resources to go after everyone, but the suspect in a $7,000 vandalism incident will probably be among those they do try to get.
The amount of resources available to police varies from city to city; the police in Beverly Hills are extraordinarily well-funded and can probably go after almost every suspect, but most other cities fall far short of this level. The odds of the police trying to arrest your nephew depend in part upon the tax base of the city in which the vandalism occurred.