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:
“No political party can ever make prohibition effective. A political party implies an adverse, an opposing, political party. To enforce criminal statutes implies substantial unanimity in the community. This is the result of the jury system. Hence the futility of party prohibition.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)