What You Need To Know When Turning Yourself In

Author: Southern Bail Bonds Dallas

You’ve been told you have a warrant. Maybe a law enforcement officer came to your home or place of business. Maybe they called you, or maybe you were informed of a warrant for your arrest during a traffic stop. However you found out, now you know! Your next thought is generally “how do I resolve this without it blowing up in my face, and do I need bail bonds?”

Turning Yourself In To JailThe last thing you want to do is spend time looking over your shoulder and or wondering when “they” will show up. And of course trying to just avoid the situation never works. It provides the terrible opportunity for your arrest to happen in a very public place – possibly at your job! Who wants to be handcuffed and hauled off to jail in front of their co-workers?

NOBODY!!

Aside from lost likely losing your job, just imagine the total embarrassment! So, what do you do? First, find out as much information about the warrant as you can before turning yourself in. This may be a situation where you need an attorney to accompany you.
How Do You Get Information On An Active Warrant?

Depending on what area you’re in, you should be able to contact either the local police department or your local Sheriff’s department. Here in Texas, we can generally contact either one. If you live in a small county, they may not have a separate Police and Sheriff department. In that case you’ll need to contact whichever one is available. Regardless of whom you have to contact, they should be able to provide you with the details around the warrant, like the nature of the charge, whether it’s a misdemeanor or a felony, etc.

Texas has this “thing” called Pocket Warrants. Drives most folks crazy! Why? Because most often only the detective that is actually in possession of the physical paper warrant can give you the details. If that detective is busy or otherwise not reachable, you’re left in the dark as to the nature of the warrant until you can talk to that individual detective.

This might be a good time to consider spinning up a criminal defence attorney. If you can’t afford one, then be prepared to work with a public defender. Either way, your attorney can also get information regarding your warrant. They will have access to court information that you may not have access to. They may also be able to work through the courts to get a bail bond set to help speed the process.

Or even better, an attorney may be able to help you get the issue resolved without you having to go through the whole arrest process at all.
The other option may be to speak directly with a bail bonds company. You can search for “bail bonds near me” to find the closest bail bonds agency. As long as it’s not a pocket warrant, a bail bonds company will be able to tell you if an arrest warrant has been issued and whether or not bail has been set. Keep in mind, bail is hardly ever set at this stage.

Sometimes attorneys will charge to do warrant checks, but not all do. Most bail bonds agencies will do warrant checks for free with no obligations or strings attached. Of course, the hope is that if you do have a warrant, you’ll consider using their services if you actually need to post bail. That’s fair.

Why You Should Turn Yourself In

This may sound odd, but if you do in fact have a warrant and need to turn yourself in, you’ll want to take control of the situation as much as possible! If you turn yourself in, you have control of when you go into custody. You can schedule your arrest for a time when it’s best for you. You can schedule it so you don’t miss any time from work – like on your off days. You can also make arrangements for transportation if you are going to a large facility that may take several hours to complete the process.

You can also make arrangements for child care or pet care or any other special needs that may be required. Most importantly, it provides you with a bit of certainty where you won’t have to be constantly looking over your shoulder. If you do manage to contact the sheriff or detective, many times they will inform you of the best times to go so you can get processed quickly with the least amount of wait time.

Can You Contact A Bail Bonds Company Before You Turn Yourself In?

Absolutely!

Also, turning yourself in shows the courts that you are taking the responsibility of getting the situation resolved on your own. This tends to go a long way with the courts. This also gives you the opportunity to work with a bail bondsman to get your bail set up. Even though you may not know the exact bail amount at the time, you can still make arrangements to have your bail bonds covered up to a set amount. You can have alternate arrangements for if the bond amount is higher than you anticipated.

Basically, you’ll have the opportunity to have everything planned out before you turn yourself in.

If your attorney can get your bail set before you turn yourself in, then the bail bonds company can have the bond paperwork at the ready when you walk in the detention center door.

At Southern Bail Bonds, we generally instruct our clients to call us when then get to the parking lot so we know they’re about to walk in the door. Most bondsmen can monitor the book-in process and know when it’s time to post the bond. Once they see that the book-in (or booking) process is complete, they will post the bond.

On the other hand, if your bail hasn’t been set, you’ll need to see the magistrate as part of the book-in process. The magistrate is usually the person who officially reads your charge to you and sets the amount of bail.

Where Do You Turn Yourself In If You Have a Warrant?

In Minnesota, you can turn yourself in directly at your local county jail or adult detention facilities. The address for the jails, and the days and hours they request you turn yourself in at, are posted on each county sheriff’s website. If you are unable to find the information, contact the sheriff’s office, and they can tell you where to go to turn yourself in.

When turning yourself in, it is important to go to the county jail in the county where your warrant was issued. This prevents slowdowns that can arise if you need to be extradited to another county jail.

What To Bring With You When You Turn Yourself In?

You’ll obviously need to bring some type of valid photo identification like your driver license or state issued identification card or even a valid passport or military ID. If you reside in a county where you are allowed to bond yourself out, then depending on the bond amount, you may want to bring cash (or whatever form of payment the detention center accepts).

Some other items may need to be approved before you can bring them into a detention center, like medications even if they’re prescribed. Any type of “assistant” devices like walking canes or hearing aids may also need to be approved beforehand. Check with your local detention center ahead of time if you think this might be an issue for you.

If you’ve been told you have a warrant in Dallas County, or you even suspect you may have a warrant Southern Bail Bonds can help. Our friendly bail bond agents perform free warrant checks with no obligation. We can also assist with getting your bond posted if needed.

Call us today at 214-372-2500 to get the process started. Southern Bail Bonds agents are professionals who can handle your paperwork quickly and help you get the answers you need. We specialize in helping to relieve stress for our clients because once you make the call, we will handle as much as possible from there.

Call Now – we’re ready to help!


If you enjoyed this article, check out these other articles regarding bail bonds process:
Do I Get My Bail Bond Money Back After My Case Is Complete?
How to Prepare For Your Day in Court