What to expect from a felony arrest in Maricopa County
Felonies make up a large portion of arrests in most cities around the Valley and involve many different agencies and processes.
In Phoenix, there were about 24,000 arrests in 2022, and about 40% of them included a felony. Felonies can start with city police but move into sheriff's custody and county court.
Whether someone is being arrested or trying to follow a felony crime story things can get muddled as the case moves from arrest to booking.
Detained, arrested or in custody
The process starts with the police making a stop or investigating a call about a possible crime.
Getting stopped by police: In Arizona, police can stop someone without probable cause, but need reasonable suspicion.
Reasonable suspicion means having specific facts, not just a hunch, that a person is involved in a crime, as defined by state law.
At a crime scene, officers will interview witnesses and create an incident report describing the crime.
Detectives and crime scene investigators then take over.
Sometimes the police will request a warrant from the court to make an arrest if they have enough evidence. Other times, people are arrested during a stop or at a crime scene.
Miranda Rights: During the period between a stop and an arrest, the Miranda rights kick in, and the police have to read them to individuals so they understand and can safeguard themselves against self-incrimination.
However, whether Miranda cautions are required depends on two things.
“You only have to have your Miranda Rights read if you were in custody and [police] plan on interrogating you,” defense attorney Armando Nava explained.
Figuring out when someone is "in custody" can be tricky.
Phoenix police define “detention” as when someone is legally held on suspicion of a criminal offense or civil violation.
”They are not under arrest, but officers are furthering an investigation into a criminal offense that may or may not lead to an arrest,” according to a Phoenix police spokesperson.
They define “arrest” as taking someone in and given a criminal citation or booked into jail.
And being in “custody” could mean that a person is detained or arrested by officers.
While people do have the right to be informed that they are being arrested, they don’t have to be told what charges they are suspected of at the time of an arrest.
Getting booked
Once someone gets arrested, they get booked based on probable cause. Probable cause means that police have enough evidence to hold that the person on suspicion of committing a crime.
Police and other law enforcement agents write this down on a form called a Form IV in Maricopa County Superior Court.
Then, the agency that made the arrest moves the person to the county jail and gets them booked.
That means they write down the person's identifying information, make copies of their fingerprints, and take their photo.
During booking, people can make a phone call and get a booking sheet that explains why they got arrested, but they don't get a copy of the probable cause report until they appear in front of a judge for the first time.
After getting booked, state law says that people have to see a judge within 24 hours for an initial appearance hearing, and the case moves into the Maricopa County Superior Court.
In Maricopa County, the probable cause statement filled out by the arresting agency is used by county prosecutors to convince the court that they have a reason to charge someone.
If the prosecutors don't think they have enough evidence to take the case to court, they'll send it back to detectives and not move forward with charges, but the case could come back.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Felony arrests account for 40% of all arrests in Phoenix
