Criminal citations are used by police in some jurisdictions in order to charge a person with a crime without the need of making a physical arrest. They are generally used for non-violent, fineable offences and those that carry little incarceration time. Convictions for criminal citations may show as such on a criminal record.
Requirements for issuance of a criminal citation vary by jurisdiction but generally the suspect must have no open warrants and a valid identification such as a driver's license, military ID or passport.
Famous quotes containing the word criminal:
“A criminal trial is like a Russian novel: it starts with exasperating slowness as the characters are introduced to a jury, then there are complications in the form of minor witnesses, the protagonist finally appears and contradictions arise to produce drama, and finally as both jury and spectators grow weary and confused the pace quickens, reaching its climax in passionate final argument.”
—Clifford Irving (b. 1930)