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Newport News Police Department
2. If the suspect's identity is questionable or cannot be determined, consult a supervisor before making
an arrest.
3. A police officer may enter a residence, house, apartment, or motel room without an arrest warrant
“in hand” to make an arrest if:
a. The officer has verified the existence of a warrant for the suspect and its location physically “in
hand” by the Magistrate of the City of Newport News or an employee of the Newport News Police
Department.
b. The residence to be entered is the same address recorded on the arrest warrant.
c. The officer can positively identify the suspect.
d. The officer has reason to believe the suspect is inside.
4. For Fourth Amendment purposes, an arrest warrant founded on probable cause implicitly carries the
limited authority to enter a dwelling where a suspect lives when there is reason to believe the suspect
is within (Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 603 (1980)). This rule applies to misdemeanor warrants
as well as felonies (United States v. Spencer, 684 F. 2d 220, 222-24 (2d Cir. 1982); Archer v.
Commonwealth, 26 Va. App. 1, 10-11).
C. Inquiry and Service of Outstanding Warrants
1. When checking for outstanding warrants, officers must run the subject through both
Communications and the VCIN Unit, in addition to checking for warrants in the RMS system.
2. Officers will contact the VCIN Unit regarding inquiries on outstanding warrants regardless of how
the request is made.
3. If an inquiry is made and a warrant is found to be outstanding for an individual, officers will not take
enforcement action until VCIN Unit personnel confirm that the warrant is physically in hand and the
information on the warrant matches the person the officer is inquiring about.
4. §19.2-81 of the Code of Virginia allows officers to arrest a misdemeanor suspect who committed the
violation outside the officer's presence without a warrant or capias in hand if the officer has received
a radio message from a Virginia law enforcement agency that the warrant or capias for the offense is
on file. This also applies to felony warrants on file.
5. Only Records and Fugitive Apprehension Unit personnel are authorized to enter and remove any
legal process from its file location. Any warrant removed from the Record Unit files will be signed out
in the Warrant Sign-Out Log located in Records, indicating the officer to whom the warrant was
assigned. [74.1.2(b)]
D. Process Paperwork
1. The officer shall provide the arrestee with a copy of all criminal warrants except as provided in §46.2-
936 of the Code of Virginia.
2. Officers must provide a valid court date.
3. Officers executing a warrant shall:
a. Validate the arrestee’s address by checking the appropriate box. If the address on the warrant is
not correct, write the new address on the warrant.
b. Indicate the execution date and complete the “executed by” field. Forward it to the court to which
the summons is returnable (i.e., the indicated area in booking).
c. Notify Communications personnel that the subject needs to be cleared from VCIN/NCIC.
d. Ensure the Warrant Unit receives a copy of any executed warrant (i.e., the indicated area in the
booking).
NOTE: In cases where a police aide relays a warrant to the booking area, they will ensure
that the arrest information is relayed to an officer or Records personnel.
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