- Accessory -
A person who knowingly helps another person commit a crime or avoid detection or arrest. The exact legal meaning depends on when and how the help occurred.
- Acquittal -
A finding of not guilty after a trial. An acquittal is different from a dismissal of the charge.
- Affidavit -
A written statement of facts that a person swears or affirms is true, often used to support a warrant or court request.
- Alibi -
A claim or evidence that a person was somewhere else when an offense occurred and therefore could not have committed it.
- Arraignment -
A court hearing where the accused is formally told the charge and asked to enter a plea.
- Arrest -
Taking a person into legal custody based on probable cause, a warrant, or another lawful authority.
- Arrest warrant -
A court order authorizing law enforcement to take a named person into custody.
- ATL -
An instruction asking officers to attempt to locate a person, vehicle, or item. It often appears in dispatch notes or radio traffic.
- Attempt -
Taking a substantial step toward committing a crime while intending to commit it, even though the crime is not completed.
- BOLO -
An alert issued to officers to watch for a particular person, vehicle, or item connected to an incident or investigation. It stands for “Be On the Lookout.”
- Bond -
Money or conditions set by a court to help ensure that an accused person returns for future proceedings and follows release requirements.
- Breath test -
A chemical test that measures alcohol concentration from a person's breath, usually with an approved testing instrument.
- CAD -
A computer-aided dispatch system used to receive calls, assign units, record times, and document information about police, fire, or medical incidents.
- Case clearance -
The formal closing of a reported offense because it was solved by arrest or cleared under specific reporting rules. It does not necessarily mean the case ended in conviction.
- Chain of custody -
The documented record showing who collected, handled, transferred, stored, or examined a piece of evidence from the time it was obtained.
- Citation -
A written notice accusing a person of an offense and directing them to pay a fine, respond, or appear in court. A citation may be issued instead of a custodial arrest for some offenses.
- Cold case -
An unsolved case that remains open but has no current workable leads, often after a substantial period of time.
- Complainant -
A person who reports an incident, problem, or alleged offense to law enforcement. The complainant is not always the victim.
- Consent search -
A search conducted after a person with legal authority voluntarily gives permission. Officers do not need a warrant when valid consent covers the search.
- Conspiracy -
An agreement between two or more people to commit a crime, together with any additional act required by the applicable law.
- Continuance -
A court-approved delay that moves a hearing or trial to a later date.
- Conviction -
A judgment that a person is guilty of an offense, entered after a guilty plea, a trial verdict, or another lawful court process.
- Custodial interrogation -
Questioning by law enforcement after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of freedom in a significant way.
- De-escalation -
Communication, time, distance, positioning, or other tactics used when practical to reduce tension and lower the need for force.
- Detention -
A temporary restriction of a person's freedom to leave while an officer investigates a situation. A detention is not necessarily an arrest.
- Digital evidence -
Information stored or transmitted electronically that may be relevant to a case, including messages, photographs, video, location data, and device records.
- Dismissal -
A court's termination of a charge or case. A dismissal does not always prevent the charge from being filed again.
- Driver's license revocation -
The termination of driving privileges, usually requiring the person to become eligible and apply for a new license before legally driving again.
- Driver's license suspension -
A temporary loss of legal driving privileges for a set period or until specified requirements are met.
- DUI -
Driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, or another impairing substance to the degree prohibited by law.
- Elements of an offense -
The specific facts the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt to establish that a person committed a particular crime.
- Evidence -
Information or an item that may help prove or disprove a fact in an investigation or court case.
- Exigent circumstances -
An urgent situation that may allow officers to act without first obtaining a warrant, such as preventing immediate harm, escape, or destruction of evidence.
- Felony -
A serious criminal offense generally punishable by more than one year of imprisonment, although the exact classification and penalty depend on the law.
- Field sobriety tests -
Roadside exercises used by trained officers to observe signs of possible impairment. The results are considered with other facts and are not the same as a chemical test.
- Grand jury -
A group of citizens that reviews evidence presented by the prosecution and decides whether probable cause exists to issue an indictment.
- Implied consent -
The legal rule that drivers are considered to have agreed to certain chemical testing after a qualifying impaired-driving arrest, with penalties possible for refusal.
- Incident report -
The official written record of an event reported to or handled by law enforcement. It may include statements, observations, actions taken, and identifying information.
- Indictment -
A formal accusation issued by a grand jury stating that probable cause exists to charge a person with an offense. It is not a finding of guilt.
- Initial appearance -
A person's first appearance before a judge after arrest, when the court may address the charge, rights, counsel, and release conditions.
- Inventory search -
A standardized listing and inspection of property in a lawfully impounded vehicle or other container to protect property, officers, and the agency from loss claims. It is not supposed to be a search for evidence.
- Lineup -
A procedure in which a witness is asked whether they recognize a suspect among several people or photographs.
- Miranda warning -
The notice that explains certain constitutional rights before custodial questioning, including the rights to remain silent and to have an attorney.
- Misdemeanor -
A criminal offense generally less serious than a felony and typically punishable by no more than one year in a local jail, although penalties depend on the law.
- Moving violation -
A traffic offense committed while a vehicle is being operated, such as speeding or failing to stop at a traffic signal.
- NCIC -
The National Crime Information Center, an FBI-operated system that authorized agencies use to access records such as warrants, stolen property, and missing-person entries.
- Nolle prosequi -
A formal decision by the prosecutor not to continue a charge at that time. Depending on the circumstances, the charge may be brought again later.
- Ordinance violation -
An alleged violation of a law adopted by a city or other local government, often handled in municipal court.
- ORI -
A unique identifier assigned to a law enforcement or criminal justice agency for access to certain records and information systems. It stands for Originating Agency Identifier.
- Parole -
Conditional release from incarceration before the full sentence ends, with supervision and rules set by the releasing authority.
- Pat-down -
A limited check of a person's outer clothing for weapons when an officer reasonably believes the person may be armed and dangerous. It is not a general search for evidence.
- Person of interest -
A person investigators believe may have information relevant to a case. The phrase does not necessarily mean the person is suspected of a crime.
- Personal recognizance bond -
Release based on a person's written promise to appear in court, without paying a cash amount up front, subject to any conditions ordered by the court.
- Physical evidence -
A tangible item connected to an incident or case, such as a weapon, document, fingerprint, or biological material.
- Plain view doctrine -
A rule that may allow an officer to seize evidence without a warrant when the officer is lawfully present and the illegal or evidentiary nature of the item is immediately apparent.
- Plea -
The accused person's formal response to a criminal charge, such as guilty, not guilty, or another plea allowed by law.
- Plea agreement -
An agreement in which the accused agrees to plead guilty or no contest, often in exchange for a reduced charge, sentencing recommendation, or dismissal of other charges. The court may still need to approve it.
- Preliminary hearing -
A hearing used to determine whether enough evidence exists to continue holding a felony charge for further court action. It is not a trial on guilt.
- Probable cause -
Facts and circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to believe a crime occurred or that evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place.
- Probation -
Court-ordered supervision in the community under stated conditions, often instead of or after time in custody.
- Property receipt -
A record given when law enforcement takes possession of property or evidence, identifying what was received and why.
- Protective sweep -
A quick and limited check of spaces where a dangerous person might be hiding, conducted to protect officers or others during a lawful entry or arrest.
- PSAP -
A public safety answering point, commonly called a 911 center, that receives emergency calls and routes or dispatches the appropriate response.
- Reasonable suspicion -
Specific facts that give an officer a reasonable basis to suspect that a person is involved in criminal activity. It requires more than a hunch but less evidence than probable cause.
- Search warrant -
A court order authorizing officers to search a specific place, person, or item for evidence described in the warrant.
- Subpoena -
A court order requiring a person to appear, testify, or provide specified records or evidence.
- Supplemental report -
An additional report used to document new information, follow-up work, evidence, or corrections after the initial incident report.
- Suspect -
A person whom investigators reasonably believe may have been involved in an offense. Being identified as a suspect is not a conviction.
- Terry stop -
A brief investigative detention based on reasonable suspicion that a person is involved in criminal activity. The name comes from the United States Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio.
- Traffic stop -
A temporary detention of a driver and vehicle by law enforcement to investigate a suspected traffic or criminal violation or another lawful concern.
- Use of force -
Physical control, weapons, or other force used by an officer to accomplish a lawful objective. The force must be reasonable under the circumstances known to the officer at the time.
- Vehicle impoundment -
The lawful removal and storage of a vehicle, such as after certain arrests, crashes, parking violations, or when the vehicle cannot safely remain where it is.
- Victim -
A person who suffered harm or loss because of an alleged or proven crime. In court documents, the term may also refer to the person named in the charge.
- Welfare check -
A request for law enforcement to check on a person's safety or well-being when there is a reasonable concern and no one can confirm the person is safe.
- Witness -
A person who saw, heard, knows, or can provide information about an incident or fact under investigation.