New York Criminal Defense Lawyers

When someone gets arrested

When a loved one gets arrested, friends and family members often do not know what to do. Here is some information that might help families at the initial stage to find out what is going on and to locate the person who was arrested.

My Friend/Relative/acquaintance was arrested today, where is he/she?

How can I get him/her out?

When someone is arrested by a police officer, he/she will first be taken to a local police precinct for questioning, to get the facts and, in most case, to extract a confession. The person is then fingerprinted and a background check is performed. This process may take several hours, depending on the facts of the matter. While this is being done, the police generally will not allow anyone to see or speak with an arrestee; however, if a family or a friend of a person in custody retains an attorney right away, an attorney will attempt to convince the arresting officer to exercise his/her discretion and issue a desk appearance ticket (DAT) and release the person after the initial processing.

If your friend or relative is arrested, please contact Sharifov & Associates, PLLC, at (718)368-2800 and ask what we can do to help you right away.

If the matter is more serious and a police detective gets involved to investigate further, the retained Attorney will immediately notify the Police that there cannot be any questioning of a suspect without the attorney present. Usually, at this point, there will be no questioning at all. Therefore, it is VERY IMPORTANT to retain knowledgeable attorney right away to avoid Police getting a confession from a person in custody. If you need more information about it, please contact Sharifov & Associates, PLLC to discuss it further.

After a defendant is processed at the precinct, if the crime is serious, they will be sent to Central Booking for the county in which they were arrested. Central Booking is where the defendant will be given further background checks, be registered into the New York State system and given identification and an ARREST number.

NYC Arrests

• Manhattan – Central BookingManhattan Central Booking Phone Number (212) 386-4545
  New York County (Manhattan) Criminal Court (212) 374-5880
  100 Centre Street (1 block north of Worth Street, 3 blocks south of Canal St)Midtown Community Court (646) 264-1308
  314 West 54th Street, New York, NY (between 8th and 9th Ave.)
• Brooklyn – Central BookingBrooklyn Central Booking Phone Number (718) 875-6586
  Kings County (Brooklyn) Criminal Court (718) 643-5296, 5675
  120 Schermerhorn Street (between Adams and Smith Street).
• Queens – Central BookingQueens Central Booking Phone Number (718) 268-4523
  Queens County Criminal Court (718) 298-0736
  125-01 Queens Blvd (near Hoover Avenue and 82nd Avenue).
• Staten Island – Central BookingStaten Island Central Booking Phone Number (718) 876-8490
  Richmond County (Staten Island) Criminal Court (718) 390-8400
  Criminal Court – 26 Central Avenue, Staten Island, NY
• Bronx – Central BookingBronx Central Booking Phone Number (718) 590-2817
  Bronx County Criminal Court (718) 618-2400
  215 East 161st Street, near Sherman and Sheridan Avenues

Arrests in Nassau County

When someone is arrested in Nassau County he will be taken to one of the Six Precincts located in Nassau County. If a person is arrested by a Village Police Department, he will first be processed by the officers from the Village and then he will be taken to the local Precinct for further processing.

The Six Precincts are located as follows:

• 1st Precinct, 900 Merrick Road, Baldwin, NY 11510. Tel. 516-573-6100
• 2nd Precinct, 7700 Jericho Turnpike, Woodbury, NY 11797. Tel 516-573-6200
• 3rd Precinct, 214 Hillside Avenue, Williston Park, NY 11596. Tel 516-573-6300
• 4th Precinct, 1699 Broadway, Hewlett, NY 11557. Tel 516-573-6400
• 5th Precinct, 1655 Dutch Broadway, Elmont, NY 11003. Tel 516-573-6500
• 7th Precinct, 3636 Merrick Road, Seaford, NY 11783. Tel 516-573-6700

At the police station, the police personnel will prepare a certain documents required to process an arrest, including the initial charging documents (misdemeanor or felony complaint). Where deemed necessary, the police will assign a Detective to a case for further investigation who may seek to obtain statements from a person arrested and who may also speak with witnesses.

In some misdemeanor cases, such as Petit Larceny, Criminal Mischief, Possession of Controlled Substance in the 7th degree, Possession of Marijuana, Driving with Suspended License, Leaving the scene of the accident with Property Damage, Trespassing, Reckless Driving, and others, Police may either give a person a Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT), and let the person go home and come back to court for arraignment on another day, or Police can actually ask the person to post a Police Station Bail, and then let the person go home, and come back to court for arraignment. Usually, Police will request a Police station bail when somebody has a minor prior arrest, resides outside of Nassau County, does not have a valid ID. In other, more serious cases, the person arrested will remain in custody until the matter is brought before a judge at a proceeding called an arraignment (first appearance).

If the person is charged with a physical crime, such as menacing, assault, robbery, burglary, etc and especially where there any injuries, Police will detain the person until the matter is brought before the judge. At the arraignment, Assistant District Attorney will request a temporary order of Protection to be issued by the judge against the person who was arrested – Defendant, in favor of the victim in the case.

Arrest in Suffolk County

A person who is arrested in Suffolk County, is taken to one of Suffolk County’s police precincts, one of the East-End Town Police Departments, or to a Village Police Department. If the arrest is made by a Village Police Department, the defendant will be processed by the Village Police, but he or she is then taken to the Suffolk County Police for additional processing and detention.

The processing of an arrested person consists of taking personal data and, where required, fingerprints.

A detective may be assigned to cases where an investigation is needed. Detectives may interview arrested persons and witnesses to procure statements concerning the criminal incident in order to use in court against the accused.

After processing, a person is either detained or released on bond or given an appearance ticket for a court appearance that day or the next, depending upon the time processing is complete.

• First Precinct Bureau
  555 Route 109
  West Babylon, New York 11704
  631-854-8100
• Second Precinct Bureau
  1071 Park Avenue
  Huntington, New York 11743
  631-854-8200
• Third Precinct Bureau
  1630 5th Avenue
  Bay Shore, New York 11706
  631-854-8300
• Fourth Precinct Bureau
  345 Old Willets Path
  Hauppauge, New York 11788
  631-854-8400
• Fifth Precinct Bureau
  125 Waverly Avenue
  Patchogue, New York 11772
  631-854-8500
• Sixth Precinct Bureau
  400 Middle Country Road
  Selden, NY 11784-2501
  631-854-8600
• Seventh Precinct Bureau
  1419 William Floyd Parkway
  Shirley, New York 11967
  631-852-8700